How to Change Your Sons of the Forest Server Settings

Sons of the Forest keeps its settings in a single JSON file called dedicatedserver.cfg. Being JSON, a missing comma stops the server starting, so edit carefully and read the console afterwards.

Open the file

1. Stop the server. The file is rewritten on shutdown.
2. In the panel open Files and find dedicatedserver.cfg. It sits in the server's user data folder, so use the file manager's search if it is not in the root.

The settings that matter

{
  "ServerName": "My PlayNHost Server",
  "MaxPlayers": 8,
  "Password": "",
  "AdminPassword": "changeme",
  "LanOnly": false,
  "SaveSlot": 1,
  "SaveMode": "Continue",
  "GameMode": "Normal",
  "SaveInterval": 600,
  "IdleDayCycleSpeed": 0.0,
  "IdleTargetFramerate": 5,
  "ActiveTargetFramerate": 60
}

• GameMode takes Normal, Hard, HardSurvival, Peaceful or Custom.
• Password empty means an open server. AdminPassword is separate and is what you use to become admin.
• SaveInterval is in seconds. Lower means less lost on an unclean stop, at the cost of more frequent pauses.
• IdleTargetFramerate is what the server runs at with nobody connected. Leaving it low is what keeps an idle server cheap to run.

Save slots and starting a new world

"SaveSlot": 1,
"SaveMode": "Continue"

• SaveMode set to New generates a fresh world in that slot on every start, overwriting it. It is meant as a one time action.
• Set it back to Continue after the first start, or your world resets each restart.
• SaveSlot selects which world. Move to an unused slot to start fresh without touching your current one.

Do not change the ports

The port values in this file must match the ports allocated to your server, shown on the server overview. Changing them makes the server unreachable.

Slots

Your plan's slot count is applied through the MAX_PLAYERS variable on your server's Startup Settings page, reachable from the server overview. Raising MaxPlayers in the file alone does not add slots. Upgrade the plan in the billing area to run more players.

Apply and check

Save the file, start the server, and read the panel console. A JSON error is reported there and the server will not start until the file is valid.