How to Fix SCUM Server Settings That Keep Resetting

Almost every SCUM configuration ticket comes down to the same thing: the server writes its own settings file, and it does so at moments that overwrite your edits.

The rule

SCUM reads its settings at startup and writes them back at shutdown. So:

1. Stop the server.
2. Edit the file.
3. Start the server.

Editing while the server is running always loses your work, without any error, because the shutdown write happens after your edit.

The first boot writes defaults over everything

On a brand new server there is no settings file until SCUM creates one. If you upload a prepared file before the server has ever started, the first boot replaces it with defaults.

The correct order on a new server is:

1. Start the server once and let it fully load.
2. Stop it.
3. Now edit SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ServerSettings.ini.
4. Start it again.

If you have already lost settings this way, the fix is the same. Stop, edit, start.

Check the setting actually took

The server name is the fastest indicator. If your custom name shows in the browser, the file was read. If the default name is back, it was overwritten.

Slots keep going back to a different number

The player limit is applied from your server's Startup Settings page through the MAX_PLAYERS variable, and it is written into the settings file at start. Changing scum.MaxPlayers in the INI alone will not stick because the startup value is applied over it. Your plan sets the number, so upgrade the plan in the billing area to raise it.

Back up before you experiment

Before a round of settings changes, stop the server and download from Files:

• SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/, the settings.
• SCUM/Saved/SaveFiles/, the world and characters.

With those two folders you can put a working server back exactly as it was.

The server will not start after an edit

Check the panel console. A malformed line in the settings file is reported by name. Restore your backup, or delete the settings file entirely and let the server write a fresh default one on the next start, then edit it properly with the server stopped.