--- title: "7 Days to Die Dedicated Server: Setup, Launch Options, Ports and Branches" description: "Set up a 7 Days to Die dedicated server: which settings the panel overrides, why Game Difficulty is dead in V3, ports, pinning branches and fixes." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-dedicated-server/" category: "7 Days to Die" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/" published: "2026-09-28T04:25:11.247Z" updated: "2026-09-28T04:25:11.247Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server: Setup, Launch Options, Ports and Branches A 7 Days to Die dedicated server keeps your world running between sessions, so horde night arrives on schedule whether or not the host is online. The Fun Pimps publish the dedicated server as a free Steam tool (app `294420`) with native Linux and Windows builds. On [your 7 Days to Die server](/games/7-days-to-die-server-hosting/), our panel installs and launches the Linux build for you. This page is the setup side: what the panel sends to the server at every start, why some `serverconfig.xml` edits never seem to stick, the ports, how to pin a version or move to experimental, and a troubleshooting table. The [configuration guide](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7d2d-new-user-guide/) and the [serverconfig.xml reference](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/serverconfig-xml/) cover the gameplay settings once you're up. > [!NOTE] Version checked > V3.2.0 stable (26 August 2026). V3.3.0 has been on `latest_experimental` since 24 September 2026. ## First boot 1. Open the server in the panel and click **Start**. The first start installs the server with SteamCMD using an anonymous login, so you don't need to put a Steam account on it. 2. A **Random Gen** (RWG) map is generated on the first start and can take a long time, especially at larger **Map Size** values. **Navezgane** (the default) is ready immediately. 3. When the console shows `Connected with 7DTD server`, the server is up and the panel console is attached to it. 4. In the game, open the server browser and type the IP and port from the **Address** at the top left of your panel into the two boxes at the bottom of the screen. Direct connect works the moment the server is up. A new server can take a while to appear in the public browser, and it never will if `ServerVisibility` isn't `2`. ## What the panel sends at every start The panel starts the server with `-configfile=serverconfig.xml` **plus** a set of launch options built from your **Startup** tab. Since Alpha 16, 7 Days to Die lets any `serverconfig.xml` setting be overridden from the command line as `-SettingName=value`. So for the settings below, **the Startup tab wins and the file's value is ignored**: | Startup variable | Default | Launch option it becomes | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | **Server Name** | `Gameserverkings 7DTD Server` | `-ServerName=` | Shown in the server browser | | **Server Description** | Welcome text | `-ServerDescription=` | | | **Server Password** | — | `-ServerPassword=` | Leave empty for no join password | | **Max Players** | `15` | `-ServerMaxPlayerCount=` | Panel allows up to 20. See the warning below | | **Map Type** | `Navezgane` | `-GameWorld=` | `Navezgane`, `RWG`, or an uploaded world's folder name | | **Map Size** | `6144` | `-WorldGenSize=` | RWG only. Supported sizes are multiples of 2048 from 6144 to 10240 | | **Map Seed** | `default` | `-WorldGenSeed=` | RWG only. A new seed or size means a new world | | **Game Difficulty** | `2` | `-GameDifficulty=` | **Has no effect on V3.** See below | | *(from your allocation)* | — | `-ServerPort=` | Your panel Address port | The start line also turns on telnet on the local interface only and connects the panel console to it. That's why commands you type in the **Console** tab reach the server. The [console command reference](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-console-commands/) lists them. The old web control panel is switched off with `-ControlPanelEnabled=false`. > [!IMPORTANT] Game Difficulty doesn't do anything on V3 > The V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer" release notes list `GameDifficulty` first among the 30 properties that were "removed/converted" into the single `SandboxCode` value. The panel still passes the old option, but on V3.2 there's nothing for it to set. To change difficulty, build a SandboxCode in the game's Sandbox Options and put it in `serverconfig.xml`, as the [serverconfig.xml reference](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/serverconfig-xml/) explains. > [!WARNING] 8 players is the supported maximum > The official wiki's entry for `ServerMaxPlayerCount` reads: "8 is the maximum supported player count. Anything over 30 will cause corrupted save data." The panel's **Max Players** defaults to 15, which is above that. Lower it to 8 if you want to stay within what the developers support, especially on horde nights. A server that console players join has to be **8 or fewer** anyway, with EAC on and no mods. The [crossplay guide](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-crossplay/) has the full list. Everything else, like `SandboxCode`, `ServerVisibility`, `MaxSpawnedZombies`, `EACEnabled` and land claims, **is** read from `serverconfig.xml` at the server root. Edit it in the File Manager with the server stopped, then start it. > [!TIP] Keep a copy of serverconfig.xml > The shipped `serverconfig.xml` comes from the game's own files, and community server guides warn that game updates can replace it. After you tune it, download a copy (or save it as `serverconfig.backup.xml`) and check your settings after each major update. The Startup-tab values above aren't affected, because they aren't read from the file. ## Ports 7 Days to Die listens on its game port (the Fun Pimps' default is `26900`) on TCP and UDP, and uses the UDP ports directly above it for game traffic. On your server, the game port is the one in your panel **Address**, and the panel passes it as `-ServerPort=`. Changing `ServerPort` in `serverconfig.xml` therefore does nothing, which is what you want: moving the server off its allocation would make it unreachable. Telnet (`8081` by default) only listens on the server itself when no telnet password is set. It doesn't need to be reachable from outside, because the panel console already uses it. ## Branches: stable, experimental, or a pinned version Steam keeps every major 7 Days to Die version as its own branch on app `294420`: | Branch name | What you get | |---|---| | *(empty)* | Latest stable, currently V3.2.0 | | `latest_experimental` | Currently V3.3.0 experimental | | `v3.2.0`, `v3.1.0`, `v3.0.1` | That exact V3 release, frozen | | `v2.6`, `v1.4` | Older releases, for overhaul mods that haven't moved to V3 yet | | `alpha21.2`, `alpha20.7` … | Legacy alphas | Players have to be on the **same** version as the server. In Steam, that's the game's **Properties → Game Versions & Betas**. How to switch: 1. Take a [backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/). Worlds aren't guaranteed to load on an older version once a newer one has saved them. 2. Open a ticket with the branch name from the table, such as `v3.1.0` or `latest_experimental`, and we'll move your server to it. The **Startup** tab has a **Beta Branch** field, but we haven't tested switching branches with it yet, so let us do it for now. 3. Start the server and check the version line in the console. > [!CAUTION] Experimental right now > The Fun Pimps' V3.3.0 EXP notes list a dedicated-server bug: "picking up a vehicle currently deletes anything stored in it." Empty vehicles before picking them up, or stay on stable until it's fixed. Pinning is also how you hold a server on the version an overhaul mod needs: ask support to pin the branch. The [mod install guide](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/how-to-install-modlets-and-overhaul-mods/) says which versions each overhaul supports. Mods go in the `Mods/` folder that the installer creates at the server root. ## Saves and moving a world in Your world lives in two folders: `Saves///` for progress and, for RWG maps, `GeneratedWorlds//` for the map itself. Where they sit depends on the game's user-data folder, and we haven't confirmed the location for the current version on our servers. The [world upload guide](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/upload-your-existing-world/) shows how to bring a single-player world over and how to point **Map Type** at it. If you can't find the folders where it says, contact support before you upload anything. Daily backups and scheduled restarts are in [Managing your 7 Days to Die server](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7d2d-maintenance/). ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Likely cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | Changed `ServerName`, `ServerPassword`, `GameWorld` or `ServerMaxPlayerCount` in `serverconfig.xml` and nothing happened | The panel's launch options override those | Change the matching **Startup** variable | | Difficulty won't change | `GameDifficulty` was removed in V3.0 | Set a `SandboxCode` in `serverconfig.xml` | | Server not in the browser | `ServerVisibility` isn't `2`, or it hasn't been listed yet | Join by IP from the panel Address to confirm the server works | | Can't join after an update, or after switching branch | Client and server on different versions | Match the branch in Steam's **Game Versions & Betas** | | Console players can't see the server | More than 8 slots, EAC off, or mods installed | Follow the [crossplay settings](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-crossplay/) | | Wrong version after a branch change | Branch not switched on the server | Open a ticket with the branch you need | | First start "hangs" | RWG world generating | Wait, or use Navezgane or a smaller **Map Size** | | World generated fresh after an upload | **Map Type** doesn't match the uploaded folder name (case included) | Set it to the exact folder name | ## Hosting a 7 Days to Die dedicated server yourself On your own hardware you install and update it with SteamCMD (Windows or Linux, anonymous login, no game licence needed): ``` steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/sdtd/server +login anonymous +app_update 294420 validate +quit ``` Add `-beta latest_experimental` or `-beta v3.1.0` before `validate` to pick a branch. The shipped `startserver.sh` / `startdedicated.bat` runs the server with `-configfile=serverconfig.xml` and connects you to telnet on `localhost 8081`. Forward the game port on TCP and UDP plus the UDP ports above it, keep the server on around the clock, and remember that every update means stopping, running SteamCMD again and checking your config. That upkeep is what a hosted server takes off your hands. ## What to Read Next - [7 Days to Die Configuration guide](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7d2d-new-user-guide/) — the settings most servers change first - [serverconfig.xml Reference](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/serverconfig-xml/) — every property, SandboxCode and what V3.0 moved - [How to Add Admins and Whitelist Players](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/how-to-add-admins-and-whitelist-players/) and the [console command reference](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-console-commands/) - [7 Days to Die Mods: Modlets and Overhauls](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/how-to-install-modlets-and-overhaul-mods/) - [How to Upload Your Existing World](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/upload-your-existing-world/) and [Managing your 7 Days to Die server](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7d2d-maintenance/) - [7 Days to Die Item IDs and giveself](/knowledge-base/7-days-to-die/7-days-to-die-item-ids/) --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings