Configuring your Satisfactory server

A Satisfactory dedicated server keeps its settings in two completely separate places, and almost every configuration problem people hit comes from confusing them. This guide is the reference for the editable INI files — where they are, every documented setting in them, and the shutdown behaviour that silently undoes edits. For first boot and connecting, see Getting started with your Satisfactory server. For commands, passwords and the HTTPS API, see Satisfactory Dedicated Server Commands, API and Settings.

There is no ServerSettings.ini

If a guide tells you to edit a file called ServerSettings.ini, or points you at a section named [/Script/FactoryGame.FGServerSubsystem] or [/Script/FactoryGame.FGNetworkLibrary], it is describing a file and sections that do not exist. Satisfactory has exactly three server-side INI files — Engine.ini, Game.ini and GameUserSettings.ini — and none of them contain those sections. The settings people are usually looking for when they go hunting for ServerSettings.ini live in the Server Manager UI instead, covered in section 6.

1. The Two Places Settings Live

ServerSettings.<PORT>.sav — normally ServerSettings.7777.sav — sits in the SaveGames directory, not the config directory. The official wiki is explicit that this "is not the location of configuration files". It is binary, so there is nothing in it you can usefully open in a text editor. Do not go looking for INI keys there.

2. Where the INI Files Are

Three files live there: Engine.ini, Game.ini and GameUserSettings.ini.

The files may not exist yet

Per the wiki, "Server ini files may not be saved/generated until the server is closed gracefully for the first time." If a file or a section is missing, that is normal — create it. The wiki's own instruction is: "If a section to be added already exists in the file, append or overwrite its contents to the section. If a section is not present or the file does not exist, create the section or file."

3. The Trap: The Server Rewrites These Files on Shutdown

This is the single most common reason someone reports that "the settings don't work", and it is worth understanding before you edit anything.

Edit INI files only while the server is stopped

The wiki states it plainly: "Always make ini edit changes with the game server shut down. The ini files are written to on graceful shutdown, and you may find your changes overwritten otherwise." Edit a running server's INI file and your change survives right up until the next clean stop, at which point the server writes its in-memory state over the top of it. Stop the server, edit, then start.

Two related cautions from the same source:

• Patches can overwrite your edits. "Be aware that any changes to ini files may be overwritten when a new update or patch is released, possibly necessitating a re-edit." Re-check your settings after a major Satisfactory update.
• Do not mark the files read-only. It looks like a clever workaround and it is not — the wiki warns that doing so "can cause issues with future patches".

If you need a setting that cannot be undone by a rewrite, set it as a startup parameter instead — see section 7.

4. Game.ini — Player Cap

Game.ini carries one documented server setting, and it is the one people most often want.

[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=8

The default cap is four. Up to 127 is theoretically possible but not practical, and the wiki is direct about why: "the server is tuned to be most performant with the default player cap of four. Increasing this limit may have negative effects on server stability, performance, and resource usage."

Raising the cap raises the RAM requirement with it — 16 GB is the recommendation for large saves or more than four players. If you are pushing past four, size the server for it rather than raising a number and hoping.

5. Engine.ini — Tick Rate, Timeouts, Autosaves, Ports

This is where the real tuning surface is. Every setting below is documented on the official wiki.

Rotating autosaves

The server keeps three rotating autosaves by default — SessionName_autosave_0.sav, _1 and _2. When it writes a new one, the oldest is deleted and the rest shift down.

[/Script/FactoryGame.FGSaveSession]
mNumRotatingAutosaves=10

Note that this controls how many autosaves are kept, not how often they happen. The autosave interval is not an INI setting at all — see section 6.

Server tick rate

Tick rate needs edits in three sections, not one. Two different net drivers each carry their own pair of keys, plus a client-side value:

[/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver]
NetServerMaxTickRate=30
LanServerMaxTickRate=30

[/Script/SocketSubsystemEpic.EpicNetDriver]
NetServerMaxTickRate=30
LanServerMaxTickRate=30

[/Script/Engine.Engine]
NetClientTicksPerSecond=30

The default is 30. Two things the wiki is unusually blunt about:

• This is a ceiling, not a target. "Note that this is an upper limit (up-to), and the server will only reach the specified tickrate if hardware allows."
• Raising it is not a lag fix. "Note that the game's default tick rate is good for most scenarios. Increasing it will not help with lags - if the hardware can't hit the default 30, increasing it won't help."

If you see undesirable side effects after changing it, the wiki's advice is to lower the tick rate and retest before troubleshooting anything else.

Connection timeouts

Players on older hardware or slow connections may need longer than the default 30 seconds to establish a connection.

[/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver]
InitialConnectTimeout=120.0
ConnectionTimeout=120.0

• InitialConnectTimeout — "Number of seconds to wait for a new network connection to be established before destroying the connection."
• ConnectionTimeout — "Number of seconds to wait before considering an established connection timed out."

Both take a decimal value. This is worth raising for a server whose players are geographically distant from it, or who are loading a very large save for the first time.

Reliable messaging port range

Added in Version 1.1, these control how the server allocates its reliable messaging port (the second port a Satisfactory server needs, alongside the game port):

[/Script/ReliableMessaging.ReliableMessagingTCPFactory]
PortRangeBegin=8888
PortRangeLength=512
ExternalPortRangeBegin=-1

The server binds within PortRangeBegin + PortRangeLength. By default it starts at 8888 and tries up to 512 ports until it finds a free one. On a hosted server the panel already assigns your ports, so leave these alone unless you have a specific reason and the allocation to back it up.

Crash reporting

On Linux the server uploads crash reports to Coffee Stain by default. To stop that:

[CrashReportClient]
bImplicitSend=False

6. GameUserSettings.ini — Seasonal Events

[/Script/FactoryGame.FGGameUserSettings]
FG.DisableSeasonalEvents 0

Seasonal events such as FICSMAS are toggled here. The wiki's own wording is ambiguous — it describes the value as "disabled (0) or enabled (1)" while the key is named DisableSeasonalEvents — so if you simply want events off and no guesswork, use the -DisableSeasonalEvents startup parameter instead, which is unambiguous.

One quirk worth knowing: the wiki notes that "the line will disappear after the server is restarted, but will take effect regardless". Do not re-add it repeatedly assuming it failed.

7. Settings That Are Not in Any INI File

These are the ones people go looking for in a config file and never find, because they are Server Manager UI settings written to the binary ServerSettings.<PORT>.sav:

The autosave interval is the one that catches people out. It defaults to 300 seconds (5 minutes) and is changed either in the Server Manager UI (in minutes) or with the FG.AutosaveInterval <seconds> console command — never in an INI file. Shorter intervals mean more frequent saves and a performance dip each time the server writes one.

Set all of these in the Server Manager, or over the HTTPS API — both are covered in Satisfactory Dedicated Server Commands, API and Settings, along with the full console command set.

8. Startup Parameters — Config That Survives a Rewrite

Any INI value can be set on the command line, which sidesteps the shutdown-rewrite problem entirely:

-ini:<INIFILE>:[<SECTION>]:<KEY>=<VALUE>

So the player cap from section 4 becomes:

-ini:Game:[/Script/Engine.GameSession]:MaxPlayers=8

Other documented parameters include -Port=, -ReliablePort=, -ExternalReliablePort=, -DisablePacketRouting, -DisableSeasonalEvents, -Log, -NewConsole and -Unattended. Full descriptions are in the commands and API guide.

Use startup parameters for anything you cannot afford to lose

A value set as a startup parameter is reapplied on every boot, so a graceful shutdown cannot quietly revert it and a patch cannot overwrite it. For a setting that matters — the player cap in particular — this is the durable option.

9. Editing Config on a Hosted Server

The workflow on your hosted Satisfactory server is always the same, and the order matters:

1. Stop the server from the panel. Do not skip this — see section 3.
2. Open the File Manager and navigate to FactoryGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/.
3. Edit Engine.ini, Game.ini or GameUserSettings.ini, creating the file or section if it is not there.
4. Start the server and check the console for startup errors.
5. Verify the change actually took — join and check the player cap, or watch the autosave count.

Take a save download before changing anything structural. Uploading and downloading saves is handled in the Server Manager's Manage Saves tab, and covered in How to Upload Your Existing World to Your Satisfactory Server.

10. FAQ

Where is the Satisfactory ServerSettings.ini file?

It does not exist. Satisfactory has three server INI files — Engine.ini, Game.ini and GameUserSettings.ini — in FactoryGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ (or WindowsServer on Windows). The similarly named ServerSettings.<PORT>.sav is a binary file in the SaveGames directory holding what the Server Manager UI writes, and it is not editable as text.

Why do my config changes keep reverting?

You edited while the server was running. Satisfactory writes its INI files on graceful shutdown, so the next clean stop overwrites whatever you changed. Stop the server first, edit, then start. Do not set the files read-only to work around it — that breaks future patches. Use a -ini: startup parameter if you want a value that cannot be reverted.

How do I increase the player limit above 4?

Set MaxPlayers under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] in Game.ini, or pass -ini:Game:[/Script/Engine.GameSession]:MaxPlayers=8 at startup. The server is tuned for four players; going higher costs stability and performance, and 16 GB of RAM is recommended for large saves or more than four players.

How do I change the Satisfactory server tick rate?

Set NetServerMaxTickRate and LanServerMaxTickRate in both [/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver] and [/Script/SocketSubsystemEpic.EpicNetDriver] in Engine.ini, plus NetClientTicksPerSecond under [/Script/Engine.Engine]. The default is 30 and it is a ceiling, not a guarantee. Raising it will not fix lag — if the hardware cannot sustain 30, asking for more does nothing.

How do I change how often the server saves?

That is not an INI setting. Use the Autosave Interval (minutes) field in the Server Manager, or the FG.AutosaveInterval <seconds> console command. The default is 300 seconds. The separate mNumRotatingAutosaves setting in Engine.ini controls how many autosaves are kept, not how often they are taken.

My INI files do not exist. What now?

Start the server once and shut it down gracefully — the files are generated on the first clean shutdown. If a specific section is still missing after that, create it yourself; the wiki's guidance is to add the section or the file if it is not present.

What to Read Next

• Getting started with your Satisfactory server — first boot, ports and connecting
• Satisfactory Dedicated Server Commands, API and Settings — the Server Manager, console commands, startup parameters and the HTTPS API
• How to Upload Your Existing World to Your Satisfactory Server — moving a solo save onto the server
• How to install mods for Satisfactory — adding what the base game lacks

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