Getting started with your Sons of the Forest server

Configure dedicatedserver.cfg files, unlock custom game modes, assign admin permissions, and manage SaveSlot directories and mods.

Updated September 28, 2026

Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest is the sequel to The Forest, a survival horror game with co-op play. Dedicated server support is built in.

First Boot

Open your Sons of the Forest server in the panel.
Click Start.
First boot pulls the dedicated server (about 18 GB), which takes 15 to 25 minutes.
Watch for Server is up and running on port ... in the console.

To connect: in-game, Multiplayer > Dedicated Servers, find yours by name or direct-connect.

Configuration: dedicatedserver.cfg

The config file is serverconfig/dedicatedserver.cfg, not a file in the server root. Our start line points the game's user-data folder at serverconfig/ (the -userdatapath argument), and that folder is where Endnight's server keeps dedicatedserver.cfg, ownerswhitelist.txt and its Saves folder. The file is JSON. Endnight's documented default looks like this; the copy on your server may already have a few GameSettings and CustomGameModeSettings entries filled in:

{
  "IpAddress": "0.0.0.0",
  "GamePort": 8766,
  "QueryPort": 27016,
  "BlobSyncPort": 9700,
  "ServerName": "Sons Of The Forest Server (dedicated)",
  "MaxPlayers": 8,
  "Password": "",
  "LanOnly": false,
  "SaveSlot": 1,
  "SaveMode": "Continue",
  "GameMode": "Normal",
  "SaveInterval": 600,
  "IdleDayCycleSpeed": 0.0,
  "IdleTargetFramerate": 5,
  "ActiveTargetFramerate": 60,
  "LogFilesEnabled": false,
  "TimestampLogFilenames": true,
  "TimestampLogEntries": true,
  "SkipNetworkAccessibilityTest": false,
  "GameSettings": {},
  "CustomGameModeSettings": {}
}

serverconfig/dedicatedserver.cfg

Ports, players, password and game mode come from the panel

Every setting in this file can be overridden from the command line, and our start line does that for GamePort, QueryPort, BlobSyncPort, MaxPlayers, Password, GameMode, SaveSlot and SkipNetworkAccessibilityTest. Their values in the file are ignored, so change them on the Startup tab instead. ServerName is rewritten from the Server Name variable on every boot. Your ports are on the Network tab and in the read-only QueryPort and BlobSyncPort fields, not the 8766/27016/9700 defaults shown above.

Setting	Notes
ServerName	Browser display name. Set it with Server Name on the Startup tab
MaxPlayers	1 to 8. Set it with Max Players on the Startup tab
Password	Empty for public. Set it with Password on the Startup tab
SaveSlot	The ID of the save the server uses. Set it with Save Slot on the Startup tab
SaveMode	`Continue` loads the save on the slot, or creates one if the slot is empty. `New` starts a new game on the slot and overwrites it on every start while it is set
GameMode	`normal`, `hard`, `hardsurvival`, `peaceful` or `custom`, set with Gamemode on the Startup tab. It only applies when a new save is created
SaveInterval	How often the server autosaves, in seconds. Default 600

Restart after editing.

Custom Game Mode

For deeper customization, set Gamemode to custom on the Startup tab and put your settings in the CustomGameModeSettings block of dedicatedserver.cfg. These are some of the keys Endnight documents:

"CustomGameModeSettings": {
  "GameSetting.Multiplayer.Cheats": false,
  "GameSetting.Vail.EnemySpawn": true,
  "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyHealth": "Normal",
  "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyDamage": "Normal",
  "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyArmour": "Normal",
  "GameSetting.Vail.EnemyAggression": "Normal",
  "GameSetting.Vail.AnimalSpawnRate": "Normal",
  "GameSetting.Environment.StartingSeason": "Summer",
  "GameSetting.Environment.SeasonLength": "Default",
  "GameSetting.Environment.DayLength": "Default",
  "GameSetting.Environment.PrecipitationFrequency": "Default",
  "GameSetting.Survival.ReducedFoodInContainers": false
}

json

Custom settings are fixed when the save is created

The server reads CustomGameModeSettings only when the game mode is custom and a new save is being created. When it loads an existing save, it ignores the block. To use new custom settings, start a new save: pick an empty Save Slot, or set SaveMode to New, which overwrites the current slot.

The separate GameSettings block works in every game mode: "Gameplay.TreeRegrowth": true turns on tree regrowth (triggered when sleeping), and "Structure.Damage": true lets buildings take damage.

Admin Setup

Sons of the Forest does not have a separate in-game admin command system. Server management is primarily through the config file and the Console tab of your Sons Of The Forest game server.

For command-line server management, the dedicated server reads commands from the console. Useful ones:

stop                Stop the server
save                Save the game now
kick <playerID>     Kick a player
ban <playerID>      Ban a player
unban <playerID>    Unban
list                List connected players
help                Show all commands

Console commands

Save Management

Saves are in serverconfig/Saves/, inside the user-data folder our start line sets.

To upload a save from single-player:

Find your local save at %LocalAppData%\SonsOfTheForest\Saves\<SteamID>\<Multiplayer or SinglePlayer>\.
Upload the save folder into the matching slot folder under serverconfig/Saves/.
Set the Save Slot variable in the Startup tab to that slot. The panel writes SaveSlot into dedicatedserver.cfg from it on every boot, so editing the file directly does not survive a restart. Note the variable takes the padded ten-digit form the game uses, such as 0000000001.
Set SaveMode to Continue in serverconfig/dedicatedserver.cfg.
Restart.

Wiping means deleting the save slot folder

To wipe, delete the save slot folder or change to an empty slot.

Mods

As of the current dedicated server build, Sons of the Forest has limited modding support. The community has reverse-engineered some basics (RedLoader, BepInEx), but mods are primarily client-side cosmetic or QoL.

Server-side gameplay mods are not yet a stable ecosystem. Watch the modding scene on Nexus Mods (nexusmods.com/sonsoftheforest) and the modding Discord for updates.

The most reliable approach

Tune the Custom game mode settings rather than installing mods.

Performance Tips

Leave SaveInterval at 600 seconds (the default). Lower causes save-related stutters.
Disable PvP if your community is purely co-op.
Restart daily; memory creep is noticeable over long uptimes.

Backups

Save data is small (under 1 GB typically). The panel Backups tab covers it; daily snapshots minimum.

Common Issues

Cannot connect: Read the IP and port off the Address at the top left of your panel and have players use that exact pair. All three of the server's ports (game, query and BlobSync) are passed on the start line, so check them on the Network tab and the Startup tab rather than typing new numbers into dedicatedserver.cfg, which ignores them.
Server in browser but cannot be joined: Often a password mismatch; double-check the client is sending the right password.
Save corrupted: Restore from a backup. The auto-save mechanism is reliable but a crash mid-write can corrupt.
Player kicked back to menu on join: Save slot mismatch; the server expects a slot that does not match what the client tries to join.