Configuring your Space Engineers server

This guide covers SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg (the main server config), the easiest way to generate it, and world management. Complete Getting started with your Space Engineers server first.

The Config File

On a hosted Space Engineers server the server is launched with its data path set to config/, so the file is config/SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg. World-specific settings live alongside it in config/Saves/<World>/Sandbox.sbc. Other hosts and local installs put the same files under an instance/ folder — if a guide sends you there and the folder does not exist, config/ is where to look.

Some lines are rewritten from the Startup tab on every boot

The panel owns ServerPort, SteamPort, LoadWorld (pinned to config/Saves/World/Sandbox.sbc, with no variable to repoint it), ServerName, WorldName, ServerDescription, GroupID, RemoteApiEnabled and RemoteApiPort in that file, plus GameMode, MaxPlayers, AutoSaveInMinutes, EnableSaving and SessionName in the world's Sandbox_config.sbc. Hand-edit any of those and your change is overwritten the next time the server starts. Change them in the Startup tab instead — Server Name, Server Description, Game Mode, Auto Save Interval, Steam Group ID and World Name are all there. Everything else in both files is yours to edit.

The cleanest way to edit settings is the in-game Dedicated Server Configurator (see "Generating a Config Locally" below), but for quick changes you can edit SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg directly:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<MyConfigDedicated>
  <ServerName>My GSK Space Engineers Server</ServerName>
  <ServerDescription>Survival on Earth-like</ServerDescription>
  <Welcome>Welcome to the server!</Welcome>
  <Pause>false</Pause>
  <IgnoreLastSession>false</IgnoreLastSession>
  <ServerPort>27016</ServerPort>
  <SteamPort>8766</SteamPort>
  <ServerPasswordHash></ServerPasswordHash>
  <ServerPasswordSalt></ServerPasswordSalt>
  <RemoteApiEnabled>false</RemoteApiEnabled>
  <RemoteApiPort>8080</RemoteApiPort>
  <Administrators>
    <string>76561197960287930</string>
  </Administrators>
  <Banned />
  <Mods />
  <LoadWorld>/path/to/world</LoadWorld>
  <Scenario>Star System</Scenario>
  <PremadeCheckpointPath></PremadeCheckpointPath>
  <WorldName>My World</WorldName>
  <AsteroidAmount>0</AsteroidAmount>
  <SessionSettings>
    <GameMode>Survival</GameMode>
    <InventorySizeMultiplier>3</InventorySizeMultiplier>
    <AssemblerSpeedMultiplier>3</AssemblerSpeedMultiplier>
    <AssemblerEfficiencyMultiplier>3</AssemblerEfficiencyMultiplier>
    <RefinerySpeedMultiplier>3</RefinerySpeedMultiplier>
    <OnlineMode>PUBLIC</OnlineMode>
    <MaxPlayers>16</MaxPlayers>
    <MaxFloatingObjects>56</MaxFloatingObjects>
    <EnableCopyPaste>true</EnableCopyPaste>
    <AutoHealing>true</AutoHealing>
    <EnableSpiders>true</EnableSpiders>
    <EnableWolfs>true</EnableWolfs>
    <EnableEncounters>true</EnableEncounters>
    <CargoShipsEnabled>true</CargoShipsEnabled>
    <EnableDrones>true</EnableDrones>
    <EnableSunRotation>true</EnableSunRotation>
    <ThrusterDamage>true</ThrusterDamage>
    <DestructibleBlocks>true</DestructibleBlocks>
    <EnableIngameScripts>true</EnableIngameScripts>
    <EnableScripterRole>true</EnableScripterRole>
    <ViewDistance>20000</ViewDistance>
    <SyncDistance>3000</SyncDistance>
    <PermanentDeath>false</PermanentDeath>
    <AutoSaveInMinutes>5</AutoSaveInMinutes>
    <EnableJetpack>true</EnableJetpack>
    <SpawnWithTools>true</SpawnWithTools>
    <StartInRespawnScreen>false</StartInRespawnScreen>
  </SessionSettings>
</MyConfigDedicated>

ServerPort, SteamPort and RemoteApiPort have to carry your allocation

Your plan is allocated a game port, a Steam port and a Remote API port, and all three are listed on the panel's Network tab. The 27016, 8766 and 8080 above are Keen's defaults and will usually not match. This bites hardest on the configurator route described below: a config generated on your own PC brings your PC's ports with it, so re-check those three lines against the Network tab after uploading and before the first start.

Key Fields

Restart after editing.

Generating a Config Locally (Recommended)

Hand-editing XML is error-prone. The most foolproof method uses the in-game configurator:

1. Install Space Engineers Dedicated Server locally on your PC (free via Steam Tools; search "Space Engineers Dedicated Server").

2. Run it locally and configure everything in the GUI: scenario, multipliers, mods, admins.

3. Save.

4. Upload the resulting SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg to config/, and the world save folder to config/Saves/.

5. Put the world in the folder the server actually loads. The panel rewrites LoadWorld on every boot to config/Saves/World/Sandbox.sbc, and the folder name is fixed — so upload the world's contents into config/Saves/World/ rather than creating a new folder and repointing the path.

Let the configurator write the XML for you

This gives you a valid config without wrestling with XML by hand, and the GUI exposes every setting with descriptions.

World Management

Worlds live in config/Saves/. Each world folder contains:

• Sandbox.sbc (world settings)
• Sandbox_config.sbc (gameplay settings)
• Various .sbs files (the actual world state)
• Backup/ (automatic in-world backups)

Uploading an Existing World

To move a single-player world to the server:

1. Find your local saves at %appdata%\SpaceEngineers\Saves\<SteamID>\.

2. Upload the contents of that world folder via SFTP into config/Saves/World/ on the server, replacing what is there. Do not create a differently-named folder alongside it.

3. Restart.

Wiping a World

To start fresh, stop the server and either:

• Delete the contents of config/Saves/World/, or
• Change the World Name variable in the Startup tab, which renames the session rather than selecting a different save

Restart to generate a new world from your scenario and settings.

PCU and Block Limits

PCU (Performance Cost Unit) limits cap how much each player can build, which is the single most important lever for server stability:

<TotalPCU>200000</TotalPCU>
<PiratePCU>50000</PiratePCU>
<BlockLimitsEnabled>PER_PLAYER</BlockLimitsEnabled>

Set these in the config's session settings. See Getting started with your Space Engineers server for why subgrid-heavy builds are the main performance risk.

Common Issues

• Players cannot connect: Confirm OnlineMode is PUBLIC and the port matches the panel's Network tab.
• Config changes do not apply: You edited while the server was running, you edited the wrong copy, or you edited one of the lines the panel rewrites on boot. Stop the server, edit config/SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg, then start — and if the setting is in the panel-managed list above, change it in the Startup tab instead.
• World will not load: there is no Sandbox.sbc at config/Saves/World/. The panel pins LoadWorld to that exact path on every boot, so the fix is to put the world there rather than to edit the path.
• Multipliers feel wrong in-game: Some settings live in the world's Sandbox.sbc rather than the dedicated config and can override it. Regenerating the config locally with the world loaded avoids mismatches.

What to Read Next

• How to install Space Engineers Workshop mods for adding Workshop content (referenced in the <Mods> section)

• Torch Server for advanced administration

• Getting started with your Space Engineers server for performance tips and backups

• Space Engineers crossplay — the SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg settings that enable console players

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