Unturned Server Config and Difficulty Settings

Unturned splits server settings across two files that do completely different jobs. Commands.dat controls how the server runs — its name, slots, map and admins. Config.txt controls how the game plays — spawn rates, damage multipliers, decay, and the server's listing in the browser. This guide covers the second one.

Config.txt, not Config.json

If you have read an older guide, it probably told you to edit Config.json. That format is legacy.

Since build 3.25.8.0, servers use Config.txt. Servers created before that still have a Config.json, which the game now converts at startup into a per-difficulty file named after the difficulty in use — for example Config_NormalDifficulty.txt on a default server.

If you see both files, the .txt is the one being read

The conversion only copies options you actually changed from default, because an empty value in Config.txt means "use the default". Editing Config.json after the conversion has happened changes nothing. Edit the .txt file.

You can force the old behaviour with the -UseLegacyJsonGameplayConfig launch flag, but there is no good reason to on a new server.

The file documents itself

This is the part worth internalising, because it makes every stale options table on the internet redundant: Config.txt generates a comment above every option explaining what it does, its valid range, and its default. Open it in the File Manager on your Unturned game server and read it.

That matters because the option list changes between builds. A table copied from a guide written two years ago will list options that no longer exist and miss ones that do. The file in front of you is always correct for the build you are running.

Two launch flags help when the file gets long:

• -GameplayConfigNoGeneratedComments strips the explanatory comments once you know your way around.
• -GameplayConfigNoEmptyValues removes every option you have not overridden, leaving only your changes.

And one helps when you are debugging:

• -LogGameplayConfig prints every overridden value to the console at startup, so you can see exactly what took effect.

What lives in Config.txt

Settings are grouped into sections. The ones you will actually reach for:

Making your server look right in the browser

The Browser section is the one most people never find, and it controls the things players judge a server on before joining:

• Desc_Full and Desc_Server_List — your server's description
• Icon and Thumbnail — image URLs shown in the browser
• Links — your Discord or website
• Login_Token — the Game Server Login Token, also settable as GSLT in Commands.dat

Icons and thumbnails are URLs, not uploads

Point them at an image you host somewhere publicly reachable. A broken or private URL just shows nothing, with no error in the console.

Anti-cheat

VAC_Secure and BattlEye_Secure live in the Server section and are both on by default. Turning either off is occasionally suggested as a fix for players who cannot connect — it is almost never the right answer, and it opens your server to exactly the cheating you would then be asked to moderate. See the connection troubleshooting in Managing your Unturned server before changing these.

Difficulty

Unturned ships three difficulty presets, and each has its own config file. Mode in Commands.dat selects which one the server loads:

Mode Normal

Normal is the default. Because each difficulty is a separate file, changing Mode swaps the entire gameplay config at once — a setting you tuned in the Normal file has no effect on a server running Hard.

Levels can override your config

Maps can ship their own gameplay overrides. In the current format, any value you set explicitly wins over the level's override, and values you leave empty can be overridden. To lock everything down regardless of the map, add the -NoLevelConfigOverrides launch flag.

Applying changes

1. Stop the server. Most settings are read at startup only.
2. Edit the file in the File Manager, or over SFTP — see How to Upload Files via SFTP.
3. Start the server and check the console.

Take a backup before a bulk config edit

ResetConfig restores defaults and will discard every change you have made in one command. Snapshot first; see How to Create a Backup.

Which file do I want?

FAQ

Where is Config.txt?

Servers/<YourServerID>/Config.txt, at the root of your server folder — one level above the Server/ folder that holds Commands.dat.

Why did my Config.json edits do nothing?

Because the server converted it to Config.txt at startup and is reading that instead. Edit the .txt file, or the per-difficulty file such as Config_NormalDifficulty.txt.

How do I increase item spawn rates?

In the Items section of Config.txt. The generated comment above each option gives its range and default, which is more reliable than any figure quoted in a guide.

How do I set my server's description?

Desc_Full and Desc_Server_List in the Browser section of Config.txt.

Do config changes need a restart?

Yes. Config.txt is read at startup.

What difficulty does my server use by default?

Normal, so it reads the Normal difficulty config. Change it with Mode in Commands.dat.

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