Game Server Setting Not in the Control Panel? How to Change It

If a setting you need is not in your game server's control panel, you can almost always change it by editing the game's own config file in the file manager or over SFTP. Stop the server first, edit the right file, save, then start it again. The one catch: settings the panel does control get written into the config on every start, so for those, change them in the panel, not the file, or your edit will be overwritten.

Why panels do not show every setting

A control panel shows the settings most people change: name, password, max players, difficulty, common rates. Games have far more than that. ARK alone has hundreds of options across two .ini files, and Minecraft plugins each bring their own config. No panel lists them all, so the rest live in files.

Step 1: find the right file

The name of the Zomboid and some other files follows your server name, so servertest might be different on your server.

Step 2: stop the server

This matters more than people expect. Many games load their config on start and write it back on shutdown. If you edit while the server runs, the next stop overwrites your change with the old value.

Games known to do this include ARK, Conan Exiles and DayZ. We have guides for each:

• Change ARK: Survival Ascended settings without them resetting
• Change Conan Exiles settings without them resetting
• Change DayZ server settings without them resetting

Stopping first is the safe habit for every game.

Step 3: edit carefully

• Back up the file first. Copy it to a name like server.properties.bak. A broken config can stop the server starting.
• Keep the format. .ini files use Key=Value under [Section] headers. JSON needs commas and quotes in the right places. XML needs every tag closed.
• Put settings in the right section. In ARK's GameUserSettings.ini, most server settings go under [ServerSettings]. In Game.ini, they go under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. The wrong section is silently ignored.
• Match the spelling exactly. Most games ignore unknown keys without any error, so a typo just does nothing.
• Watch true and false. Some games want True, some true, some 1.

Example: raising Palworld's experience rate. In PalWorldSettings.ini, everything sits on one long OptionSettings=(...) line. Change only the value you need:

ExpRate=2.000000

Example: adding a Minecraft setting the panel does not have, such as spawn protection:

spawn-protection=0

Step 4: start the server and check

Start the server and read the console. Many games print their loaded settings, or an error if a file failed to parse. Then check in game that the change took effect.

If the server will not start, restore the .bak copy and try again with a smaller change.

When your edit keeps getting reset

If you stop the server, edit the file, start it, and the old value comes back, one of these is happening:

The panel controls that setting

Settings shown in the panel are usually passed to the game on every start, either as launch options or by writing them into the config. Those win over the file. Change them in the panel.

For example, on many hosts the server's max players and port are tied to the plan and address and get written on each start, so editing them in the file does nothing.

A launch option overrides the file

Many games accept settings on the command line, like ?MaxPlayers=20 for ARK or -port for most Unreal games. A launch option beats the file. Check your start up settings for a duplicate.

The game wrote it back

You edited while the server was running. Stop, edit, start.

You edited the wrong copy

Some games have a default config and a live one. Palworld ships DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini, but the server reads Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. Editing the default changes nothing.

Wrong platform folder

Unreal games keep configs in WindowsServer or LinuxServer folders. If your server runs the Windows build, it reads from WindowsServer even on a Linux machine. Edit the folder the server actually uses; the one with recent changes is usually right.

Settings that need a new world

Some options only apply when the world is created: seeds, map size, world type, and some starting rules. Changing them later does nothing to an existing world. For those, back up the old world and generate a new one.

On GamezServers

Every setting from the game's server template is in the control panel, and the Files tab lets you edit any config file in the browser with Ctrl+S to save. Changes to config files usually need a restart to take effect, and settings the panel manages are written on each start, so change those in the panel. Take a one click backup before big edits, and if a config change breaks the server, restore it from Settings, Backups. The control panel docs cover the Files tab, or pick a game.

FAQ

Why do my game server settings reset after a restart?

Either the panel writes that setting on every start, a launch option overrides the file, or you edited while the server was running and it saved the old value on shutdown.

Can I edit server config files on a hosted server?

Yes, on any host with a file manager or SFTP. Stop the server first and keep a backup copy of the file.

Where is server.properties on a hosted Minecraft server?

In the main server folder, next to the server jar and the world folder.

Do I need to restart after changing a config file?

Almost always. Most games only read their config files when they start.