7 Days to Die Dedicated Server (2024)

7 Days to Die Dedicated Server (1)

This page documents information about a third-party game or which is distributed on Steam but is not related to Valve's games, engines, or 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server (2)intellectual property. Nonetheless, it has existed on this wiki for a long time, and is being kept in the meantime due to having a significant amount of information.

A 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server is used for playing with multiple people in the same world. Servers can be hosted by yourself, as well as by a company.Servers used to only allow up to 4 people, but that was changed as of Alpha 1.1 Official site Currently only 8-player Co-op is supported.

Contents

  • 1 Dedicated server
    • 1.1 Windows Requirement
    • 1.2 Installation
  • 2 Serverconfig.xml
    • 2.1 GENERAL SERVER SETTINGS
    • 2.2 Server Representation
    • 2.3 Networking
    • 2.4 Slots
    • 2.5 Admin interfaces
    • 2.6 Folder and file locations
    • 2.7 Other technical settings
    • 2.8 GAMEPLAY
    • 2.9 World
    • 2.10 Difficulty
    • 2.11 Unnamed
    • 2.12 Performance related
    • 2.13 Zombie settings
    • 2.14 Loot
    • 2.15 Multiplayer
    • 2.16 Land claim options
    • 2.17
    • 2.18 Starting the Server
    • 2.19 Firewall Ports
      • 2.19.1 TCP
      • 2.19.2 UDP
    • 2.20 Port Forwarding
  • 3 Finding your own External IP
  • 4 Looking for servers
  • 5 Renting a server
  • 6 References

Dedicated server

Windows Requirement

Version A20 and newer requires Microsoft Visual C Redistributables 2022 to run.

Installation

  • Install SteamCMD

You need to install the lastest

  • Start SteamCMD
    • Select install folder: force_install_dir C:\Servers\7_Days_to_Die_server\ (You do not have to use this exact folder)
    • Login with a Steam account (Subject to the availability of the game on the accounts). login [username] [password] (You can also use login anonymous)
    • Run: app_update 294420 to download the latest 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server Alpha stable build.
    • Run: app_update 294420 -beta latest_experimental instead if you want the latest experimental build.

Serverconfig.xml

This is a table of the up-to-date Alpha 21.2 (B30) serverconfig.xml file that comes with 7 Days to Die.

Only change the data in the "value=" part of the file, otherwise it will not work.

GENERAL SERVER SETTINGS

Server Representation

OptionValuesDescription
ServerNameMy Game HostWhatever you want the name of the server to be.
ServerDescriptionA 7 Days to Die serverWhatever you want the server description to be, will be shown in the server browser.
ServerWebsiteURLWebsite URL for the server, will be shown in the serverbrowser as a clickable link
ServerPasswordPassword to gain entry to the server
ServerLoginConfirmationTextIf set, the user will see the message during joining the server and has to confirm it before continuing. For more complex changes to this window you can change the "serverjoinrulesdialog" window in XUi
RegionNorthAmericaEastThe region this server is in. Values: NorthAmericaEast, NorthAmericaWest, CentralAmerica, SouthAmerica, Europe, Russia, Asia, MiddleEast, Africa, Oceania
LanguageEnglishPrimary language for players on this server. Values: Use any language name that you would users expect to search for. Should be the English name of the language, e.g. not "Deutsch" but "German"

Networking

OptionValuesDescription
ServerPort26900Port you want the server to listen on. Keep it in the ranges 26900 to 26905 or 27015 to 27020 if you want PCs on the same LAN to find it as a LAN server.
ServerVisibility2Visibility of this server: 2 = public, 1 = only shown to friends, 0 = not listed. As you are never friend of a dedicated server setting this to "1" will only work when the first player connects manually by IP.
ServerDisabledNetworkProtocolsSteamNetworkingNetworking protocols that should NOT be used. Separated by comma. Possible values: LiteNetLib, SteamNetworking. Dedicated servers should disable SteamNetworking if there is no NAT router in between your users and the server or when port-forwarding is set up correctly. LiteNetLib should only be disabled for temporary troubleshooting as doing so will greatly degrade network optimization in the server client.
ServerMaxWorldTransferSpeedKiBs512Maximum (!) speed in kiB/s the world is transferred at to a client on first connect if it does not have the world yet. Maximum is about 1300 kiB/s, even if you set a higher value. 1300kiB/s is roughly equivalent to 10Mbps.

Slots

OptionValuesDescription
ServerMaxPlayerCount8Maximum Concurrent Players (Only 8-players are supported. Past 20 will cause issues with data being saved properly.)
ServerReservedSlots0Out of the MaxPlayerCount this many slots can only be used by players with a specific permission level
ServerReservedSlotsPermission100Required permission level to use reserved slots above
ServerAdminSlots0This many admins can still join even if the server has reached MaxPlayerCount
ServerAdminSlotsPermission0Required permission level to use the admin slots above

Admin interfaces

OptionValuesDescription
WebDashboardEnabledfalseEnable/disable the web dashboard
WebDashboardPort8080Port of the web dashboard
WebDashboardUrlExternal URL to the web dashboard if not just using the public IP of the server, e.g. if the web dashboard is behind a reverse proxy. Needs to be the full URL, like "https://domainOfReverseProxy.tld:1234/". Can be left empty if directly using the public IP and dashboard port
EnableMapRenderingfalseEnable/disable rendering of the map to tile images while exploring it. This is used e.g. by the web dashboard to display a view of the map.
TelnetEnabledtrueEnable/Disable the telnet
TelnetPort8081Port of the telnet server
TelnetPasswordPassword to gain entry to telnet interface. If no password is set the server will only listen on the local loopback interface
TelnetFailedLoginLimit10After this many wrong passwords from a single remote client the client will be blocked from connecting to the Telnet interface
TelnetFailedLoginsBlocktime10How long will the block persist (in seconds)
TerminalWindowEnabledtrueShow a terminal window for log output / command input (Windows only)

Folder and file locations

OptionValuesDescription
AdminFileNameserveradmin.xmlServer admin file name. Path relative to the SaveGameFolder
UserDataFolderabsolute pathUse this to override where the server stores all generated data, including RWG generated worlds. Do not forget to uncomment the entry if you use it! Save will be created in a "Saves" folder in that location, and there will also be separate folders for "GeneratedWorlds" and "Twitch"

Other technical settings

OptionValuesDescription
EACEnabledtrueEnables/Disables EasyAntiCheat
IgnoreEOSSanctionsfalseIgnore EOS sanctions when allowing players to join. (not 100% sure how this system functions currently. More details to come)
HideCommandExecutionLog0Hide logging of command execution. 0 = show everything, 1 = hide only from Telnet/ControlPanel, 2 = also hide from remote game clients, 3 = hide everything
MaxUncoveredMapChunksPerPlayer131072Override how many chunks can be uncovered on the ingame map by each player. Resulting max map file size limit per player is (x * 512 Bytes), uncovered area is (x * 256 m²). Default 131072 means max 32 km² can be uncovered at any time
PersistentPlayerProfilesfalseIf disabled a player can join with any selected profile. If true they will join with the last profile they joined with
MaxChunkAge-1The number of in-game days which must pass since visiting a chunk before it will reset to its original state if not revisited or protected (e.g. by a land claim or bedroll being in close proximity).
SaveDataLimit-1The maximum disk space allowance for each saved game in megabytes (MB). Saved chunks may be forcibly reset to their original states to free up space when this limit is reached. Negative values disable the limit.

GAMEPLAY

World

OptionValuesDescription
GameWorldNavezgane"RWG" (see WorldGenSeed and WorldGenSize options below) or any already existing world name in the Worlds folder (currently shipping with e.g. "Navezgane", "Pregen04k1", ...)
WorldGenSeedasdfIf RWG this is the seed for the generation of the new world. If a world with the resulting name already exists it will simply load it
WorldGenSize4096If RWG this controls the width and height of the created world. It is also used in combination with WorldGenSeed to create the internal RWG seed thus also creating a unique map name even if using the same WorldGenSeed. Has to be between 2048 and 16384, though large map sizes will take long to generate / download / load
GameNameMy GameWhatever you want the game name to be. This affects the save game name as well as the seed used when placing decoration (trees etc) in the world. It does not control the generic layout of the world if creating an RWG world
GameModeGameModeSurvivalGameModeSurvival

Difficulty

OptionValuesDescription
GameDifficulty10 - 5, 0=easiest, 5=hardest (0-Scavenger, 1-Adventurer, 2-Nomad, 3-Warrior, 4-Survivalist, 5-Insane)
BlockDamagePlayer100How much damage do players to blocks (percentage in whole numbers)
BlockDamageAI100How much damage do AIs to blocks (percentage in whole numbers)
BlockDamageAIBM100How much damage do AIs during blood moons to blocks (percentage in whole numbers)
XPMultiplier100XP gain multiplier (percentage in whole numbers)
PlayerSafeZoneLevel5If a player is less than or equal to this level he will create a safe zone (no enemies) when spawned
PlayerSafeZoneHours5Hours in world time this safe zone exists

Unnamed

OptionValuesDescription
BuildCreatefalsecheat mode on/off
DayNightLength60real time minutes per in game day: 60 minutes
DayLightLength18in game hours the sun shines per day: 18 hours day light per in game day
DeathPenalty1Penalty after dying. 0 = Nothing. 1 = Default: Classic XP Penalty. 2 = Injured: You keep most of your debuffs. Food and Water is set to 50% on respawn. 3 = Permanent Death: Your character is completely reset. You will respawn with a fresh start within the saved game.
DropOnDeath10 = nothing, 1 = everything, 2 = toolbelt only, 3 = backpack only, 4 = delete all
DropOnQuit00 = nothing, 1 = everything, 2 = toolbelt only, 3 = backpack only
BedrollDeadZoneSize15Size (box "radius", so a box with 2 times the given value for each side's length) of bedroll deadzone, no zombies will spawn inside this area, and any cleared sleeper volumes that touch a bedroll deadzone will not spawn after they've been cleared.
BedrollExpiryTime45Number of days a bedroll stays active after owner was last online

Performance related

OptionValuesDescription
MaxSpawnedZombies64This setting covers the entire map. There can only be this many zombies on the entire map at one time. Changing this setting has a huge impact on performance. (It is not recommended to exceed 90 on recommended hardware, or 128 on high-end hardware.)
MaxSpawnedAnimals50If your server has a large number of players you can increase this limit to add more wildlife. Animals don't consume as much CPU as zombies. NOTE: That this doesn't cause more animals to spawn arbitrarily: The biome spawning system only spawns a certain number of animals in a given area, but if you have lots of players that are all spread out then you may be hitting the limit and can increase it. Do not set this higher than 90.
ServerMaxAllowedViewDistance12Max viewdistance a client may request (6 - 12). High impact on memory usage and performance.
MaxQueuedMeshLayers1000Maximum amount of Chunk mesh layers that can be enqueued during mesh generation. Reducing this will improve memory usage but may increase Chunk generation time

Zombie settings

OptionValuesDescription
EnemySpawnModetrueEnable/Disable enemy spawning
EnemyDifficulty00 = Normal, 1 = Feral
ZombieMove00-4 (walk, jog, run, sprint, nightmare)
ZombieMoveNight30-4 (walk, jog, run, sprint, nightmare)
ZombieFeralMove30-4 (walk, jog, run, sprint, nightmare)
ZombieBMMove30-4 (walk, jog, run, sprint, nightmare)
BloodMoonFrequency7What frequency (in days) should a blood moon take place. Set to "0" for no blood moons
BloodMoonRange0How many days can the actual blood moon day randomly deviate from the above setting. Setting this to 0 makes blood moons happen exactly each Nth day as specified in BloodMoonFrequency
BloodMoonWarning8The Hour number that the red day number begins on a blood moon day. Setting this to -1 makes the red never show.
BloodMoonEnemyCount8This is the number of zombies that can be alive (spawned at the same time) at any time PER PLAYER during a blood moon horde, however, MaxSpawnedZombies overrides this number in multiplayer games. Also note that your game stage sets the max number of zombies PER PARTY. Low game stage values can result in lower number of zombies than the BloodMoonEnemyCount setting. Changing this setting has a huge impact on performance.

Loot

OptionValuesDescription
LootAbundance100percentage in whole numbers Note that this only affects stack sizes, not% to get loot.
LootRespawnDays7days in whole numbers
AirDropFrequency72How often airdrop occur in game-hours, 0=never
AirDropMarkertrueSets if a marker is added to map/compass for air drops

Multiplayer

OptionValuesDescription
PartySharedKillRange100The distance you must be within to receive party shared kill xp and quest party kill objective credit.
PartyKillingMode3Player Killing Settings (0 = No Killing, 1 = Kill Allies Only, 2 = Kill Strangers Only, 3 = Kill Everyone)

Land claim options

OptionValuesDescription
LandClaimCount3Maximum allowed land claims per player
LandClaimSize41Size in blocks that is protected by a land claim block
LandClaimDeadZone30Land claim blocks must be this many blocks apart (unless you are friends with the other player)
LandClaimExpiryTime7The number of days a player can be offline before their claims expire and are no longer protected
LandClaimDecayMode0Controls how offline players land claims decay. 0=Slow (Linear) , 1=Fast (Exponential), 2=None (Full protection until claim is expired).
LandClaimOnlineDurabilityModifier4How much protected claim area block hardness is increased when a player is online. 0 means infinite (no damage will ever be taken). Default is 4x
LandClaimOfflineDurabilityModifier4How much protected claim area block hardness is increased when a player is offline. 0 means infinite (no damage will ever be taken). Default is 4x
LandClaimOfflineDelay0The number of minutes after a player logs out that the land claim area hardness transitions from online to offline. Default is 0

OptionValuesDescription
DynamicMeshEnabledtrueIs Dynamic Mesh system enabled
DynamicMeshLandClaimOnlytrueIs Dynamic Mesh system only active in player LCB areas
DynamicMeshLandClaimBuffer3Dynamic Mesh LCB chunk radius
DynamicMeshMaxItemCache3How many items can be processed concurrently, higher values use more RAM
TwitchServerPermission90Required permission level to use twitch integration on the server
TwitchBloodMoonAllowedfalseIf the server allows twitch actions during a blood moon. This could cause server lag with extra zombies being spawned during blood moon.
QuestProgressionDailyLimit4Limits the number of quests that contribute to quest tier progression a player can complete each day. Quests after the limit can still be completed for rewards.

There are several game settings that you cannot change when starting a new game.You can use console commands to change at least some of them ingame.setgamepref BedrollDeadZoneSize 30

Starting the Server

To host a server just edit the startdedicated.bat file and the serverconfig.xml using TextPad or notepad++. You shouldn't need to edit the startdedicated.bat. In the batch file you will see the following text:

startdedicated.bat

@echo offrem Starts a dedicated serverremrem -quit, -batchmode, -nographics: Unity commandsrem -configfile : Allows server settings to be set up in an xml config file. Use no path if in same dir or full path.rem -dedicated : Has to be the last option to start the dedicated server.set LOGTIMESTAMP=:: --------------------------------------------:: REMOVE OLD LOGS (only keep latest 20)for /f "tokens=* skip=19"%%F in ('dir 7DaysToDieServer_Data\output_log*.txt /o-d /tc /b') do del 7DaysToDieServer_Data\%%F:: --------------------------------------------:: BUILDING TIMESTAMP FOR LOGFILE:: Check WMIC is availableWMIC.EXE Alias /? >NUL 2>&1 || GOTO s_start:: Use WMIC to retrieve date and timeFOR /F "skip=1 tokens=1-6"%%G IN ('WMIC Path Win32_LocalTime Get Day^,Hour^,Minute^,Month^,Second^,Year /Format:table') DO (IF "%%~L"=="" goto s_doneSet _yyyy=%%LSet _mm=00%%JSet _dd=00%%GSet _hour=00%%HSet _minute=00%%ISet _second=00%%K):s_done:: Pad digits with leading zerosSet _mm=%_mm:~-2%Set _dd=%_dd:~-2%Set _hour=%_hour:~-2%Set _minute=%_minute:~-2%Set _second=%_second:~-2%Set LOGTIMESTAMP=__%_yyyy%-%_mm%-%_dd%__%_hour%-%_minute%-%_second%:s_start:: --------------------------------------------:: STARTING SERVERecho|set /p="251570" > steam_appid.txtstart 7daystodieserver -logfile 7DaysToDieServer_Data\output_log%LOGTIMESTAMP%.txt -quit -batchmode -nographics -configfile=serverconfig.xml -dedicatedecho Starting server ...timeout 15clsecho.echo Server running in background, you can close this window.echo You can check the task manager if the server process is really running.echo.echo.pause

Firewall Ports

You will need to open the following ports on your PC's firewall in order for people to be able to see and connect to your server.

TCP

  • 26900 (This is the port designated in the serverconfig)
  • 8080-8081 (ONLY if you plan to administer your server remotely AND do not change the ports in the serverconfig.)

UDP

  • 26900-26903

Port Forwarding

If you are behind a router, you will need to tell your router that an incoming connection is meant for your server. This is called forwarding a port. You will need to port forward ports 26900 TCP and 26900-26903 UDP so that others may join.

If router support UPnP - you can use this https://github.com/kaklakariada/portmapper

Don't know how to port forward? follow these instructions:

  1. Go to this Site
  2. Select your router brand
  3. Select your router version (if your version is not there, pick the one closest to your version.)
  4. Select 7 Days to Die
  5. Follow the instructions on the site

If you have completed these steps correctly, your friends should now be able to join. Do note that some devices may require a restart for the forwarding changes to take effect.

Finding your own External IP

To find the IP which your friends need to use go to this Site. There you will find your External IP. Send it to your friends and they should be able to join if you have already finished Port Forwarding (steps above) your router.

Looking for servers

If you are looking for a server to play on, you can find one on the current top servers list for 7 Days To Die here 7daystodie-servers.com or use the server browser on your game client.

For computers on the same local network as the server you can connect to it by using its internal IP, simply enter this and the chosen port number into the two boxes at the bottom of the games server browser screen.
If you are hosting the server on the same computer you intend to play from you can use 127.0.0.1 (localhost) as the connection IP.
In all other cases you'll need to determine the servers IP address or domain name (if used) in order to make a connection. Windows users should open start, click run or search, type cmd. In the window that opens type ipconfig. You'll see a list of information. You're looking for IP address.

Example:Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

 Connection-specific DNS Suffix .: home IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . .: 192.168.1.100 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . .: 192.168.1.1

Where mine says 192.168.1.100 that's the IP your server has.

Renting a server

There are several companies/websites that allow you to rent a server from them. This rented server will reside in a datacenter and hosted by them.

These servers are mostly 24/7 servers. This is useful because you won't need to keep your computer running 24/7. You can rent servers to many different specifications, some may not be powerful enough to host a server. Generally, network connections at a datacenter far exceed what is available to residential ISPs, which will cut down on latency that you might experience hosting at home.

Dedicated Server Providers

You can use a Server Manager to setup and manage the server. Please look through this forum post for alternative server management tools

References

7 Days to Die Dedicated Server (2024)

FAQs

How to set up a dedicated server on 7 Days to Die? ›

7 Days to Die: Create a dedicated server - Step-by-step tutorial
  1. Step 1: Establish remote connection to the server. ...
  2. Step 2: Install SteamCMD. ...
  3. Step 3: Install the “7 Days to Die” dedicated server. ...
  4. Step 4: Enable server ports. ...
  5. Step 5: Configure and start server. ...
  6. Step 6: Connect to the “7 Days to Die” server.
Jun 20, 2022

What is the difference between 7 Days to Die and dedicated server? ›

A 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server is used for playing with multiple people in the same world. Servers can be hosted by yourself, as well as by a company. Servers used to only allow up to 4 people, but that was changed as of Alpha 1.1 Official site Currently only 8-player Co-op is supported.

How much RAM do I need for 7 Days to Die dedicated server? ›

Processor (CPU): AMD or Intel (2 cores) from 2.4 gigahertz for 1-4 players; 3 gigahertz for 5-16 players. RAM: 3-4 gigabytes for 2-4 players; 8 gigabytes for 5-16 players. Hard disk space: 12 gigabytes; additional space for saving games and installed mods.

Are there dedicated servers for 7 Days to Die? ›

Currently we host 7DTD dedicated servers in North America (Canada/Montreal, US/Portland), Europe (Germany/Frankfurt and France/Paris) and Australia (Sydney).

Does 7 Days to Die run better on dedicated servers? ›

For an optimal 7 Days To Die experience, consider using a dedicated server. This upgrade offers you superior performance, more control, and extensive customization. Want to enhance your multiplayer session? Simply play on a dedicated server.

How do I setup a dedicated server? ›

How to Build a Dedicated Web Server
  1. Obtain a Dedicated Machine.
  2. Set up the Operating System.
  3. Configure the OS for Web Hosting.
  4. Set Up Your Self-Hosted Domain (optional)
  5. Install Monitoring Tools (optional)

How much does it cost to run a 7 Days to Die server? ›

How much does a 7 days to die server cost? Our 7 days to die hosting services start at $14.95/month. You can add additional server resources to add even more power to your dedicated server. Will I be able to add Mods?

What is the max server size in 7 Days to Die? ›

Maximum Concurrent Players (8 is the maximum supported player count. Anything over 30 will cause corrupted save data.)

Does 7 Days to Die dedicated server pause when empty? ›

Answer. The time/date in the world is PAUSED when no one is on the server. So if you are the last person on and its day 15 it will be day 15 when you rejoin. It pauses if no one is online.

Is 7 Days to Die shutting down? ›

Just in case anyone is enjoying this abandoned wreckage, the online servers are planned to be shutdown on September 30th. This might lock out some achievements as well, so hunters start now as it isn't a short game.

What ports need to be open for 7 Days to Die dedicated server? ›

What Ports Need to Be Opened for 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server? By default, the 7 Days to Die dedicated server uses port 26900 TCP/UDP. However, you can use any value between 26900 and 26905. For a local network, it uses port 27015 to 27020 TCP/UDP.

How do you host multiplayer on 7 Days to Die? ›

Players have the option turn their world from a Solo Player map to a Multiplayer map by changing their Server visibility from Not Listed to either Friends Only or to Public. Either setting will create a Peer to Peer connection to players that join your game.

How to play 7 Days to Die with friends? ›

Players have the option turn their world from a Solo Player map to a Multiplayer map by changing their Server visibility from Not Listed to either Friends Only or to Public. Either setting will create a Peer to Peer connection to players that join your game.

What is the dedicated server ID for 7 Days to Die? ›

Steam uses app ids to distinguish which game to download. You can view the whole list on the Steam Dedicated Servers List. The id for 7D2D is 294420 which we'll use to install the game.

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