If an Unturned server configuration keeps reverting, first verify the active ServerID folder, then save the server correctly and edit the file that actually owns the setting. Unturned uses U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>; the <ServerID> is the name written after +InternetServer/ or +LanServer/ in the launch command. A change made in another similarly named folder cannot affect the running instance.
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Unturned has no built-in autosave. Use Save for an intentional live save or Shutdown to save safely and close before editing. Current servers normally use Config.txt; older folders can contain a legacy Config.json that is converted into difficulty-specific text files at startup. The procedure below identifies the active files, prevents format and precedence mistakes, and shows how to prove which value the server is using.
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Administrators describe several different symptoms as a configuration failure:
- A value is changed in a text editor but the game still behaves as before.
- The value appears correct until the server restarts, then returns to its former state.
- The edited file changes on disk, but the server reads a different file at launch.
- A valid-looking JSON edit is ignored because the server has already migrated to text configuration.
- A setting is loaded but a map-level override replaces it.
These symptoms have different fixes. The reliable approach is to establish which process is running, which server folder it selected, which file owns the setting, and which value wins when several sources provide one.
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Find the server folder that is actually running
Start with the launch script, shortcut, service definition, or host-panel startup field. Locate the argument in this form:
+InternetServer/MyServeror:
+LanServer/MyServerThe text after the slash is the ServerID. The active directory is:
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U3DS/Servers/MyServerReplace MyServer with the exact spelling, capitalization, spaces, and punctuation used by the launch argument. A server started with +InternetServer/Survival does not read changes made under U3DS/Servers/Survival-Testing, even if both folders contain a file with the same name.
Confirm the folder before changing anything
- Stop or disconnect from the server so you can identify the correct instance without competing restarts.
- Copy the complete launch command into a note and write down the value after
+InternetServer/or+LanServer/. - Open
U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>and inspect the modification times and contents of the files there. - Make a harmless, documented change only after confirming that the timestamps update in this folder when the server starts or shuts down.
Managed hosts sometimes expose several server profiles. The profile name in a control panel is not proof of the on-disk ServerID; check the generated launch command or the provider’s file browser.
Choose the file that owns the setting
Unturned separates startup commands, gameplay rules, and Workshop downloads. Editing the wrong file can look exactly like a failed save.
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| Setting or purpose | File | When it takes effect |
|---|---|---|
| Map, server name, password, maximum players, owner, port, and other launch commands | Server/Commands.dat inside the active server directory |
At server startup; restart after editing |
| Current gameplay and difficulty values | The active server directory’s Config.txt |
On configuration load, normally during startup |
| Older gameplay configuration | Config.json in servers created before version 3.25.8.0 |
Converted at startup unless legacy mode is explicitly enabled |
| Converted per-difficulty gameplay files | Config_EasyDifficulty.txt, Config_NormalDifficulty.txt, or Config_HardDifficulty.txt |
The selected difficulty file is read after conversion |
| Workshop maps and item download IDs | WorkshopDownloadConfig.json |
When the server processes Workshop downloads, generally during startup |
For example, changing MaxPlayers in Config.txt will not change the player cap because that command belongs in Server/Commands.dat. Conversely, changing a gameplay value in Commands.dat will not make it a gameplay override.
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Entries such as Map, Name, Password, MaxPlayers, Owner, and Port are startup directives. Edit one line per command in Server/Commands.dat, save the file, and restart the server. A live Save command writes server state; it does not turn a newly edited startup command into a running-session change.
WorkshopDownloadConfig.json has a separate job
Use WorkshopDownloadConfig.json for Workshop item and map IDs. If a map or asset is missing, changing gameplay values in Config.txt cannot repair the download list. Validate the IDs and restart so the server can process them.
Understand the Config.json migration trap
Servers created before Unturned version 3.25.8.0 may contain a legacy Config.json. During startup, Unturned converts that file into difficulty-specific text files:
Config_EasyDifficulty.txt
Config_NormalDifficulty.txt
Config_HardDifficulty.txtNormal difficulty is normally active. Once conversion has occurred, later edits to the old JSON file may appear to do nothing because the server is reading the generated text file instead.
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Check whether conversion already happened
- Stop the server and list the files in
U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>. - If one or more
Config_<Difficulty>Difficulty.txtfiles exist, open the file matching the server’s active difficulty. - Make the gameplay edit in that text file, or in the current
Config.txtwhen that is the file your installation uses. - Restart and inspect the console for configuration-loading messages.
Do not assume that keeping a copy of Config.json makes it authoritative. It is legacy input unless the launch option -UseLegacyJsonGameplayConfig is deliberately supplied.
Three legacy JSON mistakes that block changes
- Wrong difficulty block: One JSON file stores easy, normal, and hard values together. Editing the easy section while the server runs normal difficulty has no visible effect.
- Level precedence: A map can provide a level-specific value that supersedes a default from the JSON configuration.
- Missing comma: JSON requires commas between properties. The official configuration documentation specifically warns that forgetting a comma breaks loading.
If you must retain the old format for compatibility, validate the JSON syntax, edit the block for the active difficulty, and launch with -UseLegacyJsonGameplayConfig. Otherwise, treat the generated difficulty text file as the authoritative configuration.
Save and restart in the correct order
Unturned’s official server guidance states that there is no built-in autosave. A running server must be saved intentionally, and a server being closed should be shut down through the game command rather than by killing the process.
- Back up the active folder. Copy
U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>before changing configuration. Keep the backup outside the live folder so a restart script cannot overwrite it. - Save live state. If players are online and you need to preserve the current world, issue
Savein the server console. This forces a proper server-state save. - Close safely. For configuration maintenance, issue
Shutdownand wait for the process to exit. This safely saves and closes the server. - Edit while stopped. Use a plain-text editor. Do not let a host panel, synchronization agent, or second editor overwrite the file while you work.
- Put each value in its owning file. Use
Server/Commands.datfor startup commands, the active gameplay configuration for rules, andWorkshopDownloadConfig.jsonfor Workshop IDs. - Save the editor file, then verify it. Close and reopen the file, check the exact value and its timestamp, and confirm that the file is inside the active
ServerIDfolder. - Restart once. Avoid repeatedly starting and stopping while diagnosing; one clean launch makes the console output easier to interpret.
- Check the console. Look for parsing errors, conversion messages, and the effective gameplay values before reconnecting.
If you change a startup command while the server is running, the old command remains in effect until the next launch. If you change a gameplay value live, use Save when the change is intended to persist, but stopping the server first is safer for file edits.
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An empty value means “use the default”
In the current text configuration, an empty setting does not necessarily mean zero, false, or unlimited. It tells the server to use its default. That default can then be replaced by a map’s level configuration. Enter an explicit value when you need to override the default.
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Level overrides can outrank your file
The documented precedence rule is that non-empty values in Config.txt take priority, while level overrides can affect values left at their defaults. To prevent map-level replacement entirely, add the launch flag:
-NoLevelConfigOverridesUse this flag only when you understand the gameplay impact. It disables level overrides across the server, which may remove balancing or map-specific behavior that the level author intended.
Difficulty selection may point elsewhere
When legacy files are present, confirm whether the server is running easy, normal, or hard difficulty before editing. A value in Config_EasyDifficulty.txt is irrelevant to a normal-difficulty server. The same principle applies after migration: inspect the file that the console identifies as active rather than relying on a filename remembered from an older installation.
Use logging to prove which value wins
Add this launch option while diagnosing gameplay settings:
-LogGameplayConfigOn startup, it prints gameplay overrides so you can see which values are effective. Compare that output with the file you edited:
- If your value is absent, the server likely read another folder or file, or the line was not parsed.
- If your value appears with a different result, check difficulty selection and level precedence.
- If the console reports malformed JSON, inspect every comma, quote, and brace in the legacy file.
- If the output is correct but the game behavior is unchanged, verify that the setting affects the current map and mode; not every option changes an already-running session immediately.
Remove diagnostic flags after the issue is resolved if you do not want extra startup output. Keep a copy of the diagnostic log with your backup when reporting a problem to a host.
Use ResetConfig only as a deliberate recovery
ResetConfig resets the configuration file. It is not a save command and should not be used as a routine fix. Use it only when you intentionally want to discard custom settings and return to defaults.
- Stop the server safely and make a backup of the entire active server directory.
- Record the current map, difficulty, password, player limit, Workshop IDs, and any custom gameplay values.
- Run
ResetConfigaccording to your server console’s command syntax. - Restart, confirm that a clean default configuration loads, and then reapply only the settings you need in their documented files.
If a reset appears to “fix” saving, compare the old and new files. The underlying cause may have been invalid syntax, a stale migration file, or an edit to the wrong ServerID, and blindly restoring the old file can reintroduce it.
When the game files are correct but values still revert
After confirming the folder, format, syntax, save lifecycle, and effective-value log, investigate the hosting environment. These are operational possibilities rather than universal Unturned rules:
- Provider synchronization: A control panel may restore a template at each restart. Check whether the panel has a configuration editor that writes over manual changes.
- Filesystem permissions: The account running the server may be able to read a file but not write it, or may be writing to a containerized copy that is discarded on restart.
- Restart scripts: A scheduled task can copy a backup over the live directory immediately after shutdown.
- Multiple instances: A service, test script, or second host process may launch another
ServerIDand make you connect to the wrong instance. - Non-persistent storage: Some temporary environments rebuild the server directory when the machine or container is recreated.
Check the host’s file timestamps immediately before and after a restart, review its startup and shutdown logs, and ask support which path is persistent. Do not treat a provider-specific overwrite as proof that Unturned ignored a valid configuration.
Practical symptom-to-fix playbooks
“I changed the name or player limit, but nothing happened”
- Open the launch command and confirm the active
ServerID. - Edit
Server/Commands.datin that folder. - Ensure there is one correctly spelled command per line, such as
Name My ServerorMaxPlayers 20. - Run
Shutdown, verify the file is saved, and restart.
“My gameplay value resets after every restart”
- Determine whether the server has current
Config.txtor converted difficulty files. - If it is a pre-3.25.8.0 server, stop editing
Config.jsonunless-UseLegacyJsonGameplayConfigis enabled. - Write a non-empty value in the active text configuration and check it with
-LogGameplayConfig. - If the value is shown but overridden, add
-NoLevelConfigOverridesonly if disabling map overrides is acceptable.
“The JSON file looks right, but the server will not load it”
- Make a backup before editing.
- Check commas between every property, matching quotation marks, braces, and the correct difficulty section.
- Confirm whether startup conversion has already produced
Config_EasyDifficulty.txt,Config_NormalDifficulty.txt, orConfig_HardDifficulty.txt. - Read the startup console for parsing or conversion errors and correct the file it names.
“The Workshop map is unavailable”
Verify the map or item ID in WorkshopDownloadConfig.json, not in the gameplay configuration. Restart after saving the download configuration and review the console for download failures.
Prevent future configuration loss
- Keep a dated backup of
U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>before major edits or game updates. - Record the exact launch command, including
+InternetServer/<ServerID>or+LanServer/<ServerID>, in the backup notes. - Use a plain-text editor and preserve file extensions; do not let an editor silently save JSON as rich text or append an extra extension.
- Change one setting at a time, restart once, and record the resulting console output.
- Keep startup commands, gameplay values, and Workshop IDs in their separate files.
- Prefer the current text configuration after migration unless you have a specific reason to retain legacy JSON.
- Use
Saveduring planned live maintenance andShutdownbefore routine file edits. - Document any use of
-UseLegacyJsonGameplayConfig,-LogGameplayConfig, or-NoLevelConfigOverridesin the launch script.
Bottom line
Most “Unturned config not saving” cases are file-selection or lifecycle errors, not a broken setting. Match the launch-time ServerID to U3DS/Servers/<ServerID>, stop the server before editing, place each option in its documented file, account for legacy JSON conversion and level precedence, then use -LogGameplayConfig to verify the value Unturned actually loaded. If those checks pass, investigate the host’s persistence and restart automation rather than repeatedly rewriting the same configuration.
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