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Determine which failure you are seeing
“Not saving” can describe two separate symptoms:
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| What you observe | What it usually means you must check |
|---|---|
| The value is gone or changed again when you reopen the file. | You may be editing the wrong data folder, the process may be unable to write there, or a container, host panel, or startup script may be replacing the file. The official documentation does not identify one universal cause for reversion. |
| The new value remains in the file, but the server behaves as before. | The running process has not been relaunched, the key is not a server setting, or the key/default differs in your installed game version. |
Check the first row before changing permissions or rewriting configuration. A perfectly edited file has no effect if the server starts with another data path.
Find the active server data folder
The path in the documentation is a default, not proof that your installation uses it. The server reads serverconfig.json from its data folder. A custom --dataPath option, a container bind mount, a service definition, or a hosting control panel can point the running instance somewhere else.
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Default Windows location
For a normal Windows installation, the official multiplayer setup guide gives this default path:
%appdata%/VintageStoryData/serverconfig.jsonOpen the file in the Windows user profile that actually launches the server. If the server runs under a service account or another Windows user, that account’s application-data directory may be different.
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Default Linux location
For a Linux server launched from its server directory, the documented default is:
./data/serverconfig.jsonThe ./ is relative to the server’s working directory. Starting the executable from a different directory can therefore make a relative path point somewhere other than the copy you opened.
Custom data paths
Look at the command, service file, container definition, or panel startup setting that launches the server. If it contains --dataPath, use the folder supplied by that argument and find serverconfig.json beneath it. Do not assume the Windows or Linux default still applies.
- For a shell or batch launch, inspect the complete command line, including arguments after the executable.
- For a service, inspect its configured working directory and arguments rather than the terminal you normally use.
- For a container, verify the host-to-container volume mapping. The file visible on the host may not be the file the process is reading.
- For managed hosting, use the panel’s file manager and startup settings, then consult the host’s documentation if it regenerates configuration.
The correct file is the one inside the data folder belonging to the process that is currently running, not necessarily the one found by searching your computer for the same filename.
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The official setup instructions say to stop the server before directly editing serverconfig.json. Follow this sequence so the process does not overwrite your change while it is shutting down.
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- Identify the launch method. Record the executable, working directory, arguments, and any
--dataPathvalue. This lets you restart the same instance later. - Stop the running server cleanly. From the server console, use
/stopwhen available, or use the documented stop action in your service or hosting panel. Wait for the process to exit before opening the file for editing. - Back up the active file. Make a copy of the
serverconfig.jsonin that data folder. Keep the original until the new setting has been verified. - Edit the intended key. Change only the value you need. Preserve the existing key names, quotation marks, braces, and commas. Save the file as plain JSON rather than as a rich-text document.
- Confirm that the saved copy is the active copy. Close and reopen the file from the same path. If your edit is missing immediately, you likely saved elsewhere or the editor could not write to the folder.
- Start the same instance again. Relaunch the executable or service with the same working directory and arguments you recorded in step one.
- Allow configuration to load. The Vintage Story Wiki’s dedicated-server guide states: “Serverconfig changes do not take effect until the server is relaunched.” A restart is therefore required even when the file visibly contains the new value.
- Test the setting in the game. Check the behavior that the key controls, and inspect the server log during startup for errors or a different data path if the old behavior remains.
The dedicated-server guide also mentions saving configuration with /autosavenow before stopping. Use that command when it is supported by your server version and workflow, then run /stop and relaunch the server. Do not treat /autosavenow as a substitute for restarting: it saves, while the new configuration is not applied until startup.
If the file does not retain your edit
Verify the path before investigating permissions
Reopen the file after saving and stopping the server. If it has reverted, compare its full path with the launch configuration. Multiple Vintage Story installations, test servers, and copied data directories can leave several files named serverconfig.json. Editing one while another instance is running produces exactly the appearance of a failed save.
Check whether the process can write to the folder
Write access is a diagnostic possibility, not a confirmed universal cause. Check the ownership and permissions of the active data folder using the narrowest change appropriate to your operating system. Avoid granting broad, permanent write access to an entire disk or user profile. A useful test is to create a temporary text file in that same folder with the account that launches the server, then remove it; do not alter unrelated permissions just to make the configuration work.
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Look for a container or host-panel overwrite
In a containerized deployment, inspect the volume mapping and edit the file in the location mounted into the server. A host copy that is not mounted is irrelevant to the running process. In managed hosting, a control panel or startup script may generate serverconfig.json from its own settings. Compare the file immediately after saving, after stopping, and after the next startup. If it changes only during startup, the panel or script is a stronger suspect than the text editor.
Preserve evidence before changing more
Keep a backup of both the edited file and the reverted file, and note the exact launch command. This gives the host or system administrator something concrete to compare. The official guidance does not establish a single fix for every local, containerized, and hosted deployment, so the launch configuration and logs are more useful than repeatedly editing the same path.
If the file keeps the value but the server ignores it
Restart the process that is actually serving players
Saving JSON does not hot-reload server configuration. Make sure you stopped and relaunched the same process whose console and network port players use. Restarting a test copy while the production instance remains online will not change the live server. If a service manager automatically starts a second copy, check the process list and service status before testing.
Confirm that the key belongs in server configuration
Not every game option is governed by serverconfig.json. Some values are world-level, and some matter only when a world is created. If the key is documented as a world setting, changing the server file may be valid JSON but still irrelevant to that world. Use the version-appropriate world configuration command or documentation for that setting instead of assuming every option is global.
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Check the installed version
The Vintage Story Server Config reference notes that its defaults were last verified for version 1.20.0. Key names, defaults, and available options can be version-sensitive. Compare your installed server version with the documentation for the key you are changing. A setting removed, renamed, or moved to world configuration will not become effective merely because its old spelling parses as JSON.
Check whether the setting is conditional
Some options affect only a particular world state, startup phase, or feature. The documentation does not identify which key you changed, so do not infer that an unchanged in-game result proves the file was ignored. Verify the key’s scope, valid values, and any creation-time limitation in documentation for your exact version.
Validate JSON and read the startup log
If the server fails to load the file or silently starts with defaults, inspect the log produced by that same instance. Community troubleshooting guidance recommends checking whether the file parses as JSON. Standard JSON does not allow comments or trailing commas.
- Remove inline comments such as
// explanationand block comments such as/* explanation */. - Remove a comma immediately before a closing
}or]. - Keep property names in double quotes and use valid JSON values: strings in double quotes, numbers without quotes when the schema expects numbers, and
true,false, ornullin lowercase where supported. - Do not paste syntax from a format that permits comments or single-quoted strings.
A parser error in the log is more reliable than guessing which line is wrong. Restore the backup if the server will not start, then reapply one change at a time. If the log shows a different data directory or executable than expected, return to the launch-path check rather than repairing the wrong file.
Deployment-specific checks
Windows desktop or dedicated machine
Confirm which Windows account launches the server and whether the shortcut or batch file supplies --dataPath. A shortcut can hide arguments that are not visible when you browse to the executable. Stop the process before editing, then relaunch through the same shortcut or script so the working directory and data path remain consistent.
Linux shell or service
Because ./data/serverconfig.json is relative to the server directory, inspect the service’s working-directory setting. Launching the executable manually from another directory can create or select a different relative data folder. Record the service command and working directory, stop the service, edit the corresponding file, and start that service again.
Containers
Find the bind mount or volume that supplies the server’s data directory. Edit the mounted file, not an unmounted copy on the host. After restarting the container, check whether the file changed because an entrypoint script regenerated it. If so, the persistent source may be an environment variable, template, or panel setting rather than the generated JSON.
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Managed hosting panels
Use the panel’s stop and start controls when they are the documented way to manage the instance. Some panels expose a configuration form that writes the file on startup; others expose the file directly. If a value reverts after a panel restart, compare the panel’s saved setting with the file and ask the host which location and version the instance uses.
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Self-hosting versus managed hosting
Both deployment models can run Vintage Story successfully, but they expose different places where a setting can be lost.
| Deployment | What you control | What to verify when a value reverts |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted Windows or Linux | The executable, account, working directory, data path, permissions, and restart process. | The exact command or service definition, the account’s data folder, and whether another service or test instance is running. |
| Containerized server | The container definition and persistent volume mapping. | That the edited host file is mounted into the container and that an entrypoint is not regenerating it. |
| Managed host | Usually the panel’s settings and file manager rather than the underlying service. | Whether the panel writes its own template at startup and which server version and data directory the host uses. |
Paid hosting can remove operating-system maintenance, but it does not eliminate configuration-scope or relaunch rules. If the panel owns the generated file, its configuration form may be the authoritative place to change the value. Conversely, self-hosting gives you direct access to serverconfig.json but leaves path, permissions, backups, and process management to you. There is no need to purchase a special editor, disk, networking device, or system-cleanup utility to solve this particular symptom; first establish the active path and startup behavior.
Make the diagnosis reproducible
When the symptom persists, avoid changing several variables at once. Record the server version, operating system, launch command, working directory, --dataPath argument, and the full path of the file you edited. Copy the file before the edit, immediately after saving, after stopping, and after the next startup. Note the exact key and old and new values. This timeline tells you whether the value disappears during editing, shutdown, or startup.
- Stop the instance and make a dated backup of the active file.
- Change one key and save it.
- Close and reopen that exact path to prove the editor wrote the value.
- Start the same command or service and capture the beginning of its log.
- After startup, reopen the file and test the behavior in the world.
If the value survives every file check but the behavior is unchanged, the persistence problem is solved and the remaining question is scope, version, valid value, or a condition attached to that setting. If it disappears only after startup, focus on the service, panel, container entrypoint, or startup script rather than on JSON editing.
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- Wrong file: Find the launch command, working directory, and
--dataPath; edit the matchingserverconfig.json. - Unsafe timing: Stop the server before direct edits; optionally run
/autosavenow, then use/stop. - No reload: Relaunch the same server process. Configuration changes are not active until relaunch.
- JSON error: Remove comments and trailing commas, restore a backup if necessary, and read the startup log.
- Wrong scope: Determine whether the key is a server setting, a world setting, or creation-time only.
- Version mismatch: Check the key against documentation for the installed version; the cited reference’s defaults were last verified for 1.20.0.
- Reversion after startup: Investigate write access, volume mappings, host-panel settings, and startup scripts rather than repeatedly editing the same copy.
When you can show the active launch command, the exact data path, the file’s post-save contents, and the startup log, the problem normally narrows to either persistence (the file being replaced or unwritable) or application (restart, scope, version, or syntax). Treating those as separate branches prevents a valid configuration change from being lost while you troubleshoot the wrong layer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Vintage Story’s serverconfig.json on Windows?
The documented default is %appdata%/VintageStoryData/serverconfig.json. If the server uses another Windows account or a custom --dataPath, use that account’s data folder or the custom path instead.
Where is serverconfig.json on Linux?
The default for a server started from its server directory is ./data/serverconfig.json. Because the path is relative, verify the service’s working directory before editing it.
Do I have to stop the server before editing the file?
Yes. Stop the instance cleanly, edit and save the file, then start the same instance again. You can run /autosavenow before /stop when supported, but saving alone does not reload configuration.
Why does my edit remain in the file but do nothing?
Server configuration is read at startup. Relaunch the process that is actually serving players, then check whether the key is a server setting, a world setting, or a creation-time option for your installed version.
Why does the file revert after I restart?
First confirm that you edited the active data path. If the path is correct, check write access, container volume mappings, service definitions, startup scripts, and hosting-panel templates that may regenerate the file.
Can comments or trailing commas break the server configuration?
Yes. Standard JSON does not permit // or /* */ comments or a comma before a closing brace or bracket. Remove them and use the startup log to identify the exact parse error.
Does serverconfig.json control every Vintage Story option?
No. Some options belong to world configuration or apply only when a world is created. Confirm the key’s scope and use the version-appropriate documentation or command for that setting.
Could the documentation be wrong for my version?
Configuration keys and defaults are version-sensitive. The cited Server Config reference says its defaults were last verified for version 1.20.0, so compare its key names and behavior with documentation matching your installed server version.
The Bottom Line
Find the data folder used by the running instance, stop that instance, back up and edit its serverconfig.json as valid JSON, and relaunch it. If the file reverts, investigate path, permissions, mounts, and host automation; if it stays changed but has no effect, check restart status, setting scope, and game version.
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