Enshrouded Server Settings Explained: Every enshrouded_server.json Option (1.0)

Enshrouded server settings all live in one file, enshrouded_server.json, which the dedicated server writes next to enshrouded_server.exe the first time it starts. The file holds four kinds of setting: the basics (name, slots, port, chat), user groups that double as passwords and permissions, a difficulty preset, and 38 gameplay values that only apply when the preset is Custom. To change any of them, stop the server, edit the file and start it again. Below is every option in Enshrouded 1.0 with its default and range, plus ready-made setups and fixes for settings that won’t apply.

Where is the Enshrouded server config file?

On a dedicated server, the Enshrouded server config is enshrouded_server.json, in the same folder as enshrouded_server.exe. It doesn’t exist until the server has started once. For a Steam Tools install, open the folder with Properties → Installed Files → Browse. If you host a world from the game instead, its settings live in the in-game Host Settings menu and are stored in enshrouded_user.json, next to your save data.

• Docker (mornedhels image): game/server/enshrouded_server.json in the mounted folder.
• Docker (sknnr image): /home/steam/enshrouded/enshrouded_server.json inside the container, or your own file with EXTERNAL_CONFIG=1.
• Hosted server: your host’s file manager. With Enshrouded server hosting on GameTeam, open enshrouded_server.json in the panel’s file manager.

Not set up yet? The Enshrouded dedicated server guide covers installing the server, ports and the first start.

How to change Enshrouded server settings

Stop the server, open enshrouded_server.json in a text editor, change the values, save, then boot the server. Enshrouded loads the config only at startup, which is why nothing changes until a restart. For gameplay values, set gameSettingsPreset to Custom first, otherwise the server ignores them and uses the preset’s values.

1. Stop the server, so the file isn’t changed underneath a running server.
2. Make a copy of the file, so a typo can’t cost you your setup.
3. Edit and save. Keep the JSON valid: text in double quotes, true/false in lowercase, numbers without quotes, a comma between entries and none after the last one.
4. Start the server and watch the console. It should reach 'HostOnline' (up)!.

Two rules from Keen’s documentation decide what happens to a bad value. A number outside its allowed range is replaced by the minimum or maximum. An invalid text value, such as an option word the server doesn’t know, stops the server from booting, and the console shows the value it rejected. Option words are case-sensitive, so normal is not Normal.

Top-level Enshrouded server configuration

The Enshrouded server JSON settings at the top of the file decide who sees the server and how players reach it. You rarely need to touch the folders or the IP. The settings most groups change are name, slotCount, the two chat switches and tags. Here is every top-level key in a fresh 1.0 file, with its default:

Key	Default	What it does
name	"Enshrouded Server"	Name in the server list. Every player can see it, so Keen asks for a non-offensive one.
saveDirectory	"./savegame"	Where the world is saved.
logDirectory	"./logs"	Where the current log goes. Older logs are archived in logs/backup.
ip	"0.0.0.0"	The address the server listens on. Only change it for an internal network setup.
queryPort	15637	The one network port (UDP). Change it to fit your firewall, and forward the new number.
slotCount	16	Players at once, 1 to 16. Each slot adds CPU and RAM load.
tags	[]	Filter tags for the server list (see below).
voiceChatMode	"Proximity"	Proximity or Global (server-wide).
enableVoiceChat	false	Turns voice chat on or off.
enableTextChat	false	Turns text chat on or off. It’s off in a fresh file, so switch it on if your group types.
gameSettingsPreset	"Default"	The difficulty preset. See the presets section.
gameSettings	block	The 38 gameplay values. Only used with Custom.
userGroups	4 roles	Roles with their own password and permissions.
bannedAccounts	[]	Banned players. Manage bans in game from the Social tab, and only edit the list by hand with the server stopped.

Tags: LookingForPlayers; a language (English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Chinese, Taiwanese); and a focus (BaseBuilding, Exploration, Roleplay). For example: "tags": ["LookingForPlayers", "English", "BaseBuilding"]. A private server for friends doesn’t need any.

Enshrouded private server: passwords and roles

To make an Enshrouded private server, give every role a password. There is no single server password and no whitelist setting. Each entry in userGroups has its own password and permissions, and the password a player types when joining decides their role. A fresh file already has random passwords, so nobody gets in by accident. Change them to ones you can hand out.

Permission	What it allows
canKickBan	Kick and ban players
canAccessInventories	Open chests, other containers and workstations
canEditWorld	Dig, build and terraform in the world outside bases
canEditBase	Add and remove blocks and props inside player bases
canExtendBase	Place, upgrade and remove Flame Altars
reservedSlots	Slots held for this role. When the rest are full, the server shows as full to anyone joining with another role’s password.

The four roles in a fresh file:

Role	canKickBan	canAccessInventories	canEditWorld	canEditBase	canExtendBase
Admin	true	true	true	true	true
Friend	false	true	true	true	false
Guest	false	false	true	false	false
Visitor	false	false	false	false	false

Every role can fight, loot, explore and do quests. The permissions only limit chests, bases, Flame Altars, the world outside bases and admin powers.

How to set up an Enshrouded private server with friends

1. Decide who gets which role. Most groups only need Admin for the owner and Friend for everyone else. Delete the roles you won’t use.
2. Set a password for each remaining role, then restart the server.
3. Send each friend the server name and the password for their role.
4. They open Enshrouded, pick Join, switch on Show dedicated servers, choose your server and enter their password.

"userGroups": [
  {
    "name": "Admin",
    "password": "long-admin-password",
    "canKickBan": true,
    "canAccessInventories": true,
    "canEditWorld": true,
    "canEditBase": true,
    "canExtendBase": true,
    "reservedSlots": 1
  },
  {
    "name": "Friend",
    "password": "password-for-the-group",
    "canKickBan": false,
    "canAccessInventories": true,
    "canEditWorld": true,
    "canEditBase": true,
    "canExtendBase": false,
    "reservedSlots": 2
  }
]

You can also add your own roles. Keen’s example is a group that may use chests and workstations but not add or remove anything in bases: canAccessInventories on, canEditBase off.

The old Enshrouded server password line

Before Update 2, the server password was a single "password" line near the top of the file. That line no longer sets a password. If the server finds one in an old file, it creates a group called default with that password and Friend-level permissions, so an untouched old server stays locked. Move the password into a proper role and delete the old line.

Changing a player’s role

On a dedicated server you can’t promote or demote someone while you’re playing; that only works in worlds hosted from the game. To change what someone can do, give them another role’s password, or change the role’s permissions with the server stopped.

Enshrouded server difficulty settings: the five presets

gameSettingsPreset sets the difficulty in one word. Default is the standard game and the one Keen recommends for first-time players. Relaxed means fewer enemies and more resources and loot. Hard brings more enemies, and more aggressive ones. Survival adds extra survival mechanics on top of that. Custom unlocks the 38 values below. With any other preset, those values are ignored.

Preset	Who it’s for
Default	A first playthrough. The game as it was balanced before custom settings existed.
Relaxed	Groups who mostly want to build and explore without much fighting.
Hard	Groups who want tougher combat.
Survival	Groups who want hard combat and extra survival pressure.
Custom	Anyone who wants to set the values one by one.

For a world you host from the game rather than a dedicated server, difficulty is set in the world settings in game instead.

Every Enshrouded gameplay setting (gameSettings)

These are all 38 keys under gameSettings in Enshrouded 1.0, grouped by what they touch. Factors are multipliers where 1 is normal, and the game shows them as percentages. Times are in nanoseconds (the next section has a conversion table). A number outside the range is clamped to the nearest limit. Remember that Enshrouded custom server settings only apply with "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom".

Player

Key	Default	Range	What it does
playerHealthFactor	1	0.25–4	Max health
playerManaFactor	1	0.25–4	Max mana
playerStaminaFactor	1	0.25–4	Max stamina
playerBodyHeatFactor	1	0.5, 1, 1.5, 2	Body heat: higher means longer in the cold before hypothermia
playerDivingTimeFactor	1	0.5–2	Starting oxygen, so time underwater

Survival and death

Key	Default	Options or range	What it does
enableDurability	true	true / false	With false, weapons don’t break
enableStarvingDebuff	false	true / false	Hunger and starvation: a starving player loses health until they eat or drink
foodBuffDurationFactor	1	0.5–2	How long food buffs last
fromHungerToStarving	600000000000 (10 min)	5–20 min	How long “hungry” lasts before starving starts
shroudTimeFactor	1	0.5–2	How long players can stay inside the Shroud
tombstoneMode	AddBackpackMaterials	AddBackpackMaterials / Everything / NoTombstone	What goes into the tombstone on death: materials only, the whole backpack, or nothing
curseModifier	Normal	Easy / Normal / Hard	Shroud curse: Easy turns it off, Hard doubles the chance of getting cursed

World, weather and time

Key	Default	Options or range	What it does
dayTimeDuration	1800000000000 (30 min)	2–60 min	Length of the day
nightTimeDuration	720000000000 (12 min)	2–60 min	Length of the night
weatherFrequency	Normal	Disabled / Rare / Normal / Often	How often new weather appears
enableGliderTurbulences	true	true / false	Air turbulence while gliding
flameLevelFogRemoval	11	0–20	New in 1.0: Flame level needed to place Flame Altars inside the Shroud and push it back
plantGrowthSpeedFactor	1	0.25–2	Plant growth speed
fishingDifficulty	Normal	VeryEasy / Easy / Normal / Hard / VeryHard	How hard fish fight in the fishing minigame
tamingStartleRepercussion	LoseSomeProgress	KeepProgress / LoseSomeProgress / LoseAllProgress	What happens to taming progress if you startle the animal

Resources, crafting and runes

Key	Default	Range	What it does
miningDamageFactor	1	0.5–2	Mining damage: more terraforming and more resources per hit
resourceDropStackAmountFactor	1	0.25–2	Materials per loot stack from chests, enemies and so on
factoryProductionSpeedFactor	1	0.25–2	Workstation effectiveness: scales production times for workshop items
perkUpgradeRecyclingFactor	0.5	0–1	Share of Runes returned when you salvage an upgraded weapon
perkCostFactor	1	0.25–2	Runes needed to upgrade weapons

Experience

Key	Default	Range	What it does
experienceCombatFactor	1	0.25–2	XP from combat
experienceMiningFactor	1	0–2	XP from mining
experienceExplorationQuestsFactor	1	0.25–2	XP from exploring and quests

Enemies and bosses

Key	Default	Options or range	What it does
randomSpawnerAmount	Normal	Few / Normal / Automatic / Many / Extreme	How many enemies spawn. Automatic (new in 1.0) scales them to the number of players nearby
aggroPoolAmount	Normal	Few / Normal / Many / Extreme	How many enemies may attack at the same time
enemyDamageFactor	1	0.25–5	Enemy damage, bosses excluded
enemyHealthFactor	1	0.25–4	Enemy health, bosses excluded
enemyStaminaFactor	1	0.5–2	Enemy stamina: higher takes longer to stun
enemyPerceptionRangeFactor	1	0.5–2	How far enemies see and hear you
threatBonus	1	0.25–4	How often enemies attack, bosses excluded
pacifyAllEnemies	false	true / false	Enemies (not bosses) leave you alone until you attack them
bossDamageFactor	1	0.2–5	Boss damage
bossHealthFactor	1	0.2–5	Boss health

Day, night and hunger times: minutes to nanoseconds

dayTimeDuration, nightTimeDuration and fromHungerToStarving are written in nanoseconds. One minute is 60,000,000,000, which is 6 followed by ten zeros. Day and night accept 2 to 60 minutes, and hunger accepts 5 to 20. Multiply the minutes you want by 60,000,000,000 and write the result without separators, or copy a value from the table.

Minutes	Value to write
2	120000000000
5	300000000000
6	360000000000
8	480000000000
10	600000000000
12	720000000000
15	900000000000
20	1200000000000
30	1800000000000
45	2700000000000
60	3600000000000

Best Enshrouded server settings: four ready-made setups

There’s no single best setting, because it depends on what your group wants from a session. For a first playthrough, stay on Default, which is what Keen recommends for new players. For anything else, the blocks below are starting points. Paste the values into your gameSettings block, set "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom", restart, and adjust after a session or two. Keys you leave out stay at their defaults.

Relaxed building group

More materials, faster mining and farming, shorter nights, and no gear lost on death.

"resourceDropStackAmountFactor": 2,
"miningDamageFactor": 2,
"plantGrowthSpeedFactor": 2,
"randomSpawnerAmount": "Few",
"enableDurability": false,
"tombstoneMode": "NoTombstone",
"dayTimeDuration": 2700000000000,
"nightTimeDuration": 360000000000

Hard survival

Hunger on, tougher and more frequent enemies, a stronger curse, and the whole backpack in the tombstone when you die.

"enableStarvingDebuff": true,
"enemyDamageFactor": 1.5,
"enemyHealthFactor": 1.5,
"randomSpawnerAmount": "Many",
"threatBonus": 1.5,
"curseModifier": "Hard",
"weatherFrequency": "Often",
"tombstoneMode": "Everything"

Full 16-player server

Enemy numbers follow the size of the group, and bosses get more health so a crowd doesn’t melt them. Pair it with "enableTextChat": true at the top of the file and a reserved Admin slot.

"randomSpawnerAmount": "Automatic",
"bossHealthFactor": 2,
"bossDamageFactor": 1.25

Peaceful exploring

Enemies only fight back, no curse, smooth gliding and calmer weather.

"pacifyAllEnemies": true,
"curseModifier": "Easy",
"enableGliderTurbulences": false,
"weatherFrequency": "Rare"

Enshrouded server settings not applying? Fixes

A setting that refuses to take effect usually traces back to one of four things: the preset isn’t Custom, the file was edited while the server was running, an option word is wrong, or the key ended up outside the gameSettings block. Start the server and read the console or log first, because an invalid option word is named there.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Gameplay values change nothing	gameSettingsPreset isn’t Custom	Set it to "Custom" and restart
An edit disappeared or never loaded	Changes were saved while the server was up	Shut it down, make the edit, boot it again
Server won’t start after an edit	An unknown or wrongly capitalised option word, or broken JSON	Fix the value the console names, or check commas and quotes
A value seems capped	It’s outside the allowed range and was clamped	Use a number inside the range
The server password doesn’t work	It’s on the old top-level password line, or doesn’t match any role	Put it in a userGroups entry
New 1.0 options are missing, or settings act strangely after an update	An older file that was updated incorrectly	Rename the file, let the server write a fresh one, copy your values back
Changes made in a hosting panel don’t stick	The panel’s editor doesn’t match the current file layout	Edit the JSON file directly. Keen warns that third-party tools must be updated for the user-group structure

Skip the JSON: change settings by asking

Hand-editing nanoseconds and permission flags is the part of running an Enshrouded server nobody enjoys. With Enshrouded server hosting on GameTeam you can still open enshrouded_server.json in the file manager, but you don’t have to. Billing is per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week; slots are unlimited and the copilot comes with every plan.

Type “make nights 6 minutes, turn hunger on and give guests a password that can’t open chests” and the copilot sets the preset to Custom, writes nightTimeDuration, enableStarvingDebuff and the Guest role, reboots the server, then reads the file back to confirm every value landed. If a bad value stops the server from booting, ask why, and it reads the log and fixes the line.

FAQ

How do I change the server settings in Enshrouded?

On a dedicated server, stop it, edit enshrouded_server.json and start it again. In a world you host from the game, use the Host Settings menu and the world settings.

How do I change difficulty settings in Enshrouded?

Set gameSettingsPreset to Relaxed, Hard or Survival, or to Custom and set the individual values, then restart the server.

Does a settings change need a restart?

Yes. The config is only read at startup, so shut the server down before editing and boot it afterwards.

How do I set an Enshrouded server password?

Give each role in userGroups a password. Players join with the password for their role. The old top-level password line no longer works on its own.

Is there an Enshrouded server whitelist?

No. Role passwords are the access control: anyone without a password can’t get in, and the password they use decides what they can do. Bans go in bannedAccounts, normally added from the Social tab in game.

What is the maximum number of players?

16. Keen’s documentation says slotCount must be a number between 1 and 16.

Do you need a dedicated server for Enshrouded?

Not to play together, since any player can host a world. You need one if the world should stay online while the host is away. The dedicated server guide covers both options.