Astroneer Server Config Generator
Build a working AstroServerSettings.ini (player cap, owner/admin, whitelist, autosave, remote console) and the
Engine.ini [URL] block that holds the server Port — the one line Astroneer's blank Engine.ini
needs — plus a start_server.bat to boot it. Toggles for the on/off switches, number fields for the rest. Paste an existing
config back in to keep editing. Vanilla scope, no invented keys.
Server Identity
Browser name, player cap, password, and your public IP. These live in AstroServerSettings.ini under [/Script/Astro.AstroServerSettings].
The name players see in the in-game server list. Keep it short and searchable.
Player cap. This is the real key — MaximumPlayerCount, not "MaxConnections" (which isn't a thing). Astroneer caps dedicated servers at 8; higher values are ignored.
Required to connect. Leave blank for an open server. This is the player join password — admin/ownership is granted separately by your Steam name below, not by a password.
Your server's public/WAN IP address with NO port — just the address, e.g. 203.0.113.5. Leave blank to let the server auto-detect. If you add a :port here the server starts then instantly closes — this is the single most common Astroneer startup failure. On CGNAT (most mobile/some ISPs) home hosting won't work at all.
Admin & Access
Who owns the server and who's allowed in. Ownership in Astroneer is granted by Steam display name, not a password or SteamID list. AstroServerSettings.ini keys.
Your exact Steam display name (not your in-game character name). The first player who connects with this name becomes the server owner and gets the in-game admin menu (kick, ban, whitelist, save, shutdown). Leave this blank and the first person to connect — any name — becomes owner. Set it.
The owner's 17-digit SteamID64. Leave at 0 — the server auto-fills it the first time the owner connects by name. Only hard-set it if you're migrating an identity between servers.
Off = anyone with the address (and password, if set) can join. On = only whitelisted players get in — and you manage that list from the in-game admin panel, not this file. Turn it on here, then add players in-game, or nobody connects.
Port for Astroneer's remote-console (RCON-style) interface, used by tools like AstroLauncher. Default 1234. Only matters if you run a console tool — leave it unless something needs a different port.
Password for the remote console. Leave blank and the server auto-generates a fresh one on every boot — fine unless you run a console tool that needs a fixed password, in which case set one here.
Network & Port
The server port and optional rate limits. These go in Engine.ini, not AstroServerSettings.ini. Astroneer generates Engine.ini blank — the [URL] Port line below is the one thing it needs.
UDP port players connect on. Default 8777. Lives in Engine.ini under [URL]. Forward this port (UDP) to the server's LAN IP on your router, and add a Windows Firewall inbound rule for it.
Optional. On busy servers, players sometimes rubberband/warp. Turning this on writes the two rate-limit lines below into Engine.ini's [/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver] section, raising the net throughput cap. Leave off unless you're seeing rubberbanding.
Per-client net rate cap (bytes/sec). Only written when the rate boost above is on. 1000000 is the common anti-rubberband value.
Internet-facing net rate cap (bytes/sec). Pairs with Max Client Rate. Only written when the rate boost is on.
Saves & Backups
How often the world saves, what gets loaded, and backup cadence. AstroServerSettings.ini keys. Astroneer dedicated saves live in ...\Astro\Saved\SaveGames\.
On (default) = the server boots from the latest autosave. Off = it loads the specific save named below. Leave on unless you're deliberately pinning a save.
Which save file the server uses. Default SAVE_1. Change it to run a different world, or to name a fresh one.
Seconds between autosaves. Default 900 (15 minutes). Astroneer dedicated servers have a history of save hiccups — dropping this to 300–600 means a crash costs you less progress.
Seconds between rolling backups of the save. Default 7200 (2 hours). Backups are your safety net against a corrupted active save — keep this on (non-zero).
Performance & Session
Server tick rates and how it handles idle/empty time. AstroServerSettings.ini keys.
Tick cap while players are active. Default 30. This is the server simulation rate — leave it near 30 unless you know your box can sustain more and you specifically want it.
Tick cap when nobody's online. Default 3 — deliberately low so an empty server barely uses CPU. No reason to raise it.
Seconds of inactivity before a player is kicked. Default 0 = never kick. Set a value (e.g. 1800 for 30 min) on a busy public server to free slots from AFK players.
Off by default. On = the server holds off on a scheduled shutdown while players are still connected. Niche; most hosts leave it off.
Off by default. A niche engine-level toggle — leave it off unless a specific guide or host tells you otherwise.
Advanced
Rarely touched. Most servers never change anything in here — defaults are correct.
Internal keep-alive interval. Default 0 (server default). Leave it unless a host's docs tell you to set it.
An optional separate "advertised" name field. Almost always left blank — set the Server Name up top instead.
A unique server identity string. Leave blank — the server generates it. Only set it if you're deliberately carrying an identity across reinstalls.
Launch Script Options
These don't go in the INI files — they shape the generated start_server.bat on the third output tab. Astroneer reads all gameplay settings from the INI files, so the server itself takes no launch arguments; the script just wraps the run.
Wraps the launch in a loop so AstroServer.exe relaunches if it crashes or stops. Good for unattended boxes. For heavy-duty hosting, the community tool AstroLauncher does this more robustly (auto-restart, scheduled saves, RCON) — worth a look if you outgrow a simple loop.
Adds a SteamCMD line that updates the Astroneer Dedicated Server (Steam app 728470) before each boot. The server does not auto-update — after a game patch, clients on the new version can't join a stale server, so this keeps you current. Needs steamcmd on PATH or in the folder.
Redirects server output to server.log instead of the console window. Handy for unattended boxes and after-the-fact crash diagnosis.
About the Astroneer Server Config Generator
Astroneer's free, first-party dedicated server splits its configuration across two Unreal Engine ini files, and the split is exactly where people get stuck. AstroServerSettings.ini holds almost everything — server name, the player cap, your owner/admin name, the whitelist switch, autosave and backup cadence, and the remote-console settings — all under one [/Script/Astro.AstroServerSettings] section. Engine.ini is generated blank, and it needs exactly one thing: the server Port under a [URL] section. This generator writes both files plus a Windows start_server.bat in one pass. Keys and defaults are checked against the Astroneer wiki and the developer patch notes, current as of v1.40.3 (May 2026).
The Port goes in Engine.ini — not AstroServerSettings.ini
This trips up almost everyone. Astroneer's player cap (MaximumPlayerCount), owner, and whitelist all live in AstroServerSettings.ini, so it's natural to assume the port does too. It doesn't. The server port lives in Engine.ini under [URL]:
[URL] Port=8777
Astroneer generates Engine.ini empty on first run, so you add this block yourself — which is exactly what the Engine.ini tab here gives you. The default is 8777/UDP; forward that port to the server's LAN IP and add a Windows Firewall inbound rule for AstroServer-Win64-Shipping.exe (in ...\Astro\Binaries\Win64\).
PublicIP is the #1 reason a server won't start
If your server boots and then closes a second later, look at PublicIP first. It must be your public/WAN IP with no port — just 203.0.113.5, never 203.0.113.5:8777. A port suffix here is the single most common Astroneer startup failure. You can also leave it blank to let the server auto-detect. And if your connection is behind CGNAT (common on mobile and some fibre/ISP plans), home hosting won't work at all — you don't have a forwardable public IP. That's not a config problem; it's a network one.
Ownership is by Steam name, not a password
Astroneer doesn't use an admin password. You become the server owner by putting your exact Steam display name in OwnerName — the first player who connects under that name claims ownership, and the server writes their SteamID64 into OwnerGuid automatically (leave it at 0). The owner gets the in-game admin menu: kick, ban, manage the whitelist, force-save, and graceful shutdown. If you leave OwnerName blank, the first person to connect — whatever their name — becomes owner. On a public server that's a problem, so set it. Note this is your Steam display name, not your in-game character name.
The whitelist is a switch here and a list in-game
DenyUnlistedPlayers=True turns the whitelist on, but the actual list of allowed players is managed from the in-game admin panel, not this file. So the workflow is: flip the switch in the config, start the server, connect as owner, then add your players in-game. Flip it on without adding anyone and you've locked yourself out.
The server doesn't auto-update — re-run SteamCMD after patches
The Astroneer Dedicated Server is a separate free download — Steam app 728470 ("ASTRONEER Dedicated Server"), a tool, not the game (app 361420). You don't need a second copy of the game; it installs anonymously:
steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir C:\Astroneer +app_update 728470 validate +quit
The catch: it does not update itself. Astroneer patches roughly monthly, and after a patch, clients on the new version can't join a server still on the old one. Re-run that +app_update 728470 validate line after each game update (your saves persist). The launch script here can do this for you on every boot — flip on "Update via SteamCMD on launch."
Never edit the ini while the server is running
Astroneer rewrites its config files on shutdown, so any change you make to AstroServerSettings.ini or Engine.ini while the server is live gets overwritten and lost when it stops. Always stop the server first, edit (or drop in the files from this tool), then start it again.
What's deliberately not in here
- Invented keys. A lot of Astroneer "guides" list settings that aren't real. There is no
MaxConnections(the player cap isMaximumPlayerCount), noMaxServerIdleTimeout, and noEnableAutoRestartini flag — auto-restart is done by a wrapper script (like the one this tool generates) or a tool like AstroLauncher, not a config line. This generator leaves those out on purpose rather than ship a key the server ignores. - Linux. The Astroneer dedicated server is a Windows binary. It can run on Linux through Wine/Proton, but that's a wrapper setup, not a native launch — so this tool ships the Windows
.batonly. - Gameplay rules. Astroneer's dedicated server doesn't expose survival/difficulty multipliers the way a Conan or VEIN server does — its config is hosting-and-access, not gameplay-tuning. That's the real scope, and it's all here.
New to hosting Astroneer? Start with the setup guide
This generator is the fast path once you know your way around. If you're installing the dedicated server for the first time — SteamCMD, port forwarding, firewall, the full troubleshooting list — read the companion walkthrough and use this tool to produce the config files it asks for:
- Astroneer Dedicated Server Setup Guide — install, network, and troubleshooting, step by step
- Conan Exiles Server Config Generator — the same multi-file pattern (ServerSettings.ini + Engine.ini + launch script)
- All GamesOMG generators
Astroneer is a finished 1.0 game but still gets patches; the dedicated server tool needs re-updating after each one. We re-verify keys and defaults against the wiki and patch notes after major updates — if you spot a key or default that's drifted, hit Report an issue above and we'll check it.