Sons of the Forest Server Config Generator
Build a valid dedicatedserver.cfg — it's JSON, despite the .cfg extension, and one stray
comma breaks it. Set the server name, ports, the 8-player cap, and the full
CustomGameModeSettings block: enemy health, damage, armour and aggression, seasons, cold penalties,
building resistance, and more. The big catch is that those custom settings only do anything when
GameMode is Custom — so this tool sets that for you. Every key was read out of a
live dedicated server and checked against the game files.
Server
Name, password, player cap, and game mode. These are the top-level keys of dedicatedserver.cfg.
CustomGameModeSettings block is ignored unless GameMode is Custom, so this tool defaults it to Custom. And because difficulty is locked in when a world is created, custom settings take effect on a new save only — set Save Mode to New the first time, or your tweaks won't apply to an existing world.
The name shown in the server browser.
Required to connect. Leave blank for an open server.
Player cap. Sons of the Forest hard-caps multiplayer at 8 — higher values are ignored, so this maxes out at 8.
The game's stock default is Normal, but this generator defaults to Custom — because the CustomGameModeSettings block below is only read in Custom mode. Pick a preset (Peaceful/Normal/Hard/Hard Survival/Creative) and the custom block is ignored.
Continue resumes the existing save in the slot; New starts a fresh world. Custom difficulty is locked at world creation, so use New the first time you apply custom settings.
Which save slot the server uses (1–5). Each slot is an independent world.
Off (default) = reachable over the internet. On restricts the server to your local network.
Network & Ports
Bind address and ports. Defaults are the verified stock values — forward all three UDP ports.
Which local interface to bind to. Leave at 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces — that's almost always what you want. This is the bind address, not your public IP.
Main game port, default 8766 (UDP). Forward it to the server's LAN IP.
Steam query port, default 27016 (UDP). This is how the browser finds the server.
Port for save-data ("blob") syncing to clients, default 9700 (UDP). Sons of the Forest needs this one too — forward all three.
Off (default) = the server checks it's reachable on boot. Turn it on only if that test is failing on a correctly-forwarded host and blocking startup.
Saves & Performance
Autosave cadence, tick rates, and logging. Top-level keys.
Seconds between autosaves, default 600 (10 min). Lower it (e.g. 300) if you'd rather lose less progress to a crash.
Server tick target while players are online, default 60. Leave it unless you're tuning a constrained host.
Tick target when nobody's online, default 5 — deliberately low so an empty server barely uses CPU.
How fast time passes when the server is empty. Default 0 = time frozen while no one's online (so you don't return to winter). Raise it to keep the world clock running.
Off (default). On writes server logs to disk — handy for unattended boxes and crash diagnosis.
On (default) = each log file gets a timestamped name. Only matters when Log Files are enabled.
On (default) = each log line is timestamped. Leave on; it's free and useful.
Game Settings (all modes)
These live in the GameSettings block and apply in any game mode (not just Custom). Note the bare Gameplay. / Structure. prefixes — different from the Custom block below, and the two are not interchangeable.
On (default) = cut trees regrow over time, so a long-running server doesn't get permanently clear-cut. Off makes wood a finite resource.
On (default) = player structures can take damage (from enemies, etc.). Off makes bases indestructible — handy for building-focused servers.
Custom — Enemies
The CustomGameModeSettings block — only applied when Game Mode is Custom. Cannibals and mutants. (Yes, it's spelled EnemyArmour — British spelling, preserved exactly as the game expects it.)
On (default) = cannibals and mutants spawn. Off = no enemies at all — a peaceful exploration/building game.
How much health enemies have. low / normal (default) / high.
How hard enemies hit. low / normal (default) / high.
How much damage enemies shrug off. low / normal (default) / high.
How readily enemies attack. low / normal (default) / high. High makes the forest relentless.
How aggressively enemies hunt for your base. low / normal (default) / high.
How many (huntable) animals roam the island. low / normal (default) / high.
Custom — Survival
Survival pressure and building. CustomGameModeSettings — Custom mode only.
How much low stats (hunger/thirst/rest) hurt you. off / normal (default) / hard. Off removes the survival-needs penalty.
How harshly cold affects you in winter. off / normal (default) / hard.
How much poor condition slows health regen. off / normal (default) / hard.
How long food/drink benefits last. normal (default) / hard (shorter, harsher).
How much punishment your structures take before breaking. low / normal (default) / high.
Off (default). On = less food found in world containers — a scarcity bump.
Off (default) = containers can be looted normally. On = each container can only be looted once — no re-checking.
Off (default). On = trees fell in a single hit — a big convenience for building-focused play. (Note the exact spelling: OneHitToCutTrees, plural.)
Off (default) = plant cuttings spawn for replanting. On disables them. Note the Construction namespace on this one.
Off (default). A free-form building placement option — leave off unless a building guide tells you otherwise. Note the FreeForm namespace.
Custom — Environment
Seasons and day length. CustomGameModeSettings — Custom mode only.
Which season the world begins in. spring / summer (default) / autumn / winter. Starting in winter is a real difficulty spike.
How long each season lasts. short / default (default) / long / realistic.
How long a day/night cycle runs. short / default (default) / long / realistic.
How often it rains/snows. low / default (default) / high.
Custom — Rules
Cheats, PvP, and the godmode toggles. CustomGameModeSettings — Custom mode only.
Off (default). On enables developer/console cheats for the server.
Whether (and how hard) players can damage each other. off / normal (default) / hard. Off makes it strictly co-op.
Off (default). On gives a creative-style free-build experience within the Custom game.
Off (default). On = players can't die — pure building/exploration. (Exact spelling: PlayersImmortalMode.)
About the Sons of the Forest Server Config Generator
Sons of the Forest's dedicated server is configured by a single file — dedicatedserver.cfg — and the first thing to know is that it's JSON, despite the .cfg extension. That means it's strict: a trailing comma, a missing quote, or a stray brace and the server throws a "configuration failed to parse" error and won't start. This generator builds the whole file as valid JSON, so that class of problem just disappears. Every key and default here was read out of a live dedicated-server install (the config the server itself writes on first run) and cross-checked against the game files.
Custom settings only work in Custom mode — and only on a new save
This is the big one. The CustomGameModeSettings block — enemy health, damage, seasons, cold penalties, all of it — is completely ignored unless GameMode is set to "Custom". People fill in all the custom values, leave the mode on Normal, and wonder why nothing changed. This tool defaults GameMode to Custom for exactly that reason. The second half of the catch: difficulty is baked into a world when it's created, so custom settings apply to a new save only. If you're starting fresh, set Save Mode to New. Change the custom settings on an existing world and they won't take.
Two setting blocks, two different prefixes — don't mix them
There are two gameplay blocks and they use different key formats, which trips people up when they copy keys around:
- GameSettings — applies in any mode. Bare namespace prefixes:
Gameplay.TreeRegrowth,Structure.Damage. - CustomGameModeSettings — Custom mode only.
GameSetting.<Namespace>.<Key>, e.g.GameSetting.Vail.EnemyHealth.
A Gameplay. key won't work in the Custom block and a GameSetting. key won't work in GameSettings. This generator puts each one in the right place automatically.
The spellings are exact — including the weird ones
A few keys have spellings you'd never guess, and the server expects them character-for-character: EnemyArmour (British spelling), OneHitToCutTrees (plural — a popular community guide gets this wrong as singular), and PlayersImmortalMode. We verified each against the game binary rather than trusting a guide. We also left out ReducedAmmoInContainers: the string exists in the game for the in-game menu, but it isn't a key the dedicated server's config actually honors, so putting it in the file would do nothing.
The 8-player cap is real
Sons of the Forest caps co-op at 8 players, and the dedicated server is no exception — set MaxPlayers higher and the extra slots are simply ignored. The slider here maxes at 8 so you don't ship a config that promises more than the game delivers.
Installing the dedicated server
The Sons of the Forest Dedicated Server is a free, separate download — Steam app 2465200, installed anonymously through SteamCMD:
steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir C:\SOTFServer +app_update 2465200 validate +quit
Run it with the included StartSOTFDedicated.bat. On first launch it creates a default dedicatedserver.cfg (and an owners whitelist) under ...\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForestDS\ and asks you to restart — that's the file you replace with the one from this tool. Forward UDP 8766, 27016, and 9700.
What this generator deliberately leaves out
- Invented keys. Every key is verified against the game files.
ReducedAmmoInContainersis excluded on purpose (UI-only). - The owners whitelist. Admin/owner SteamIDs go in a separate file the server generates next to the config — it's a plain ID list, outside this tool's scope.
- Mods. Vanilla scope only; mod-loader configs are their own thing.
Related tools
- Conan Exiles Server Config Generator — another survival server config.
- Abiotic Factor Server Config Generator — sliders for a co-op survival-horror server.
- All GamesOMG generators
Sons of the Forest still gets the occasional patch; we re-verify keys and defaults against a live server when it does. Spot a value that's drifted, or a custom key we should add? Hit Report an issue above and we'll check it against a fresh install.