Satisfactory Server Settings: Every Option Explained

Satisfactory server settings live in more than one place, so the right edit depends on what you are changing. Server Manager handles the server identity and common options, ini files hold advanced values, startup arguments can override supported ini values, and some choices belong to a save instead of the server. This guide maps each setting to its home, explains the defaults we can verify, and shows how to avoid losing an edit or the factory when you stop the server.

Find where Satisfactory server settings live#

Start by identifying whether you are changing the dedicated server, its active save, or the process that launches it. The game does not keep every option in one universal config file.

On Linux, the ini directory is <installation_directory>/FactoryGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/. On Windows it is <installation_directory>\FactoryGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\. The files may not exist until the server has shut down cleanly once. After that, the server writes them again during a graceful shutdown. An edit made while the process is running can disappear the next time it closes. The official configuration-file guide documents the paths and lifecycle.

Use a settings form if you want less file maintenance#

Game Hosting’s Satisfactory server is for PC players on Steam and Epic. Those PC versions can play together; PlayStation and Xbox players cannot join dedicated servers. The official support FAQ confirms that consoles and PC are separate, so check your group before picking a server.

If your group would rather use a form than maintain ini files, Game Hosting’s Satisfactory panel exposes the controls most owners change: server name, join password, maximum players, pause when nobody is online, seasonal events, autosave interval and count, save on disconnect, and Stable or Experimental. The server is already claimed, and its separate admin password is shown in the panel. Changed values are stored as panel settings and applied when the server starts; if you save a change while it is running, the panel restarts it when needed and reports the result.

That form is not a replacement for every Server Manager or API option. Save selection, starting a new game, and Creative Mode remain in the game’s Server Manager. For choosing a managed service, the host-selection checklist compares the details that matter without assuming one setup fits every factory.

Set the Server Manager options with their real defaults#

Server Manager is the normal place for server identity and common options. These are the defaults and effects that current dedicated-server documentation supports:

The dedicated-server settings reference and configuration guide describe these options. If an example file disagrees with the Server Manager or the current game, trust the live game rather than treating an API schema example as the default. That matters most for the daily restart time and network-quality value, where the available examples are not consistent enough to recommend a number.

Use ini files for the few values that need them#

The advanced settings most owners ask about are the player cap, number of rotating saves, and server tick-rate ceiling. They are not performance multipliers.

For the player limit, the documented ini section is:

[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=4

The rotating autosave count belongs in this Engine.ini section:

[/Script/FactoryGame.FGSaveSession]
mNumRotatingAutosaves=3

The official configuration guide also documents startup overrides in the form -ini:<file>:[<section>]:<key>=<value>. Use an override only when your launch script or host supports it; otherwise change the ini with the server stopped. A higher player cap or tick ceiling is not a free performance gain. Watch the actual server before changing either value, and keep the documented defaults if you do not have a reason to move them.

Keep the server name and passwords in the server settings save#

ServerSettings.<port>.sav is an Unreal save file, not a text configuration file. It stores the server name, admin password, optional player password, certificate data, and the session the server should load automatically. The supported way to change those values is Server Manager or the HTTPS API; do not try to open the binary file in a text editor.

An unclaimed dedicated server has no admin yet. The first person who connects through Server Manager → Add Server can claim it by setting the name and admin password. Claim it before sharing the address. The admin password unlocks management actions such as loading saves and changing server options; the optional join password controls who can enter the game. They are different passwords for different jobs.

The official save-file reference lists the fields in ServerSettings.<port>.sav, and the HTTPS API documentation explains how the server exposes supported management actions. If the file is missing, check that the server has started and been claimed before looking for it in the config folder. The detailed claim walkthrough belongs in the dedicated self-hosting guide.

Save the world before you stop or switch versions#

Timed autosaves run every 300 seconds by default and rotate through three files. That is useful recovery history, but it is not the same as a separate backup. A vanilla dedicated server does not automatically save the current world just because you stop it. Before planned maintenance, use the Server Manager console to save the current session and wait for confirmation:

server.SaveGame Factory

Replace Factory with your session name. On Linux, dedicated-server saves are stored in ~/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server/; on Windows they are under %LOCALAPPDATA%\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames\server\. The folder under .config is hidden. The dedicated-server save instructions explain the manual save command and file locations.

Keep the server and every PC client on compatible builds. Steam and Epic players can play together, but each client’s build still has to match the server’s. The latest named stable patch in the official 1.2.4.0 notes was released on August 11, 2026; Experimental is a separate test branch, and its contents can change. Coffee Stain’s support FAQ says to back up saves before switching versions. If you move to an older build, a save from a newer one may not load.

Game Hosting’s current startup script requests a save before a stop or restart and warns if it has to fall back to the latest autosave. That protects the ordinary stop path; it does not replace keeping a separate backup before a version change. Wait for the save confirmation before stopping a self-hosted server, and verify a backup before relying on it as your only recovery copy.

Keep session settings with the session#

Some choices are attached to a world, not to the server’s global settings. Creative Mode and Satisfactory 1.2 game modes are selected when you create a session; changing Game.ini later does not rewrite those choices in an existing save. Creative Mode disables achievements for that save and cannot be removed afterward. Game modes include world-generation and cost options introduced in 1.2.

If you are creating a new world, decide on those options before the first session starts. If you are only renaming the server, changing its join password, or setting its autosave interval, you do not need to create a new world. The official 1.2 update notes describe the new game modes.