Files and FTP on Your Enshrouded Server
What is in your Enshrouded server's folders, which files are safe to edit, the folders GameGrid keeps to itself, and how to connect over FTP or SFTP.
Two ways in
Files, in your server's sidebar, for a quick look, an edit or a small upload. It takes uploads of up to 1.4 MB a file, and says so when a file is bigger.
FTP or SFTP, for anything bulky: a world, a folder of mods, a batch of downloads. The details are on the File Access (FTP/SFTP) card of your server's Overview:
| Row | What it is |
|---|---|
| FTP/SFTP Host | The address to connect to |
| FTP Port | 21 |
| SFTP Port | 2222 |
| FTP/SFTP User | Your server's own user name, starting gs_ |
| FTP/SFTP Password | Hidden until you press Show. Reset makes a new one, and the old one stops working |
One user name and password work for both FTP and SFTP. Both routes see the same files. See File Manager Guide.
What is where
| Folder or file | What it is | Edit it? |
|---|---|---|
enshrouded_server.json | The server's settings and user groups | Use the Settings page instead |
savegame/ | Your world: world0.ksd and its older copies in backup/ on the current game build (the older form's files are in migrated/); on an older build 3ad85aea, its numbered copies, and 3ad85aea-index, which names the current one | Only with the server stopped |
logs/enshrouded_server.log | The server's log for this boot, the one the Console follows | Read only |
logs/backup/ | The logs of earlier boots | Read only |
logs/stdout.log | Everything the server printed, including why it refused a settings file | Read only |
logs/mod-framework.log | What the mod loader did before the last start | Read only |
mods/ | Your EML mods, one folder or .zip each | Yes |
| The game's own files | The Enshrouded dedicated server itself | No |
Stop the server before touching the world
Enshrouded reads its world at start and writes it when it is stopped. Changing files in savegame while it is running is the reliable way to lose your change, or the world.
Stop, wait for it to show as stopped, then edit. Every time.
Why you should not hand-edit the settings file
You can open enshrouded_server.json. You will usually regret it.
- GameGrid writes parts of it before every start: the port, the address it listens on, the folders, and the Custom preset. Your edits to those are replaced.
- A single stray character stops the server booting. Enshrouded exits at once on a malformed settings file and writes no log; the only trace is in
logs/stdout.log. - Two user groups with the same password stop it too.
- An invisible byte-order mark at the start of the file does the same. Some Windows editors add one without telling you. GameGrid removes it before every start, which saves you most of the time, but it is not a habit to rely on.
- The Settings page checks what you type. It knows the ranges and the allowed values; a text editor does not.
The one good reason to read it is to see what the server actually has. For changing things, use the Settings page: Enshrouded Server Settings.
Folders you will not see
GameGrid keeps its own working files on your server: the server module and the files it exchanges with GameGrid, and the records GameGrid uses to apply your settings and run the delivery queue. They are in the folders .gamegrid and GameGrid.
Those folders are hidden from Files, FTP and SFTP, and anything that tries to open, change or delete them is refused with "This path is managed by the platform and is not part of the server's files."
This is not about keeping you out of your own server. Those files are how delivery, teleport and player positions work, and an edit or a deletion part way through an operation would break your server's features in a way that is hard to diagnose. They are managed, repaired and updated for you.
Everything of yours (world, settings, logs, mods) is fully available.
Uploading mods
Upload a mod's folder, or its .zip, into mods/. The Mods page's marketplace is the easier route, and the Mods page is where you enable, disable and remove them.
Downloading your world
1. Stop the server.
2. Download the savegame folder, all of it.
That is a copy you hold yourself, separate from GameGrid's backups, and worth having before anything irreversible. For the normal case a backup is better: it is stored away from the server's machine and restores in one step. See Enshrouded Saves, Backups and Restore.
FTP tips
- Use SFTP (port 2222) where your client supports it.
- Transfer save files in binary mode. A world uploaded in text mode is a broken world.
- Finish an upload before you start the server. Starting into a half-finished upload is how worlds get damaged.
- After Reset, update the password in your FTP client.
If something goes wrong
A server that will not start after a file change is almost always the settings file. Restore a backup and start again; that is faster than hunting for a missing bracket.