Valheim Server Settings Reference

How Valheim Configuration Works

Valheim has no server settings file to edit: no server.properties, no serverconfig.xml, no .ini. All server configuration is done through launch arguments (command-line flags passed to valheim_server.exe). On GameGrid, these are generated from the Settings tab - you never need to edit a batch file manually.

Launch arguments are only read when the server starts, so almost every Valheim setting needs a server restart. The exceptions are the three timelapse settings under Game Tools (Record World Timelapse and the two Keep ... Timelapse Snapshots For settings), which take effect within the hour without one.

World modifiers (combat difficulty, resource rates, raid frequency, portal rules) are also set via launch arguments, either individually with -modifier flags or as a bundle with -preset. See the World Modifiers guide for the full list.

Permission lists (admin, banned, permitted) are plain text files at the root of your server folder, beside valheim_server.exe - not inside worlds_local. Manage them from Settings > Player Management rather than by hand.

The Settings tab groups fields by category down the left-hand side: Basic, World, Gameplay, Performance, Security, Game Tools and System. System fields are read-only, except Max Players.

Basic Settings

Server Name (-name): the name shown in the community server browser. Default "Valheim Server", up to 100 characters. The server password cannot be a substring of this value or the server will silently refuse to start.

World Name (-world): the world file name (no extension). Default "Dedicated". Creates a new world on first boot if it does not exist. Changing this on a live server loads a different (or fresh) world.

Server Password (-password): OPTIONAL, and blank by default. Leave it empty for an open server. If you set one it must be at least 5 characters and must not appear inside the server name - for example, a server named "Odin Raid Server" cannot use the password "Odin" or "Raid". A password is also the precondition for browser listing.

List in Server Browser (-public): OFF by default, so a new server is not listed. Turning it on only has an effect once a Server Password is set, because Valheim refuses to list a server that has none. Listing is a Steam-backend feature; it does nothing on a crossplay server.

Enable Crossplay (-crossplay): ON by default. See the Crossplay section below.

PlayStation-only servers: Valheim has no option that limits a crossplay server to PlayStation players, so GameGrid cannot make a PlayStation-only server. If your Settings tab still shows a "Restrict to PlayStation Network Only" switch under Security, leave it off: it changes nothing on the server, and it is being removed from the panel.

Game Port and Query Port: read-only System fields. GameGrid allocates a 100-port block from the 28000-39000 range and puts the game on the base and the Steam query socket on base + 1. They are not editable, because a hand-picked number would collide with another server on the same host.

Crossplay

Enable Crossplay (-crossplay): ON by default on GameGrid. Runs the server on the PlayFab backend so Steam, Xbox, Game Pass, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 players can share one world, and PlayFab issues a six-digit Join Code for it.

On the PlayFab backend the server relays player traffic and does not listen on its own game port, so the join code is how everyone connects - Steam players included. The read-only Crossplay Join Code field in Settings, and the Connect card on the Overview tab, both show the current one.

When disabled, the server runs on the Steam backend, listens on its game port, is joined by address, and issues no join code. Xbox, Game Pass, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 players cannot connect.

You cannot switch backends while the server is running - a restart is required, and the join code changes on every restart.

Note: Game Pass players cannot disable crossplay on their end, so they can only join crossplay-enabled servers. If you disable crossplay, Game Pass players in your group will not be able to connect.

Performance Settings

Save Interval (-saveinterval): seconds between automatic world saves. Default 1800 (30 minutes). The server also saves on graceful shutdown. If the server crashes or is force-killed, all progress since the last save is lost. Range: 600-86400.

Backups (-backups): number of automatic rolling backups the server keeps. Default 4. The first backup is the "short" interval; the rest are "long" interval. Range: 1-10.

Backup Short Interval (-backupshort): seconds until the first automatic backup. Default 7200 (2 hours). Range: 600-86400.

Backup Long Interval (-backuplong): seconds between subsequent automatic backups. Default 43200 (12 hours). Range: 600-86400.

These are Valheim's own rolling world backups, kept in their own folders in worlds_local beside the live world. They complement (not replace) GameGrid's own backups, which are encrypted, checksummed and stored off the host: an automatic one is taken daily and before every update and reinstall, retained by default as the last 7 backups or 7 days, whichever comes first, and you can take manual ones at any time from the Backups tab.

Network Performance Boost: OFF by default. Triples the budget the server uses to push world updates to clients, which reduces rubber-banding in large bases and busy areas. It is applied to the server only, so no player installs anything and crossplay is unaffected. It is a patch to the server binary rather than a launch argument, so it is applied only to a server that has its own copy of the game files: where the Valheim servers on a host share one set of game files (the usual arrangement) the setting is not shown in Settings. Where it applies, it is re-applied on every start so it survives updates and reinstalls, and it needs a restart to take effect. The larger budget costs a little more CPU.

World Presets

World Preset (-preset): sets a bundle of world modifiers at once. The preset is applied first and any individual modifier you also set overrides its own category, so a preset does not erase your other choices - see the World Modifiers guide. Valid values:

Normal: default Valheim difficulty. Balanced combat, standard resource rates, normal raids, standard portal rules.

Casual: reduced combat difficulty, no skill loss on death, increased resources, no raids. Good for relaxed building-focused servers.

Easy: easier combat, reduced death penalty, slightly more resources.

Hard: harder combat, increased death penalty, fewer resources, more raids.

Hardcore: maximum combat difficulty, permadeath-style penalties, minimal resources, frequent raids. For experienced players only.

Immersive: no map, no portals, reduced resources. Designed for a hardcore exploration experience.

Hammer: creative building mode. Free building, no resource cost, passive mobs. For pure construction servers.

You can further customise individual modifiers alongside a preset from the Gameplay category. That category also holds the on/off world toggles, World Difficulty Level and the Custom World Rates dials, and the World category holds the two heavy-snow switches; every one of them is explained in the World Modifiers guide.

Keep World's Own Modifiers (World category): OFF by default. When you turn it on, the panel sends no -preset, no -modifier and no -setkey at all, which preserves whatever modifier settings an imported world, a restored backup or an in-game admin command left in the world. Everything else in this section is ignored while it is on.

Game Tools Settings

Six settings exist only because of the panel, and all six are in the Game Tools category. The panel marks the first two as needing a restart; the three timelapse settings and the creature-kill count take effect without one.

Show All Players on the Admin Map: OFF by default. Valheim's own "visible on map" tick is off by default for every player and resets each session, so the panel's live map is usually empty even with people online. Turning this on shows everyone on YOUR panel. It changes nothing in game - other players' maps still follow their own setting - and a position revealed this way is drawn hollow and labelled, so it is never presented as one the player chose to share.

Capture Chat With One Player Online: ON by default. Valheim sends a chat message to the OTHER players on the server, so with one person online nothing is transmitted and the Chat tab stays empty - which also breaks in-game Discord linking. This adds one clearly-named entry, "GameGrid (chat relay)", to the in-game player list so a lone player's message has somewhere to go. It holds no position, is never drawn on a map, and steps aside as soon as a second player connects.

Game Tools: the Timelapse Settings

Record World Timelapse: ON by default. The bridge takes a snapshot of the world once an hour (explored areas, activity and fallen bosses) for the live map's timelapse. Turning it off stops new snapshots; the ones already taken are kept. Takes effect within the hour, without a restart.

Keep Hourly Timelapse Snapshots For: 14 days by default (1 to 90). Inside this window every hourly snapshot is kept; older ones are thinned to one a day. The timelapse keeps at most 1024 snapshots and 24 MB in all, which at one snapshot an hour is about 40 days of hourly detail, so a longer window is cut short by that budget. Takes effect at the next hourly sweep, without a restart.

Keep Daily Timelapse Snapshots For: 365 days by default (7 to 3650). How long the one-a-day snapshots are kept before they are deleted for good, within the same budget of 1024 snapshots in all (about 2.8 years of one a day, less while hourly detail is kept); past it the oldest go first. Lowering it deletes older snapshots, which cannot be undone. Takes effect at the next hourly sweep, without a restart.

Game Tools: Creature Kills in Metrics

Count Creature Kills For Metrics: ON by default. The bridge counts the creatures each player kills, once a minute, for the Combat figures in Metrics. Valheim does not tell the server who landed the killing blow on a creature, so the count is approximate: a kill goes to the player whose game was running that creature, which is nearly always the player fighting it. Turning it off stops the counting; kills already counted are kept. Takes effect within a minute, without a restart.

What the Platform Manages For You

These are read-only in the System category because the platform owns them.

Game Port and Query Port: allocated from GameGrid's 28000-39000 pool.

Crossplay Join Code: reported live from the running server. Only shown when crossplay is on.

PlayFab Instance ID: the ID the platform passes with -instanceid when crossplay is on, so every crossplay server on a host gets its own PlayFab lobby.

World Save Directory: worlds_local inside your server folder. Included in every backup.

The save directory, log capture and instance separation are handled by the platform; there is no -savedir, -instanceid or -logFile field for you to set, and none is needed because every server already has its own directory and its own port block.

Max Players also sits in the System category, but it is not platform-managed: it is yours to set. It only appears once the MaxPlayerCount plugin is on your server, because Valheim itself has no such setting - see the Server Setup guide.