7 Days to Die Server Settings Reset After Update

Match this symptom

After app_update or validate, the server uses a default name, world, password, player count, or gameplay rules even though an XML file still contains the intended values.

The answer first

Stop the server and preserve both the pre-update and current XML files. Verify the exact -configfile path in the launch definition, then merge current supported properties into an owner-named configuration instead of copying the old file blindly over a new schema.

Gone Wrong Servers expert settings view used to compare an active 7 Days to Die XML after an update — Representative Gone Wrong Servers screen. Router and game screens vary by version; follow the written checks rather than matching button placement.

Do not validate again yet

Repeated validation can replace more vendor-owned files without explaining which configuration the process reads. Stop automatic restarts, copy the old/current XML, launch script or service definition, and startup log, and make the first diagnosis from those files.

Resolve the active configuration path

1Read the exact -configfile value in the service or startup script.
2Resolve a relative name from the process working directory, not from the folder currently open in an editor.
3Check that the file exists under the service account and that its startup values appear in the new log.
4Search for a second startup task or service that could be launching a different XML.

Merge against the current sample

1Keep the old owner file unchanged as evidence.
2Copy the sample from the current installed build to a new owner-named working file.
3Move known settings one at a time, preserving exact property names, XML syntax, and current allowed values.
4For a console profile, recheck the live crossplay requirements instead of restoring an old allowlist by memory.

Test a reversible configuration

Start privately and confirm server name, save/world identity, port, player cap, and one visible gameplay value. Then use saveworld and native shutdown, restart, and verify again. Do not invite players until the intended world—not a fresh default—is confirmed.

Prevent another silent reset

Keep the active XML under an owner-controlled filename supplied explicitly with -configfile.
Store it with version history and a redacted launch record outside replaceable Steam binaries.
Before every update, snapshot configuration, save, generated map, permissions, and mods.
After every update, compare the new vendor sample before public startup.

Tell a schema change from a manager overwrite

Watch the active XML's modification time and keep a checksum before one controlled start. If the file changes at launch or shutdown, a server manager or the game is writing an in-memory value back to disk; correct the manager's saved setting instead of fighting the generated file. If the file is unchanged but the value is ignored, concentrate on the selected -configfile path, spelling, supported property schema, and startup log.

For a decisive test, use a harmless visible value such as a temporary distinctive server name on a private copy. Confirm which XML produced that name, then revert it after the path is proven. Do not use the world name, save name, or generated-world selector as the test value because changing those can create apparently missing progress and turn a configuration diagnosis into a recovery incident.