{"id":21377,"date":"2026-06-07T09:50:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T09:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/barotrauma-server-settings-explained-a-serversettings-xml-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T09:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T09:50:42","slug":"barotrauma-server-settings-explained-a-serversettings-xml-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/barotrauma-server-settings-explained-a-serversettings-xml-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Barotrauma Server Settings Explained: A serversettings.xml Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Once your Barotrauma dedicated server is running, almost everything about how it plays &mdash; player count, game mode, difficulty, respawns, friendly fire &mdash; is controlled by one file: <code>serversettings.xml<\/code>. This guide explains the settings that matter so you can tune your server exactly how your crew likes it.<\/p>\n<h2>Where the file lives (and the #1 gotcha)<\/h2>\n<p><code>serversettings.xml<\/code> sits in the Barotrauma root directory, next to the server executable. The single most important rule: <strong>stop the server before you edit it<\/strong>. Barotrauma rewrites this file on shutdown, so any change you make while it&rsquo;s running gets wiped. Stop, edit, save, start.<\/p>\n<h2>The settings that matter<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>ServerName<\/strong> &mdash; the name shown in the in-game server browser.<\/li>\n<li><strong>MaxPlayers<\/strong> &mdash; how many players can connect (e.g. <code>MaxPlayers=\"16\"<\/code>). Size this to your plan&rsquo;s slots.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Password<\/strong> &mdash; set a value to make the server private; leave empty for public.<\/li>\n<li><strong>playstyle<\/strong> &mdash; a hint shown in the browser (Casual, Serious, etc.) so players know what to expect.<\/li>\n<li><strong>gamemodeidentifier<\/strong> &mdash; the game mode: <code>mission<\/code> (one-off rounds), <code>campaign<\/code> (persistent progression and money), <code>sandbox<\/code>, or <code>pvp<\/code>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Submarine<\/strong> &mdash; the starting sub for the lobby.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LevelDifficulty<\/strong> &mdash; how dangerous the procedurally generated levels are.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AllowRespawn \/ UseRespawnShuttle \/ RespawnInterval<\/strong> &mdash; whether dead players respawn, whether they arrive on a respawn shuttle (vs. spawning on the sub), and how long respawns take.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AllowFriendlyFire<\/strong> &mdash; whether crewmates can damage each other (chaos on, teamwork off).<\/li>\n<li><strong>AllowRewiring<\/strong> &mdash; lets players rewire the sub&rsquo;s electrical systems; disable it on public servers to stop griefing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AllowVoteKick<\/strong> &mdash; lets the crew vote problem players off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Choosing a game mode<\/h2>\n<p>Most groups who want a persistent server run <strong>campaign<\/strong> mode, where your sub, crew progression, and money carry over between rounds. For pick-up-and-play sessions, <strong>mission<\/strong> mode generates a fresh objective each round. You can read the full breakdown in our <a href=\"\/docs\/barotrauma\/game-modes\">Barotrauma game modes guide<\/a> and set up a persistent run with the <a href=\"\/docs\/barotrauma\/campaign-mode\">campaign mode guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Editing it the easy way<\/h2>\n<p>You can also change most of these settings live from the in-game lobby once you&rsquo;re an admin &mdash; handy for difficulty and respawn tweaks between rounds. For everything else, edit the file directly. On <a href=\"\/barotrauma-server-hosting\">XGamingServer Barotrauma hosting<\/a> you can edit <code>serversettings.xml<\/code> through the File Manager and restart in one click; our <a href=\"\/docs\/barotrauma\/configure-your-server\">configuration guide<\/a> walks through each field.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<p><strong>My settings keep resetting &mdash; why?<\/strong> You&rsquo;re editing the file while the server is running. Stop it first; the server overwrites <code>serversettings.xml<\/code> on shutdown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many players can a Barotrauma server hold?<\/strong> Set whatever your hardware\/slots allow via <code>MaxPlayers<\/code> &mdash; 16 is a common crew size.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do I make the server private?<\/strong> Set a <code>Password<\/code> value and restart.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/barotraumagame.com\/wiki\/List_of_Config_Files\/serversettings.xml\" rel=\"nofollow\">Official Barotrauma Wiki &mdash; serversettings.xml<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once your Barotrauma dedicated server is running, almost everything about how it plays &mdash; player count, game mode, difficulty, respawns, friendly fire &mdash; is controlled by one file: serversettings.xml. This guide explains the settings that matter so you can tune your server exactly how your crew likes it. Where the file lives (and the #1 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-barotrauma"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Barotrauma Server Settings Explained: A serversettings.xml Guide - XGamingServer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/barotrauma-server-settings-explained-a-serversettings-xml-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barotrauma Server Settings Explained: A serversettings.xml Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once your Barotrauma dedicated server is running, almost everything about how it plays &mdash; player count, game mode, difficulty, respawns, friendly fire &mdash; is controlled by one file: serversettings.xml. 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