Generate a Enshrouded enshrouded_server.json

Enshrouded expects strict JSON. Hand it something invalid and it saves its own defaults over your file, so a syntax mistake masquerades as the server ignoring you.

Visual Settings

json Format

Identity

name

Server name in the browser.

gamePort

Game port, UDP.

queryPort

Query port, immediately above the game port. Forward both or the server stays invisible.

World

saveDirectory

Where the world is stored, relative to the server executable.

Players & Access

password

Join password.

slotCount

Slot limit. 16 is the supported maximum. Note these values must be unquoted numbers — quoting a port is a real JSON error here.

Network

Interface to bind to. 0.0.0.0 listens on all of them, which is almost always what you want.

RCON & Query

logDirectory

Where log files are written.

enshrouded_server.json

{
  "name": "My Enshrouded",
  "password": "",
  "saveDirectory": "./savegame",
  "logDirectory": "./logs",
  "ip": "0.0.0.0",
  "gamePort": 15636,
  "queryPort": 15637,
  "slotCount": 16
}

The enshrouded_server.json format

Usual JSON discipline applies — no comments, no comma after the last entry, strings in quotes, numbers and true/false left bare. Ports in particular must be numbers; wrap them in quotes and the file is invalid, not merely odd.

The mistake that wastes an evening

When the JSON will not parse, the server falls back to a full default configuration and saves it — so you restart, open the file, and find your settings swapped for values you never picked. That is what a syntax error looks like here; it is not the server refusing one specific setting.

Passwords live in user groups

Current versions replace the single server password with userGroups, each with its own password and permissions. The default groups are Admin, Friend and Guest. Each one sets canKickBan, canAccessInventories, canEditBase and canExtendBase to true or false, plus reservedSlots, the number of slots kept free for that group; with any reserved, the server looks full to everyone else once the open slots are taken. The groups ship with no passwords, so set them before opening the server.

The old top-level password line is no longer how access works. If the server still finds a password there, it creates a group called default with that password and Friend-level permissions, so an existing setup keeps working.

Difficulty presets

gameSettingsPreset picks a difficulty preset: Default, Relaxed, Survival or Custom. The detailed gameSettings block is only read when the preset is Custom, so editing individual values while a named preset is selected changes nothing.

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