After more than a decade in Early Access, 7 Days to Die released version 1.0 with a redesigned armor system, high-definition zombie models, vehicle modules, and terrain generation. A self-hosted Dedicated Server keeps time and automated forging and smelting running while players are offline. It also offloads the pathfinding for hundreds or thousands of zombies during large Blood Moon hordes, which can otherwise cause severe frame-rate drops on the host's PC. This article covers standard deployment and configuration tuning for the 1.0 dedicated server.
1. Server hardware baseline
| Specification | 4~6-player survival group | Community server with 16+ players |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 4 cores / 3.4GHz+ | High-clock-speed processor with 8~16 cores |
| Memory (RAM) | 16 GB physical RAM | At least 32 GB physical RAM |
| Storage | 40 GB NVMe SSD | 100 GB NVMe SSD |
| Upload bandwidth | 15 Mbps dedicated | 30 Mbps ~ 50 Mbps dedicated |
2. Install the dedicated server with SteamCMD
Download the dedicated server anonymously through SteamCMD (AppID 294420):
steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 294420 validate +quit
After the download, the main executable is in the root directory: 7DaysToDieServer.exe.
3. Network port planning
7 Days to Die uses multiple ports together, over both TCP and UDP:
| Port | Protocol | Purpose | Router forwarding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26900 | TCP / UDP | Main client connection port (allow both TCP and UDP) | Required |
| 26901 ~ 26902 | UDP | Steam/network data channels and secondary transport layer (UNET/LiteNetLib) | Required |
| 8080 | TCP | Web dashboard and visual map administration (optional) | Open as needed |
| 8081 | TCP | Telnet remote command-line terminal (LAN access recommended) | LAN only |
4. Tune key serverconfig.xml settings
The serverconfig.xml file in the root directory is the server's central configuration file:
<ServerSettings>
<property name="ServerName" value="LanGame 7DTD 1.0 Server"/>
<property name="ServerDescription" value="Welcome to our zombie survival realm"/>
<property name="ServerPassword" value="your_password"/>
<property name="ServerPort" value="26900"/>
<property name="ServerVisibility" value="2"/> <!-- 2 public / 1 friends only / 0 hidden -->
<property name="ServerMaxPlayerCount" value="16"/>
<!-- Map settings: Navezgane is the official fixed map; RWG is a randomly generated world -->
<property name="GameWorld" value="RWG"/>
<property name="WorldGenSeed" value="LanGame2026"/>
<property name="WorldGenSize" value="8192"/> <!-- 8192 or 6144 recommended; never use 10240 on low-spec machines -->
<!-- Blood Moon horde performance tuning -->
<property name="BloodMoonFrequency" value="7"/>
<property name="BloodMoonRange" value="0"/>
<property name="BloodMoonEnemyCount" value="8"/> <!-- Active Blood Moon zombies per player: 8~12 recommended; high values can severely lag the server -->
<!-- Gameplay and death penalties -->
<property name="GameDifficulty" value="2"/> <!-- Difficulty increases from 0~5 -->
<property name="DropOnDeath" value="1"/> <!-- 0 everything / 1 backpack only / 2 toolbelt only / 3 delete save -->
<property name="PlayerKillingMode" value="0"/> <!-- 0 no PVP / 1 kill non-allies only / 2 unrestricted PVP -->
<!-- Web dashboard -->
<property name="ControlPanelEnabled" value="false"/>
<property name="ControlPanelPort" value="8080"/>
</ServerSettings>
5. Choose an approach: manual configuration or LanGame Server Manager (LGSM)
Manual maintenance involves hundreds of XML fields, and an unclosed tag can prevent startup. Random world generation (RWG) can take tens of minutes without a clear progress display.
We recommend the official open-source dedicated server management platform to automate routine administration:
- Tool overview and client: LanGame Server Manager (LGSM) product page
- Open-source repository: GitHub - SZSLGJCOM/LanGame-Server-Manager
LGSM provides the following for 7 Days to Die 1.0:
- XML settings as forms: Converts complex XML configuration into clearly grouped visual switches and numeric sliders, with real-time syntax validation.
- Multiple-port readiness checks: Automatically checks connectivity on ports 26900~26902 and highlights protocols missing from firewall rules.
- Blood Moon backups and lossless snapshots: Automatically snapshots world and player data before each day-7 Blood Moon to protect against base destruction and corrupted saves.
- Console and automated Telnet pipeline: Interact with the game server's command line directly in the interface without manually setting up a Telnet client.