7 Days to Die Server Hosting

Why use a rented server for 7 Days to Die?

A rented 7 Days to Die server keeps the world online without depending on the host being in the game, and lets every player connect and improve their base whenever they like. In the in-game hosting mode, the world runs on the host's computer; when the host leaves, everyone is dropped, and on Blood Moon night the host's computer has to carry both the game and the server at once.

7 Days to Die uses a voxel-based, fully destructible world. Every block, every point of structural damage and every zombie is calculated on the server side; on Blood Moon nights, hordes of zombies attacking bases at the same time push CPU and memory load to the peak. A home computer struggles at these moments, and players see zombies teleporting and blocks breaking late.

A dedicated server runs 24/7 in a data center; dedicated CPU and memory carry the Blood Moon load, and NVMe storage writes large world saves quickly. Players connecting from Türkiye and the surrounding region benefit from a short route to a server located in Türkiye, which improves reaction time in close-range zombie fights. For groups of friends, another important gain is that everyone can play on their own schedule, and the shared base and progress do not depend on anyone's computer.

How much RAM does a 7 Days to Die server need per player count?

The memory needs of a 7 Days to Die server depend less on player count than on map size, the number of regions loaded at once and mods; an 8-player server runs comfortably with 8–12 GB on Navezgane or a 6K random map, while on a 10K map and with overhaul mods the requirement can exceed 24 GB. The table values are estimated ranges that account for these factors.

When planning resources, watch these factors:

• Map size: RWG maps are generated in sizes such as 6K, 8K and 10K. A larger map means more towns, POIs (points of interest) and terrain data.
• Player spread: the server loads the regions around each player. When players scatter to different corners of the map, the number of loaded regions and memory usage rise.
• Zombie settings: MaxSpawnedZombies and the number of zombies per Blood Moon directly determine CPU load.
• Mods: large overhaul mods that add new blocks, items and enemies need noticeably more resources than the vanilla game.

Random world generation (RWG) also creates its own load: the first generation of a large map can take several minutes, and memory usage rises during that time. On Linux, tools such as htop help you monitor memory and CPU usage.

Ready-made package or VDS for a 7 Days to Die server?

Because 7 Days to Die's memory and CPU needs spike suddenly, especially on Blood Moon nights, the most suitable infrastructure for this game is a VDS with resources reserved for you; the package table on this page shows the current VDS options suitable for 7 Days to Die live.

You can open the server in two ways:

1. Your own installation: when ordering a VDS server, choose Ubuntu or Windows Server, run app_update 294420 with SteamCMD, then edit serverconfig.xml and start the server. On Linux the server starts with the startserver.sh script, and on Windows with startdedicated.bat.
2. Installation via support ticket: if you would rather not deal with the command line, you can open a ticket for a 7 Days to Die installation from the Support section of the customer panel after ordering the VDS. Just specify the map type, size, player limit and the mods you want.

Since you have full administrator rights on a VDS, you can generate the map in advance, open a test world on the same server and take backups on whatever schedule you like. You can find a comparison of the two routes on the game server package or VDS page.

Which ports does a 7 Days to Die server use?

By default, a 7 Days to Die server uses port 26900 over both TCP and UDP, and ports 26901, 26902 and 26903 over UDP; this range must be open in the firewall for players to connect. The base port is changed with the ServerPort setting in serverconfig.xml, and the other ports shift accordingly.

The web dashboard and Telnet are handy for managing the server remotely, but exposing these ports to the whole internet is a serious security risk. Telnet traffic is not encrypted; a Telnet console whose password is compromised means the server can be fully taken over. So keep Telnet reachable only from the server itself (localhost), or allow only your own IP address in the firewall.

Which settings are configured in serverconfig.xml?

Almost all settings of a 7 Days to Die server are kept as property lines in the serverconfig.xml file; the server reads this file at startup, so changes apply when the server restarts.

<property name="ServerName" value="Your Server Name"/>
<property name="ServerPassword" value="secretpassword"/>
<property name="ServerMaxPlayerCount" value="12"/>
<property name="GameWorld" value="RWG"/>
<property name="WorldGenSeed" value="community2026"/>
<property name="WorldGenSize" value="8192"/>
<property name="GameName" value="MainWorld"/>

The settings most often changed on community servers are:

• GameDifficulty: damage dealt by zombies and their toughness.
• BloodMoonFrequency and BloodMoonEnemyCount: how many days apart Blood Moons come and how many zombies spawn per player.
• DayNightLength: the length of one in-game day in real minutes.
• LootAbundance and LootRespawnDays: loot amount and respawn time.
• LandClaimSize and related settings: the area covered by the land claim block and offline protection.
• EACEnabled: whether Easy Anti-Cheat protection is on.

The admin list, bans and command permissions are kept in a separate file, serveradmin.xml in the save folder. To make a player an admin, you can use the admin add command in the game or the console.

Should you choose Navezgane or a random map (RWG)?

7 Days to Die offers two map options: the fixed Navezgane map hand-designed by the developers, and random maps generated from a seed and size when the GameWorld setting is set to RWG. Navezgane offers a predictable, balanced experience; RWG gives a different world and replayability with every wipe.

An RWG map is generated by the server on first launch, and memory usage temporarily rises during this process. Since generation can take a long time on large (10K) maps, it is recommended to generate the map and start the server once before opening it to players. Alternatively, you can create the map on your own computer with the game's world generator and upload it to the server's world folder; this also lets you preview a map you like in advance. Changing the map means resetting (wiping) the current world.

How do you install mods on a 7 Days to Die server?

To install mods on a 7 Days to Die server, you copy the mod folder into the Mods folder in the server root directory and restart the server; the game loads each mod by reading the ModInfo.xml file in its folder.

7 Days to Die mods roughly fall into two groups, and this split determines whether players also need to install them:

• XML modlets: small mods that change the game's XML config files (items, recipes, loot tables, zombie values) with XPath commands. Modlets that only change existing content are, in most cases, installed on the server only.
• Mods with new assets or code: mods containing new models, sounds, UI elements or C# code (DLLs) must also be installed on players' computers. Mods with code usually require Easy Anti-Cheat to be disabled to work.

Overhaul mods are large packs that change the game from start to finish; they must be installed with the same version on both server and client and are usually tied to a specific game version. Back up the world before installing mods; removing a mod that adds new blocks mid-world can break the structures that use those blocks. After game updates, you may need to wait for mod authors to release compatible versions; disabling automatic updates on modded servers is therefore good practice.

How can you improve 7 Days to Die server performance?

The key to 7 Days to Die server performance is balancing zombie counts, map size and the number of regions players load at once against your resources. Players usually notice performance problems as zombies teleporting, blocks breaking late or freezes on Blood Moon night.

1. Set zombie limits: raising MaxSpawnedZombies and MaxSpawnedAnimals may look tempting, but every creature is computed continuously. Do not go far above the defaults.
2. Balance the Blood Moon zombie count: BloodMoonEnemyCount sets how many zombies spawn per player; keeping it low on busy servers reduces the night-time load.
3. Match map size to player count: a 10K map is usually unnecessary for a group of 4–6; a 6K or 8K map needs less memory and keeps players close together.
4. Schedule restarts: memory usage grows on servers that stay up for a long time. An announced daily restart clears that build-up.
5. Use fast storage: world saves and region files are written frequently; NVMe storage shortens pauses during saves.

Server-side slowness and a player's network latency are different problems; check whether lag affects everyone or only one player before changing settings.

How do you keep a 7 Days to Die server secure?

The foundation of a secure 7 Days to Die server is a strong server password, keeping Easy Anti-Cheat enabled, keeping management interfaces closed to the outside, and network-level DDoS protection.

• Easy Anti-Cheat: leave the EACEnabled setting on unless you use mods with code. On servers with EAC disabled, connecting with cheat programs is much easier.
• Telnet and web dashboard: protect these interfaces with strong passwords and open their ports only to your own IP address. Remember that Telnet is an unencrypted protocol.
• Admin permissions: assign permission levels carefully in serveradmin.xml; limit full admin rights to people you trust.
• Land claims: on public servers, land claim block settings prevent other players from destroying someone's base.
• Operating system: on a VDS, keep the system up to date and use key-based SSH access.

On LIONFIN infrastructure, the RouteFence firewall filters DDoS traffic at the network level before it reaches your server, supported by 24/7 NOC and SOC monitoring in our data center.

How do you back up and migrate a 7 Days to Die world?

Persistent data of a 7 Days to Die server is kept in two places: the files of the generated map and the game's own save folder (player data, region files, serveradmin.xml). By default these folders are in ~/.local/share/7DaysToDie on Linux and under the user profile's AppData/Roaming/7DaysToDie folder on Windows; they can be moved to a location of your choice with the UserDataFolder setting in serverconfig.xml.

1. Save the server with the saveworld command in the console and shut it down.
2. Archive the folder under the world name and game name (GameName) in the Saves folder; if you use RWG, include the map folder under GeneratedWorlds as well.
3. Install the same game version and the same mods on the new server.
4. Upload the folders to the same paths, match the GameWorld and GameName values in serverconfig.xml and start the server.

Moving saves between different major versions is generally not supported; after big updates you may need to start a new world. Keep a copy of your backups off the server.

What are the most common 7 Days to Die server errors?

The most common problems on 7 Days to Die servers are the server not appearing in the list, version or mod mismatches, map generation taking a long time, and crashes caused by insufficient memory. The server log file (output_log) is the first step of diagnosis.

If you hit a problem not in the table, look for red error or exception messages in the last lines of the log file; the name of the problematic mod or XML file usually appears there. A practical way to find a faulty mod is to disable half of the mods at a time and retry the server. For infrastructure issues, open a support ticket from the Support section of the customer panel and include the log output.

Which game rules should you choose on a 7 Days to Die server?

The most important decisions shaping a 7 Days to Die community server are the difficulty level, Blood Moon frequency, the death penalty and whether player-versus-player combat (PvP) is enabled. Settling these with your group before opening the server prevents debates about rule changes later on.

• Group of friends (PvE): medium difficulty, a weekly Blood Moon and player damage turned off is ideal for groups aiming to build a base and survive together. The PlayerKillingMode setting controls player-versus-player damage.
• Hardcore survival: high difficulty, long nights, scarce loot and a harsh death penalty raise the tension for experienced players, but may cost you new players in the early stages.
• PvP server: once PvP is enabled, land claims, offline protection and raid rules must be written out clearly. These servers require more admin effort.

Write the rules in the server description (ServerDescription) and in your community channels. Creation settings such as map size or seed cannot be changed once the world has progressed, so getting these decisions right from day one saves you from an unnecessary wipe later.