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Conan Exiles Server Settings Not Saving: How to Fix ServerSettings.ini

Conan Exiles commonly overwrites manual INI edits when the server is still running. Stop it first, edit the active ServerSettings.ini with one key=value per line, restart, and verify the result in the admin panel. Learn how to handle wrong paths, Engine.ini variables, silent key failures, StarvationTimeInMinutes, conflicting player-cap guidance, and Enhanced servers.
Length8 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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If Conan Exiles server settings keep reverting, stop the server before editing ServerSettings.ini. A running server can retain its in-memory configuration and write that state back to disk when it shuts down, replacing your manual changes. The reliable sequence is: stop the server completely, edit the correct file with one key=value pair per line, save a backup, restart, and verify the result in the admin panel.

This procedure addresses the most consistently reported cause. Individual settings can still fail because of a misspelled key, an option that belongs in Engine.ini, a different server build, or a known game-side bug. Enhanced (UE5) compatibility and player-cap behavior remain contradictory in available secondary guidance, so treat those cases separately.

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Fastest fix: stop, edit, restart, verify

Use this order whenever a change in ServerSettings.ini does not persist:

  1. Stop the server completely. Use the host control panel or service manager and wait until the server process has ended. Do not edit while it is still running.
  2. Back up the existing file. Download or copy ServerSettings.ini before changing it. Keep another copy after a successful change because game updates can reset or rearrange settings.
  3. Open the file for the actual instance. On a Windows dedicated server, the commonly reported location is ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ServerSettings.ini. A Linux-native installation is reported to use LinuxServer in place of WindowsServer; verify that your host actually uses that layout.
  4. Enter one setting per line. Use the exact key, an equals sign, and the value, for example SomeSetting=Value. Do not place several settings on one space-separated line.
  5. Save and close the file before starting the server. Confirm that the host saved the edited file rather than a local copy in a different folder.
  6. Start the server and sign in as an administrator. Check the value in the in-game admin panel. If the panel shows the old value, the server did not accept the edited file or the option is controlled elsewhere.

Several 2026 configuration guides describe the admin panel and the running server as authoritative. That explains why an edit made during uptime can appear correct in a text editor but disappear after a restart.

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Why changes get overwritten

The most plausible explanation is a configuration timing problem. The server loads settings into memory during startup. If you edit the disk file while that process is running, the server may continue using its already-loaded values and then write those values back to ServerSettings.ini during shutdown. Your edit is consequently replaced by the older in-memory state.

This behavior is reported by multiple secondary guides, but no Funcom patch note or canonical server-settings reference confirming the mechanism was located. Treat it as the leading diagnosis rather than an officially documented bug. The stop-edit-start sequence avoids the overwrite regardless of which internal save path is responsible.

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Check the file location and server edition

Windows dedicated servers

Look under ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ for ServerSettings.ini. The exact root depends on your host, installation method, and instance name, so search within the server’s own directory rather than editing a similarly named file elsewhere on the machine.

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Linux installations

One configuration guide reports a parallel path using ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ServerSettings.ini. This is a lower-confidence detail: Linux hosting layouts vary, and the available material does not establish a universal path. Use the file manager or FTP view for the specific instance you start, then confirm the path with your provider if both directories exist.

Multiple instances

If the host runs more than one Conan Exiles instance, each can have its own save and configuration directory. Editing an idle, test, or old instance produces no change in the live server. Stop the instance you intend to modify, identify its active directory in the host panel, and make the backup there.

Use valid INI syntax

Write a single assignment on each line:

SettingName=Value

The key must match the game’s expected spelling. A guide on Conan server configuration reports that an unknown or misspelled key can be ignored without an error and the default value restored. Because the server may fail silently, compare the key character-for-character with a current configuration reference for your build.

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  • Keep each assignment on its own line.
  • Do not substitute a display label from the admin panel for the INI key unless documentation shows they are identical.
  • After saving, reopen the file while the server is still stopped to confirm the text was written.
  • After restarting, use the admin panel to check the effective value rather than relying only on the file.

A Funcom forum report describes a setting written as a space-separated line that did not stick; the user also reported that several restarts eventually resolved the issue. That is a community report, not an official procedure, but it reinforces the need for one assignment per line and a clean stop before editing.

When the setting belongs in Engine.ini

Not every server variable is read from ServerSettings.ini. One guide specifically places building-decay console variables in Engine.ini and says they are silently ignored when put in the server-settings file. If a correctly formatted key repeatedly reverts, verify which configuration file owns that variable for your edition.

Do not move an option merely because it failed once. First confirm the key name and the file prescribed for that variable, stop the server, back up both files, and then make the change in the correct location. A value shown in the admin panel may also be the better test of whether the game exposes that option to your build.

Diagnose the common failure modes

Rank Reported cause What you may see What to do Confidence of available report
1 Editing while the server is running The text file contains the new value, but it disappears after shutdown or restart. Stop the server, edit, save, then start it and verify in the admin panel. Medium
2 Malformed or misnamed key The server starts without an error and the value silently returns to its default. Check spelling and use one exact key=value line. Low
3 Wrong file or format A value entered on a space-separated line, or in a non-active configuration directory, has no effect. Edit the active instance’s file while stopped and separate every assignment onto its own line. Low
4 Variable belongs in another file A console variable, particularly a building-decay option, is ignored in ServerSettings.ini. Confirm whether the variable belongs in Engine.ini. Low

Settings with documented or reported exceptions

StarvationTimeInMinutes

The community-maintained Fandom server-configuration wiki reportedly lists StarvationTimeInMinutes as a setting that does not save properly through Server Settings. The same material warns that some INI keys contain historical misspellings and may work only under the misspelled form until a patch corrects them. This is a low-to-medium-confidence report, so test the value after every update and avoid assuming that a successful entry in one build will remain valid in another.

Player-cap settings

Available guides disagree sharply. One claims the cap entered in ServerSettings.ini stops at 40 and that higher values belong in Engine.ini. Another says the default is 70 and that modded servers can exceed 200 players. Neither figure is supported by an official Funcom reference in the available material. Do not treat 40, 70, or 200-plus as universal limits; identify your game build, host configuration, and the file documented for that build before changing the cap.

Enhanced (UE5) servers

Enhanced guidance is also contradictory. One hosting guide says the legacy ServerSettings.ini was removed and ignored on Enhanced servers after an update it dates to May 2026. Another says settings carry over without manual migration. A separate host note places the Steam release in early May 2026, but that date is not confirmed by an official Funcom announcement in the available sources.

For an Enhanced server, first establish which executable and configuration layout your host is running. If the host supplies an Enhanced-specific settings panel or directory, use that documented interface. If it still exposes WindowsServer or LinuxServer configuration files, make a stopped-server backup and test one harmless setting, then verify the effective value in the admin panel. Do not assume that a legacy file is either definitely supported or definitely obsolete.

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A safe repeatable workflow for updates and hosting panels

Before editing

  • Record the server build or edition shown by the host.
  • Stop the instance and wait for the process to finish.
  • Download the current ServerSettings.ini and note its timestamp.
  • Identify whether the host offers separate Windows, Linux, or Enhanced configuration controls.

During editing

  • Change only the intended key.
  • Keep one assignment per line and preserve the file’s INI structure.
  • Use the exact key spelling for the game version you run.
  • Save the file in the active instance directory, not in a template or backup folder.

After editing

  1. Reopen the saved file while the server remains stopped and confirm the new line is present.
  2. Start the server normally.
  3. Log in with administrator privileges.
  4. Check the setting in the admin panel or the relevant in-game control.
  5. If it reverted, restore the backup, then test whether the option belongs in Engine.ini or is affected by a known exception.

Keep a dated copy after a successful change. Secondary guides warn that game updates may reset or reshuffle settings, so a working configuration can require reapplication after an update.

What not to rely on

  • Editing during uptime: the server can overwrite your edit when it saves its in-memory state.
  • A typo-free appearance: an INI file can look valid while an unrecognized key is silently ignored.
  • One universal path: Windows and Linux layouts differ, and Enhanced behavior is unsettled.
  • Unverified numeric limits: conflicting player-cap claims are not a reliable specification.
  • Community reports as official fixes: the forum thread and hosting guides document user experiences, not a Funcom-supported resolution.

When to contact the host or Funcom community

Contact the hosting provider when the file you edit is not the file the panel starts, when a panel regenerates the file immediately, or when you cannot determine whether the instance is Windows, Linux, or Enhanced. Provide the instance identifier, the exact path edited, the key name, and the before-and-after file backups.

Use the Funcom forums or official Conan Exiles channels for build-specific confirmation, especially for Enhanced servers, player caps, and settings with historical spelling problems. No official patch note or canonical Funcom statement confirming this saving issue was identified in the available material, so an authoritative response may depend on the current build and server platform.

Decision checklist

  • Did you stop the server before changing the file?
  • Did you edit the active instance under WindowsServer or the verified Linux/Enhanced equivalent?
  • Is every setting on its own exact key=value line?
  • Could the variable belong in Engine.ini?
  • Did you restart and check the admin panel rather than only the text file?
  • Is the setting one of the reported exceptions, such as StarvationTimeInMinutes or a player-cap option?
  • Did a recent update reset or rearrange the file?

If the answer to the first five questions is yes and the value still reverts, the problem is probably specific to that key, server build, or host implementation rather than the basic save sequence.

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Quick Recap

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