TShock settings in the Config Editor, group by group

When a server runs TShock, the Config Editor shows TShock’s own settings file as named rows. There are 52, in eight groups. Two are locked. Saved changes apply after a restart.

This applies to a Terraria server that runs TShock. The program is chosen on the World page. For the plain serverconfig.txt rows that every Terraria server has, see the Terraria Config Editor.

Open the file

Open the server’s Config Editor tab.
Choose TShock from the row of file buttons. It is the file tshock/config.json.

TShock file open in the Config Editor, with the Server and Players groups on the left and the World group on the right

Two things to know first:

TShock writes config.json only when it is missing. If the page says the file does not exist yet, start the server once.
Next to it is TShock server-side characters, the file tshock/sscconfig.json. It has no named rows. It opens as a file. See server-side characters.

Each row shows its help line. Some rows have none, because their label says enough. The number rows have the limits given below. Beneath the rows, an Advanced card says how many more settings the file holds (“Most servers never change them”) with Show them.

Not checked on TShock 6.2.1 as of 13 November 2026: what each row does in game beyond the help line the panel shows. The tables below add plain wording where the panel shows none.

Server

Row	What it does
Server name	Shown to players when Use server name is on. Otherwise the world’s name is shown.
Use server name	Show the server name above instead of the world’s name.
TShock join password	Empty uses the join password under Passwords. Set here, TShock asks for this one instead.
Reserved slots	Extra slots past the player limit for groups allowed to use them. 0 to 255.

Players

Row	What it does
Whitelist only	Only addresses in `tshock/whitelist.txt` can join.
Account needed to play	Players must register and log in before they can do anything in the world.
No password at the door	Players log in with `/login` once they are in, rather than as they join.
No automatic login	Turn off logging players in by their game’s id. Safer on a public server, because a malicious server can take that id.
Login attempts	Wrong passwords before TShock kicks the player. 1 to 100.
Shortest account password	For `/register`. 4 to 64.
Group for new accounts	The group a player joins when they register.
Group for guests	The group of a player who has not logged in.
Kick proxy users	Kick players who join through a known proxy.

Characters

Row	What it does
Hardcore characters only	Only hardcore characters can join.
Mediumcore characters only	Only mediumcore characters can join.
Softcore characters only	Only softcore characters can join.
Most health	A character with more is caught as cheating. 100 to 10,000.
Most mana	A character with more is caught as cheating. 20 to 10,000.
Respawn time	In seconds. 0 uses the game’s own. Up to 600.
Respawn time during a boss	In seconds. 0 uses the game’s own. Up to 600.

World

Row	What it does
PvP	Choose Players choose, Always on, Always off or On, teams not allowed.
Spawn protection	Only groups allowed to can build near the world’s spawn.
Spawn protection radius	In tiles. 0 to 1,000.
Building off	Nobody can change the world except groups allowed to.
Hardmode off	Beating the Wall of Flesh does not start hardmode.
No Dungeon Guardian	Turns the Dungeon Guardian off.
No clown bombs	Turns clown bombs off.
No Frost Legion snowballs	Turns the Frost Legion’s snowballs off.
No tombstones	Players leave no tombstone when they die.
No Skeletron Prime bombs	Turns Skeletron Prime’s bombs off.
Time of day	Normal, Always day or Always night.
Always Christmas	Keeps the Christmas event on.
Always Halloween	Keeps the Halloween event on.
Crimson spreads	Lets the Crimson spread.
Corruption spreads	Lets the Corruption spread.
Hallow spreads	Lets the Hallow spread.
Invasion size	How many enemies an invasion brings, as a multiple of the game’s own. 1 to 100.
Most enemies near a player	TShock’s limit. The game’s own is 5. 0 to 200.
Enemy spawn rate	Lower spawns more often. The game’s own is 600. 1 to 10,000.

Saving

Row	What it does
Save the world now and then	Turns the world’s automatic saving on or off.
Say when it saves	Announces each save in chat.
Backup every	Minutes between TShock’s own world backups, kept in `tshock/backups`. 0 turns them off. Up to 1,440.
Keep backups for	How long to keep them, in minutes.
Save when the last player leaves	Saves the world when the server empties.

TShock’s backups are separate from the game’s own backups on the World page and from the panel’s Backups tab.

Chat

Row	What it does
Show where players join from	TShock’s join message names each player’s country.
Show addresses to admins	Admins in game see each joining player’s address.
Chat above heads	Shows chat above the player’s head.

Database

Row	What it does
MySQL password	Only used when TShock stores its data in MySQL. A secret.
PostgreSQL password	Only used when TShock stores its data in PostgreSQL. A secret.

Advanced

Row	What it does
REST API	TShock’s web API. The panel does not need it, and its port is not open to the internet.

Locked rows

Two rows sit under Set by Loafhosts and cannot be changed here.

Port: the panel starts TShock on the server’s own port, whatever this says.
Max players: the panel starts TShock with the limit set on the Startup page, whatever this says.

Change the player limit on Startup. The port is shown on the Players page and in the server’s network settings.

Passwords

The three secret rows (TShock join password, MySQL password, PostgreSQL password) are passwords, so do not show them in a screenshot. The ordinary join password, the one most servers use, is under Passwords in the Config Editor. A new server has none.

Saving, and when it applies

Change a row. A bar reads “Unsaved changes: (n)” with Discard and Save. Choose Save. A running server says “Saved. Restart the server to apply the changes.” Choose Restart at the top of the server page. A restart drops everyone who is on, so warn them first with Message everyone on the Players page. A stopped server says “Saved. The changes apply when the server starts.”

If it does not work

The TShock file is not listed. The server is not running TShock. Check the World page.
The file does not exist yet. Start the server once so TShock writes it.
You changed a row and nothing changed in game. Restart the server.
Players cannot get in after you turned on a requirement. Whitelist only and Account needed to play both stop players who are not set up. Turn the row off, save, and restart.
The row for the player limit has no effect. It is locked. Use Startup.

Sources: github.com: TShock

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