Unturned Config Editor: Commands.dat and Workshop Downloads

Every Unturned dedicated server is driven by Commands.dat, a plain-text file with one setting per line that controls your server’s name, max players, map, difficulty, and a long list of gameplay rules. On an Unturned server you host with Loafhosts, you do not have to open that file by hand. The Unturned Config Editor reads Commands.dat, lays the settings out as a grouped form with a plain-English label and a help tip under each one, and gives you two one-click presets for common gameplay setups. It also gives you a dedicated form for the Steam Workshop download list, so adding a map or mod ID does not mean hand-editing JSON either. This guide covers exactly what the editor does, how the groups and presets work, which keys are locked and why, and when a change needs a restart. It is currently a BETA feature.

What the Unturned Config Editor Does

The Config Editor works on two files. The first, and primary, is Commands.dat at Servers/Unturned/Server/Commands.dat, the main dedicated-server config file Unturned reads at boot. Instead of a wall of Key value lines, it shows you a labeled control for each setting: a text box, a number field, a dropdown, or an on/off toggle, depending on what the setting expects, with a short tip explaining what it does. The second is WorkshopDownloadConfig.json at the server root, which holds the list of Steam Workshop item IDs the server auto-downloads on startup; the editor gives it a single comma-separated field rather than requiring you to hand-write JSON array syntax.

Note: The editor edits two files: Commands.dat (a grouped form) and WorkshopDownloadConfig.json (a single Workshop-IDs field).

Note: This is a BETA feature. It works, but expect it to keep changing as coverage is extended.

Opening the Config Editor

The editor appears automatically on Unturned servers. Open your server in the Loafhosts panel and look in the left sidebar under the Game section for Server Config. Click it to open the Unturned Config Editor, which loads over your normal server view so your sidebar and the live status header stay in place while you work. The item only shows up on Unturned servers; it stays hidden on any other game.

Tip: The Server Config item lives in the Game section of the server sidebar.

Tip: If your server has never started, Commands.dat may not exist on disk yet. Start the server once so it can be generated, then reopen the editor.

How Commands.dat Is Grouped

The form splits Commands.dat into three groups:

• Server: Server Name, Max Players, Owner Steam64 ID, and Ping Timeout. These are the identity and access-control fields for the instance itself.
• World: Map (the map or Workshop map folder name your server loads, for example PEI, Washington, Yukon, Hawaii, Russia, or a custom Workshop map name) and Structure Decay (how many seconds an offline player’s structures stay protected before others can remove them; the default is 604,800 seconds, or 7 days).
• Gameplay: Difficulty (Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard), Camera Perspective (First, Third, Both, or Vehicle), Allow Cheat Commands, PvE Only, Gold Members Only, Anti-Cheat Enabled, and the Welcome message shown to players on join.

Each field’s help tip explains what the setting actually does: for example, the tip on Structure Decay spells out the default in both seconds and days, and the tip on PvE Only notes that it disables player-vs-player damage outright rather than just reducing it.

Tip: Read the tip under a field before changing anything you are unsure about; most of the game’s own jargon is translated into plain language there.

Locked Settings: Port and Password

Two fields, Game Port and Server Password, are shown in the editor with a locked state and cannot be saved from here. These are managed by the panel elsewhere: Game Port comes from your server’s assigned network allocation, and Server Password is set from the Server Password variable on the Startup tab. If the editor let you change either one in Commands.dat, the value could be inconsistent with what the panel actually enforces on the network side, or get overwritten the next time the server’s startup variables are re-applied. Locking them here and pointing you at the right place avoids that.

Note: Game Port is tied to your server’s assigned allocation and is not edited in any config file.

Note: Server Password is set on the Startup tab, not in the Config Editor, so it stays in sync with what the panel actually launches the server with.

One-Click Presets

The editor ships two presets so you do not have to hand-tune every gameplay field yourself:

• PvE: turns PvE Only on and Allow Cheat Commands off, for a server where players build and survive without fighting each other.
• Hardcore PvP: sets Difficulty to Hard, turns PvE Only off, and drops Structure Decay to 86,400 seconds (1 day), for a faster-paced, more punishing PvP server where undefended bases do not stay protected for long.

Applying a preset writes only the fields that preset defines; it does not touch your Map, Server Name, or any other setting outside its patch. As with any Commands.dat change, apply a preset and then restart the server to bring the new values into play.

Tip: PvE is the friendlier starting point for a public server focused on building and survival rather than combat.

Tip: Hardcore PvP’s faster structure decay means bases go undefended sooner, so warn your community before you switch a live server onto it.

Managing Workshop Maps and Mods

Below the Commands.dat groups, the Mods section edits WorkshopDownloadConfig.json directly: a single field takes a comma-separated list of Steam Workshop item IDs for the maps and mods you want the server to auto-download on startup, for example 2136497468, 2229264867. Save the field and the editor writes the array back into the JSON file for you. Adding a Workshop map’s ID here does not automatically change what map your server loads; if you are switching to a Workshop map, set its map folder name in the World group’s Map field as well.

Note: The Workshop IDs field writes to WorkshopDownloadConfig.json’s File_IDs array; it does not touch Commands.dat’s Map field.

Tip: Find a Workshop item’s ID in its Steam Workshop page URL, then paste it into this field alongside any IDs you already have.

What Is Not Covered

Two Unturned files that some hosting guides mention are deliberately outside this editor for now: Config.json (a per-server JSON file that can override matching Commands.dat fields) and Rocket.config.xml (RocketMod’s RCON toggle and password). Both can be edited through the panel’s File Manager if you need to reach a setting in them; they are not wired into the form editor yet.

Note: Config.json and Rocket.config.xml are not edited by the Config Editor. Use the File Manager for those.

Validation and How Changes Apply

Values are checked against their allowed type and range before anything is written: numbers must be whole numbers inside the field’s min/max, dropdown fields must be one of the listed choices, and toggles are written as true or false. If a value fails validation, the save is rejected with an error and the on-disk file is left untouched.

Saving only writes the file; Unturned does not pick up a Commands.dat change until it reads the file again at boot. Make your changes, save, and restart the server to bring them into play. WorkshopDownloadConfig.json changes also apply on the next startup, when the server checks the file and downloads anything new in the list.

Note: Saving writes the file but does not apply the change. Restart the server to load the new settings.

Note: Out-of-range or wrong-type values are rejected on save, so a bad entry never reaches the server.

Putting It Together

The Unturned Config Editor turns Commands.dat from a file you would otherwise have to open in the File Manager and edit by hand into a grouped form: labeled fields with plain-English tips, two presets that cover the most common PvE and Hardcore PvP setups, a locked Game Port and Server Password that point you at the Startup tab where they actually belong, and a simple comma-separated field for your Workshop map and mod IDs. Set your fields or apply a preset, save, restart, and your Unturned server is running the way you want. It remains a BETA feature, so expect its field coverage to keep growing over time.