How to Host a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server for Free

By FreeGameHost Team • Updated May 2026 • 8 min read

Setting up your own game server provides total creative freedom, direct folder access, and a custom multiplayer experience. Survive the blood moon. Learn how to configure a free dedicated 7 Days to Die server to keep your world online for multiplayer coop. Whether you are planning to host a small coop world for your close friends or build a public gaming community, configuring the server correctly is essential for maintaining 20 TPS (Ticks Per Second) and low connection latency.

In this comprehensive tutorial, we cover the exact system specifications, command blocks, configuration file lines, and plugin files required to get How to Host a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server for Free running. Follow each step carefully to prevent server crash loops, OutOfMemory exceptions, and common connection issues.

24/7Uptime

4 GBFree RAM

Lag-FreeOptimized

Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

Initialize game slot

Set up a dedicated game slot for 7 Days to Die. The server will download the engine files via SteamCMD. Make sure to select the build version that matches your game server software exactly to prevent class loading errors during startup.

Configure serverconfig.xml

Open 'serverconfig.xml' in the File Manager. Set server name, map size, difficulty, and admin passwords. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Set Port Allocations

The server runs on port 26900 UDP/TCP. Bind this port inside your network settings dashboard. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Launch and Join

Start the server. Open your client, select Join Game, search for your server name, and enter your password. Check the server console panel logs as the startup sequence runs to verify that no error exceptions or missing dependency logs are thrown.

Recommended Configurations and Setup Files

To configure your server files correctly, navigate to the File Manager in your control panel and open the corresponding configuration files. Paste or modify the settings as shown in the configuration block below. These lines help prevent database thread blockages, optimize tick timing performance, and reduce entity rendering overhead on the game host:

# serverconfig.xml settings:

Pro Tip: Set up an automated restart schedule in your panel. 7 Days to Die dedicated servers can leak memory during blood moon horde events. Pre-generating world chunks using plugin utilities (like Chunky) is highly recommended for reducing startup lag during exploration.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much RAM is required?

7 Days to Die requires a minimum of 4GB of RAM to load the map database. High CPU performance is essential to prevent zombie pathfinding lag.

Can I use custom world generation?

Yes. Change 'GameWorld' in your config file to 'RWG' to trigger custom random world generation.

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