---
title: Avorion Console Commands and Configuration Settings
description: Learn about Console Commands and how to configure your Avorion server hosted with Nodecraft!
source: "https://nodecraft.com/support/games/avorion/avorion-console-commands-and-configuration-settings"
image: "https://dynamic-assets.nodecraft.com/signedurl/w7vokBAexMnVlnMZ1Q/image.jpg?modifications=W3sibmFtZSI6ImdhbWVfYmciLCJpbWFnZV91cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2Ntcy1hLm5vZGVjcmFmdC5jb20vZi8xMzM5MzIvMjAwMHg1NTAvZGMxNmFkMmY2OS9hdm9yaW9uLWxhbmRpbmctMS0yLTAucG5nL20vIn0seyJuYW1lIjoiZ2FtZV9sb2dvIiwiaW1hZ2VfdXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9jbXMtYS5ub2RlY3JhZnQuY29tL2YvMTMzOTMyLzM3NXgxNTAvNTNhY2NiOWVmZC9sb2dvLnBuZy9tLyJ9LHsibmFtZSI6ImN0YV90ZXh0IiwidGV4dCI6IkNyZWF0ZSB5b3VyIG93biBzZXJ2ZXIhIn0seyJuYW1lIjoidGV4dCIsInRleHQiOiJBdm9yaW9uIENvbnNvbGUgQ29tbWFuZHMgYW5kIENvbmZpZ3VyYXRpb24gU2V0dGluZ3MifV0&s=1a8066bff45db76b4b7062cb6cbf3ec51582cdb1e87e0a0deaab0bba3b5cc13c"
published: "2018-12-17T18:36:42.757Z"
updated: "2022-03-14T17:39:00.000Z"
---

# Avorion Console Commands and Configuration Settings

Learn about Console Commands and how to configure your Avorion server hosted with Nodecraft!

## Command Line Options

These are the arguments passed to the server via the command line.  To add command line arguments to your Avorion server, go to the `Game Settings` tab of your control panel, and click on the blue button "Show Advanced Options".

![Avarion_Console_Configuration_show_advanced](https://s3-assets.nodecraft.com/attachments/lQ1mpLDSKnZrmDLG8xQv_Avarion_Console_Configuration_show_advanced.png)

![Avarion_Console_Configuration_enter_command_lines](https://s3-assets.nodecraft.com/attachments/uGf6KsBSTLeqFSb7NI42_Avarion_Console_Configuration_enter_command_lines.png)

### Possible Command Line Arguments:

| Command Line | Arg/Default | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| --help | (none) | Show help message |
| --port | 27000 | Listening port of the server |
| --max-players | 10 | Maximum number of online players |
| --save-interval | 300 | Timestep between savings |
| --server-name | (entered by user) | Server name, will be displayed when queried - added in 0.10.1 |
| --galaxy-name | (entered by user) | Galaxy name, appended to datapath, final path will be [datapath]/[galaxyname] - added in 0.10.1 |
| --datapath | (entered by user) | Folder the galaxies will be stored in, will be prepended to galaxy name |
| --admin | (Steam ID) | Steam id(s) of the administrator(s) of the server |
| --seed | (random) | Seed of the server |
| --difficulty | 0 | Difficulty of the server. Allowed values are: -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3 |
| --infinite-resources | -------- | Enable infinite resources for all players |
| --collision-damage | 1 | Amount of damage done to an object on collision, from 0 to 1. 0: no damage, 1: full damage |
| --same-start-sector | -------- | Indicate if all players should start in the same sector |
| --threads | -------- | Specify the number of threads used to update the sectors |
| --exit-on-last-admin-logout | -------- | Shuts down server when last admin leaves |
| --stderr-to-log | -------- | Redirect std error output from console to log file |
| --stdout-to-log | -------- | Redirect std console output from console to log file |
| --public | -------- | Indicate if the server should allow other players to join |
| --listed | -------- | Indicate if the server should show up on public server lists |
| --use-steam-networking | -------- | Use steam networking and authentication for users |
| --t or --trace | (See List) | Tracing options. Can be more than one. Allowed values are: network, scripting, threading, io, database, input, error, warning, exception, user, game, system, debug, sound, gl, all |

Some examples of command line arguments:

```
--max-players 30
--port 30000
--server-name myserver
```

## Server.ini Configuration Options:

The configuration for your Avorion server is controlled by the settings in the file `server.ini`.   This file is normally found in the folders `/galaxies/avorion_galaxy`.

> NOTE: The `server.ini` file (and the entire "Galaxies" folder) will not exist unless you have started and run the server at least once.  These files are created during the initial startup process.

![Avarion_Console_Configuration_server_ini_file](https://s3-assets.nodecraft.com/attachments/cEmT6AodSrSFpgC6A6iW_Avarion_Console_Configuration_server_ini_file.png)

To edit the `server.ini` file, click the box to the left of the file name, and then click the "edit" button that will appear at to the top of the file manager view.

![Avarion_Console_Configuration_edit_server_ini](https://s3-assets.nodecraft.com/attachments/xGSRva7jT4mTR0EPeoJ5_Avarion_Console_Configuration_edit_server_ini.png)

## Configuration Settings:

The following are the configuration settings that you can include or change on your Avorion server.  The configuration settings are grouped into sections in the configuration file.

> Note:  Some of the settings included in the list below are settings that will be supported in future versions of the game, and are not currently working at the moment.

### \[Game Options\]

| Option | Default Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | [random] | The random seed used for galaxy generation. Accepts upper and lower case letters and numbers. |
| Difficulity | 0 | Note the typo in the name of the option. The difficulty of the server. Accepts an integer between -3 and 3. [Needs testing] |
| InfiniteResources | false | Toggles infinite resources (or "creative mode") server wide |
| CollisionDamage | 1 | A multiplier for damage to colliding objects. Accepts floating-point numbers, e.g. 0.5 is 50% collision damage. |
| SafePlayerInput | false | [Experimental] If enabled, updates sent from players to server are double checked and only control input is accepted to avoid cheating/hacking.Disabling this will result in much smoother performance at the time of this writing. Enabling this may result in very bad performance over slow networks. |
| PlayerToPlayerDamage | true | Enables/Disables player to player damage server wide. |
| LogoutInvincibility | true | A player's ships are indestructible as long as the player is offline. |
| LogoutInvincibilityDelay | 30 | The time in seconds that a player must be offline until his ships become invincible. |
| DevMode | false | Enables/Disables devmode |
| BigWreckageDespawnTime | 1800 | Time in seconds it takes for new (as in: not created by the generator but during gameplay, such as combat) large wreckages (more than 15 blocks) to disappear. |
| SmallWreckageDespawnTime | 900 | Time in seconds it takes for new (as in: not created by the generator but during gameplay, such as combat) small wreckages (15 blocks or less) to disappear. |
| ResourceDropChance | 0.4 | [Currently unused] Chance of resources dropping from destroyed blocks |
| LootDiminishingFactor | 0.005 | [Currently unused] Multiplier that's applied to the value of a block/wreckage/ship to determine the dropped money and resources. |
| TurretDropChanceFromBlock | 0.005 | [Currently unused] The chance that a turret will drop from a block of wreckage when it is destroyed |
| TurretDropChanceFromCraft | 0.25 | [Currently unused] The chance that a turret will drop from an NPC space craft when the craft is destroyed |
| TurretDropChanceFromTurret | 0.025 | [Currently unused] The chance that a turret will drop from an NPC space craft when the turret is destroyed |
| SystemDropChanceFromBlock | 0.005 | [Currently unused] The chance that a ship system will drop from a block of wreckage when it is destroyed |
| SystemDropChanceFromCraft | 0.2 | [Currently unused] The chance that a ship system will drop from an NPC space craft when the craft is destroyed |
| ColorDropChanceFromCraft | 0.05 | [Currently unused] The chance that a color will drop from a space craft when the craft is destroyed |
| ColorDropChanceFromBlock | 0.0025 | [Currently unused] The chance that a color will drop from a block of wreckage when it is destroyed |
| MaximumFightersPerSectorAndPlayer | -1 | The total number of fighters that can be in one sector at once, defaults to -1, meaning infinite. |
| MaximumBlocksPerCraft | -1 | The total number of blocks that any ship can be made up of, defaults to -1, meaning infinite |
| MaximumVolumePerShip | -1 | The total volume that ships can reach, defaults to -1, meaning infinite (Needs testing if it applies to AI) |
| MaximumPlayerShips | -1 | The total number of ships a player may own at any one time, defaults to -1, meaning infinite |
| MaximumPlayerStations | -1 | The total number of stations a player may own at any one time, defaults to -1, meaning infinite |
| sameStartSector | true | Indicates if all players should start in the same sector. If false, a random empty sector on the outer rim is populated and used as the home sector for each new player. |
| startUpScript | data/scripts/server/server.lua | Specifies a Lua script to run on server startup. |
| startSectorScript | startsector[.lua] | Specifies a Lua script to run when generating a start sector for a player. |

### \[System Options\]

| Option | Default Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| saveInterval | 600 | The time between server saves, in seconds. |
| sectorUpdateTimeLimit | 300 | The time that sectors which don't qualify for out-of-sector-simulation are kept within memory. |
| emptySectorUpdateInterval | 0.5 | The time between update steps of sectors without players. |
| workerThreads | 1 | Number of concurrent threads that are used to update sectors. (Identical to the "Threads" setting ingame.) |
| generatorThreads | 2 | Number of concurrent threads that are used to generate new sectors while players are calculating nav routes. |
| scriptBackgroundThreads | 2 | Number of concurrent threads that are used to run heavy script calculations that are called during gameplay, an example would be the generation of new ship models |
| aliveSectorsPerPlayer | Multiplayer: 5 Singleplayer: 500 | Number of sectors kept alive for each player and alliance on the server, provided that there are player or alliance ships in that sector. |
| weakUpdate | true | Indicates if the sectors without players should be simulated with a "weak" update, which is less accurate but a lot faster than the normal update step. |
| profiling | false | Toggles performance and memory profiling. Server performance may suffer slightly, but /status command will print a lot more detailed output. |
| immediateWriteout | true | Deprecated in v0.12 and above] Controls whether ships and sector files are to be written to disk immediately after a player changes sectors. |

### \[Networking\]

| Option | Default Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| port | 27000 | The default port to access the server on. Does not affect the TCP/UDP game traffic port or the query ports. |
| broadcastInterval | 5 | The time between server mass update broadcasts in seconds. |
| isPublic | true | Privacy setting. If enabled, only one administrator is allowed on the server and the server will not show up on the LAN menu. (Same as the command line parameter -public) |
| isListed | true | Privacy setting. If enabled together with useSteam, the server will show up in public server lists. (Same as the ingame setting "List Publicly") |
| isAuthenticated | true | Privacy setting. Toggles Steam user authentication. (Identical to the ingame setting "Authenticate Users") |
| useSteam | true | Determines whether the server is using Steam networking and can be joined via Steam, using options like "join game". |
| rconIp | (set by user) | The IP that the RCON server is bound to. If blank, listens on all interfaces. |
| rconPassword | (set by user) | The password that is needed to connect to the RCON server. If blank, RCON is disabled. |
| rconPort | 27015 | The port the RCON server. |

### \[Administration\]

| Option | Default Setting | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| maxPlayers | 10 | The max number of players allowed on the server at one time |
| name | Avorion Server | The name of the server, shown in the server list. |
| description | An Avorion Server | A description for the server, shown in the server list. |
| password | (set by user) | Sets the password users attempting to join the server need to enter, if they enter incorrectly they will be kicked |
| pausable | false | Enables/Disables pausing the server |
| accessListMode | Blacklist | Determines whether the server uses a blacklist or a whitelist to restrict access |