If Palworld starts normally but ignores your server name or gameplay settings, first establish which installation it launched. Replacing every INI you can find makes that harder and can discard settings that were already correct. Use one harmless, visible change to trace the configuration from disk to the game.
This guide covers an existing native Linux dedicated server, using the palworld account, /srv/palworld/server installation and palworld.service from our Ubuntu setup guide. Substitute your actual service and paths. The primary references currently identify themselves as version 1.0.4, checked on October 17, 2026. Docker and Windows use different path mappings; their files are not interchangeable with this example.
Identify the process before editing its files#
On the server, inspect the service definition and effective properties:
sudo systemctl cat palworld
sudo systemctl show palworld -p User -p Environment -p WorkingDirectory -p ExecStart -p MainPID -p Restart
For this installation, the user should be palworld, the working directory /srv/palworld/server, and HOME /srv/palworld. Follow the executable path rather than assuming your SSH account's Steam directory is relevant. HOME identifies the account's environment; it does not turn every path under that home into the active configuration.
Treat this output as private: a service command can contain credentials. If a panel, container entrypoint or wrapper launches the game, inspect that launcher's configuration too. Otherwise a regenerated file can replace your manual edits at the next start.
Pocketpair's configuration reference locates the native Linux file at Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini relative to the installation. In our example that is /srv/palworld/server/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. The root-level DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini is a template, not the live configuration.
Save and stop before changing the configuration#
Arrange a maintenance window. From an already connected administrator client, use the documented game commands:
/AdminPassword REPLACE_ADMIN_SECRET
/Save
/Shutdown 30 ConfigMaintenance
Wait for shutdown, then inspect the service:
sudo systemctl show palworld -p MainPID -p SubState -p Restart
sudo journalctl -u palworld -n 80 --no-pager
The earlier setup uses Restart=no; the game should remain stopped. With another restart policy, the supervisor may immediately launch it again. Stop that service deliberately and wait for its shutdown to finish. Continue only when the managed game has exited, MainPID=0, and the log does not show a replacement process starting. A zero PID by itself is insufficient after a crash.
Protect the existing configuration before opening it:
(
set -e
sudo install -d -o root -g root -m 700 /var/backups/palworld-config
PALWORLD_CONFIG_BACKUP="$(sudo mktemp /var/backups/palworld-config/PalWorldSettings-XXXXXXXX.ini)"
sudo install -o root -g root -m 600 /srv/palworld/server/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini "$PALWORLD_CONFIG_BACKUP"
sudo -u palworld nano /srv/palworld/server/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini
)
Run the block together. If the copy fails because the file does not exist, stop and recheck the path. On a verified installation with no active configuration yet, initialize it from the installed default template after generating the directories through an initial startup. Do not overwrite an existing configured file with defaults to repair one spelling error.
Keep the complete tuple intact#
The official repository example demonstrates the required section and OptionSettings structure. Your file should retain the header [/Script/Pal.PalGameWorldSettings] and one complete OptionSettings=(...) line containing the existing settings.
Find the existing ServerName value and change only its text to Palworld Config Check. Keep ordinary straight quotation marks, commas between fields and balanced parentheses. Visual wrapping in an editor is harmless; inserting physical newlines between every option is a different change. Avoid pasting a short online fragment over the complete tuple or appending a second tuple below it.
A July 2026 forum report describes a player who traced ignored settings to line breaks. That is a useful failure example, not proof that every ignored setting has the same cause. A typo, duplicate entry or wrong file can produce a similar symptom.
Check launch arguments separately#
Inspect the effective ExecStart again. The argument reference documents -port and -players as startup controls. If a wrapper supplies those, do not diagnose their behavior by changing only a similarly named INI field. Align the intended value in the launcher and remove contradictory configuration deliberately; the documentation does not promise a universal precedence rule for every setting.
In particular, PublicPort describes the advertised community endpoint, while -port selects the listener. Changing the former is not a valid experiment for moving the actual socket. If you edited a systemd unit, run sudo systemctl daemon-reload before starting it; an INI-only edit does not require that reload.
Verify one visible change, then investigate the world#
sudo systemctl start palworld
sudo systemctl status palworld --no-pager
sudo journalctl -u palworld -n 100 --no-pager
Join the intended server and check its displayed name. Reopen the INI privately and confirm the edited value survived startup. If the name changed, configuration loading is established; test the original gameplay setting separately under conditions where its effect is observable. Changing several multipliers at once makes that evidence ambiguous.
If the name remains unchanged, revisit the executable path, duplicate processes and generated configuration before touching saves. If the name applies but one world option does not, preserve the full stopped Pal/Saved tree and record the server build, migrated-world history and exact setting. Do not delete WorldOption.sav, Level.sav or player data as a generic INI fix: this guide has no verified conversion or deletion procedure for that case.
Restore the preserved INI while stopped if your edit prevents startup. A useful diagnostic record contains the actual path, relevant launch flags, a redacted configuration excerpt and the observed result after restart. Keep passwords out of screenshots and public support posts.
