Space Engineers: connect to and set up your server

Here's how to connect to your Space Engineers server and adjust the most important settings.

Connecting

Open the server page in the client area and click Start.
Wait until the status shows “running”. You can follow the progress in the Console tab.
Copy the address (IP:Port) at the top of the server page.
In Space Engineers, choose Join Game, tab Servers, and search for your server name. Alternatively, add the address in Steam under View → Game Servers → Favorites.

Important settings

In the Startup variables tab:

Server Name (SERVER_NAME) and Server Description (SERVER_DESC) – name and description in the server list.
Game Mode (SERVER_MODE) – Survival or Creative.
Maximum Players (MAX_PLAYERS) – maximum number of players.
Enable Saving (SAVE_ENABLED) and Auto Save Interval (SAVE_INTERVAL, in minutes) – automatic saving.
Enable Experimental Mode (EXPERIMENTAL_ENABLED) – must be true if you use mods.
Enable In-Game Scripts (INGAMESCRIPTS_ENABLED) – allows scripts in programmable blocks.

We write these values into config/SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg (Files tab) on start. That is also where you add admins (SteamID64 under Administrators) and Workshop mods. Changes take effect on the next restart.

Good to know

World Name (WORLD_NAME) is fixed – please don't change it, otherwise the server won't start. Your save is in config/Saves/.
Space Engineers runs as a Windows server under Wine, so the first start takes a little longer.
You only need the Remote API (REMOTEAPI_ENABLE) for external management tools.