Core Keeper Console Commands and Server Parameters
Core Keeper has no chat commands and no RCON, and its developer console is switched off. In an unmodded game no key opens a command line, there is no /give or /kick, and no admin password unlocks one. The console does exist, but only a mod can switch it on (see the developer console below). Moderation is a menu, not a command: admins ban players and make other players admins from the pause menu, on a dedicated server as well as in a player-hosted game. That is the honest answer to the question most people are asking.
What the dedicated server does give you is a real configuration surface: 15 documented launch parameters and a ServerConfig.json that holds most of them. Those are the levers for world mode, seed, season, player count, the Game ID, the password, the port and which platforms may connect. They are listed in full below, with the defaults and the limits, taken from the ARGUMENTS.txt and README.txt that Pugstorm ship inside the dedicated server itself.
Verified against the shipped build. Checked on September 17, 2026 against the current Core Keeper dedicated server (game build 1.2.1.5). The parameter list, the defaults and the limits below are quoted from the files that come with that download, not from a community wiki. Core Keeper 1.3 Riders of the Underground released on September 21, 2026 and may have added to this list; re-read ARGUMENTS.txt after any major update.
What people are usually looking for
| What you want to do | Is it a command? | What actually does it |
|---|---|---|
| Give yourself an item | Only with a mod | Creative mode (set at world creation), a community command mod, or the developer console's spawn and spawnByName once a mod has switched it on |
| Kick or ban a player | No | An admin bans them from the pause menu, which disconnects them and refuses them when they try to rejoin, and an admin can lift the ban again from the ban list. Rotating the Game ID also shuts out anyone who only knows the old one |
| Change the difficulty | No | -worldmode, but only meaningfully at world creation |
| Change how many players can join | No | -maxplayers or ServerConfig.json, then restart |
| Set a password | No | -password, and only for direct IP joins |
| Force a season (Halloween, Christmas) | No | -season |
| Stop the server cleanly | No | Press q in the server window |
The developer console. Checked on 29 September 2026 against the shipped dedicated server files (build 25442457, the server as it stood before 1.3.0.3) and Pugstorm's patch notes. Core Keeper ships a developer console built on Quantum Console. It greets you with "Welcome to the Pugstorm Developer Console!" and calls itself a testing and debugging tool to "spawn items, modify player stats, and more". It is switched off. The 1.2.1.0 notes (6 May 2026) say how to switch it on: a mod sets MenuManager.enableConsole to true, and the console then opens in game with Ctrl+X. The server's ARGUMENTS.txt and README.txt document no option for it, and none of its launch arguments is one.
Switched on, it is still limited. The game's own message is "You must have admin privileges and the host must have console commands enabled", and since 1.2.1.3 (20 May 2026) Steam achievements stop triggering once console commands are used in a session. The shipped command list includes spawn (any object by ID), spawnByName (by name, including mod IDs), goto, noclip, invincible, setHealth, setAllSkillsToMax and revealExploredAreas, which 1.3.0.3 fixed for PC builds on 29 September 2026. It has no kick or ban command. We have not tested whether a mod can switch the console on for a dedicated server.
Every documented server parameter
All of these are command-line arguments. Most can also be set in ServerConfig.json; the two exceptions are called out in the table.
World
| Parameter | What it does | Default and limits |
|---|---|---|
-world INDEX | Which save slot to load, so one server can hold several worlds and switch between them | 0 to 29 inclusive |
-worldname NAME | The name connecting clients see in their network settings | Quote it if it contains spaces |
-worldseed SEED | The world generation and dungeon placement seed, exactly as in the client | Any string. Only applies when the world is first created. Omit for a random seed |
-hashedworldseed SEED | The same, but for a seed you only have in hashed form | 0 to 4294967295. Ignored if -worldseed is set |
-worldmode MODE | Difficulty: Normal, Hard, Creative or Casual | Default Normal. Switching between creative and non-creative after creation is not supported |
-season SEASON | Forces a seasonal event: None, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine, Anniversary, CherryBlossom, LunarNewYear | Follows the system date if omitted |
-activatecontent A,B | Turns on optional content bundles: AbioticFactor, BiomeStatues, GiantCicadaBossDungeon, GuaranteedOases, NatureBiomeCicadas | Permanent. There is no way to undo it for that world |
-activateallcontent | Turns on every bundle not already active | Same warning: permanent |
-datapath PATH | Where saves live | Defaults to a DedicatedServer folder under the normal save location |
Access and networking
| Parameter | What it does | Default and limits |
|---|---|---|
-gameid ID | Fixes the Game ID players type to join, instead of a new random one each boot | 15 to 28 alphanumeric characters, and may not contain Y, y, x, 0 or O. Invalid values are replaced with a random ID |
-password "PASS" | The password for direct IP joins | Max 28 characters. Not used for Game ID joins, because the Game ID already carries that access |
-port PORT | Binds a port and switches the server to direct connections, which is what enables cross-play | Omit it and the server uses the Steam relay and refuses direct IP joins entirely. Use 27015 for a server on the same LAN. Command line only, ignored in ServerConfig.json |
-ip IP | Which local address to bind, IPv4 or IPv6 | Default 0.0.0.0. No effect unless -port is set. Command line only, ignored in ServerConfig.json |
-maxplayers COUNT | Player cap | Default 8. Pugstorm warn that a higher count may need more resources or make the session unstable |
-allowonlyplatform P | Restricts joins to one of Steam, Epic, Microsoft, GOG, which turns cross-play off | No effect unless -port is set |
ServerConfig.json
The server writes ServerConfig.json into its data path, and per the shipped README most of the arguments above can be set there instead of on the command line. Two cannot: -port and -ip are read from the command line only, and setting them in the file has no effect. If a change to the file appears to do nothing, check it is not one of those two before looking anywhere else.
The file also records what the server actually loaded, including which world slot. That makes it the first thing to read when an uploaded world does not appear: a world in the folder and a different index in the config look identical from the client side.
GameInfo.txt, and the log when there is no GameInfo.txt
On startup the server writes GameInfo.txt. It holds more than the Game ID:
- any argument that was invalid or ignored, and why,
- which platforms are allowed to join,
- the local and public IP, the port, the password and the Game ID,
- a ready-made
IP;PORT;;PASSWORDstring you can paste straight into the game's "Join Game Via IP" field, which fills every box at once.
The IP, port and password lines only appear if you started the server with -port. If GameInfo.txt is missing entirely, the server failed during setup: read CoreKeeperServerLog.txt in the same folder. That pair answers most "the Game ID does not work" reports without touching the network, and the connection troubleshooting checklist covers the rest.
Custom world generation parameters
The dedicated server has no world-parameters UI. To use your own, Pugstorm's documented route is to create the world in the normal Core Keeper client with the settings you want, copy the matching file out of the worldgenparams folder in that save directory into a worldgenparams folder in the server's data path, rename it to the world index you intend to use, and start a new world on that index. Match the seed too if you want the identical world rather than a different one with the same rules.
Community command mods
Outside the developer console, mods are where in-game commands come from, including the item-giving and moderation commands people search for. Core Keeper ships a mod loader with the game, and Pugstorm run a Steam Workshop beta for mods alongside their own modding documentation. A mod's commands are not part of the dedicated-server contract, so:
- Read the mod's current documentation and compatibility notes; a command list from a year ago may not match the build you are on.
- Install it on a disposable copy of the world first.
- Give every player the same mod and version instructions.
- Back up before enabling it, and if the world stops loading remove only the newest change.
- Expect breakage on update day. A major update such as 1.3 routinely invalidates mods.
Do not treat a mod's /op, /kick or /ban examples as built-in commands: the game's own admin and ban controls are in the pause menu. And do not go looking for an RCON port: there is not one.
Safe admin checklist
- Keep the Game ID private. Rotating it means restarting the server with a different
-gameid, or without one for a fresh random ID. - Make only trusted players admins. An admin can ban players and make other players admins from the pause menu.
- Stop the server with
qbefore copying or moving world files, and keep a dated copy of the worlds directory before an update or a mod rollout. - Do not open ports while diagnosing a Game ID problem. The Game ID path runs over the Steam relay and needs no port forwarding;
-portis for direct IP and cross-play, and it is a separate decision. - Think twice before
-activatecontent. It cannot be undone for that world.
Backups and where worlds live
Unless you set -datapath, dedicated worlds are under C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\DedicatedServer\worlds on Windows and ~/.config/unity3d/Pugstorm/Core Keeper/DedicatedServer/worlds on Linux. Stop the server, copy the directory, and test the copy before making destructive changes. The troubleshooting guide lists the evidence worth collecting when a save fails.
Pugstorm's official dedicated server FAQ remains the reference for the supported startup and shutdown flow.
Related Core Keeper guides
- Dedicated server setup and Game ID
- Mods and Workshop rollout
- Connection troubleshooting
- Server cost and sizing
- Road to the Maw roadmap and 1.3
Want the parameters set for you and a backup taken before every update? Use managed Core Keeper hosting and keep the same backup-first discipline for permissions and mods.