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Customize your server in Terraria with these command line parameters and console commands.

Terraria Console Commands: Building a Better Server

Customize your server in Terraria with these command line parameters and console commands.
This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Like many open-world building games, Terraria can move from fun hobby to total obsession when you start playing around with custom servers. There are a seemingly infinite number of things you can do once you start delving into this aspect of the game, and console commands will help you make the most of it.

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Setting up a server in Terraria is a fairly simple process, and it will be a big help towards letting you customize the game to your liking. Hosting a server is a great way to bring friends into a persistent world that you can return to over and over. It’s also a great way to test new things in a game that rewards experimentation and curiosity.

These console commands help you adjust your server and the players in it as well as helping you to close everything down when you’re ready to call it an evening. Here are all the console commands in Terraria and the command line parameters you can use when launching a server. You need to be hosting the server in order to use these commands, by the way.

Terraria Command Line Parameters

When you first run a new Terraria server, you can use these commands to help customize the rules and settings of the server.

  • -config  Indicates a specific configuration file to use
  • -port  Indicates which port to listen on
  • -players OR -maxplayers  Sets a maximum number of players
  • -pass OR -password  Assigns a password to your server
  • -motd  Sets your server’s message of the day
  • -world  Loads and automatically launches a world
  • -autocreate  Creates a world if none is specified. The number indicates the size. 1 is small, 2 is medium, 3 is large
  • -banlist  Specifies the server’s banlist .txt file location
  • -worldname  Sets the world’s name when it is autocreated
  • -secure  Adds cheat protection
  • -noupnp  Turns off universal plug and play
  • -steam  Adds Steam support
  • -lobby or  Determines whether friends can join the server

Terraria Console Commands

While you are hosting a Terraria server, you can input any of these commands into the console to change several parameters.

  • help  Brings up a command list
  • playing  Loads a list of players currently on the server. You can also type /playing in chat to see the same effect.
  • clear  Clears the console window
  • exit  Save and shutdown the server
  • exit-nosave  Shuts down the server without saving
  • save  Saves the game world
  • kick  Kicks someone off the server
  • ban  Bans someone from joining the server
  • password  Shows the server password
  • password  Changes the server password
  • version  Shows the version number
  • time  Shows the current game time
  • port  Shows the listening port
  • maxplayers  Shows the maximum number of players allowed
  • say  Sends a message to all players in yellow text from the server name
  • motd  Shows the message of the day
  • motd  Changes the message of the day
  • dawn — Sets the time to 4:30 AM
  • noon  Sets the time to 12:00 PM
  • dusk  Sets the time to 7:30 PM
  • midnight  Sets the time to 12:00 AM
  • settle  Settles all water in the game world

That’s all there is to it. These console commands will help you customize your Terraria server however you see fit. If you simply can’t get enough of Terraria, check out our Terraria guides page for a whole lot more!


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Author
Image of Jordan Baranowski
Jordan Baranowski
Jordan has been gaming and geeking since he was a wee lad. He is a freelance writer and content creator, contributing to AMC Theatres, SVG, Looper, and Feast Magazine, among others. Follow him on Twitter for article updates and Instagram for (mostly) pictures of food and animals.