Every BeamMP server is controlled by one file: ServerConfig.toml. It's generated automatically the first time you run the server and uses the TOML format. If your server still has an old Server.cfg file, that format is deprecated and is not compatible with ServerConfig.toml.
This guide covers every setting under [General], what it does, and what values actually make sense depending on your server size.
📁 BeamMP-Server (your server's root directory)
Stop your server first. Then open the Files tab on your MintServers panel, edit
ServerConfig.toml as shown above, save your changes, and start the server again for them to take effect.
Server Identity
Name
The name shown for your server in the BeamMP browser. Maximum 250 characters. Supports color and style formatting using codes like ^4 for red or ^l for bold.
Description
The longer description shown when a player clicks into your server listing. Maximum 1000 characters. Use it to explain your rules, mods, and what makes your server worth joining.
Tags
Comma-separated tags that let players filter and find your server, e.g. Tags = "Freeroam,Offroad,Lang:English". Tags aren't case sensitive. The default value is Freeroam. Common categories include game modes (Racing, Roleplay, Derby, Crawling), content (Modded, Vanilla), and language (Lang:English, Lang:German, etc.).
Private
Controls whether your server shows up in the public server browser.
true— hidden from the browser. Players need your IP and port to direct connect.false— visible to everyone in the browser.
Keep this true while you're still testing, and switch it to false once you're ready for the public.
Authentication & Access
AuthKey
Your server's authentication key, generated from the BeamMP Keymaster. Required for the server to run at all, public or private. Only one server can use a given key at a time.
AllowGuests
Whether players without a BeamMP account can join. Most server owners leave this false, since requiring an account makes moderation and banning far more reliable than banning by IP alone.
Players, Cars & Performance
MaxPlayers
The maximum number of players who can be connected at once. This setting alone does not control vehicle count.
MaxCars
The maximum number of vehicles each individual player can have spawned at once. Any extra car a player tries to spawn past this limit is deleted instantly.
🧮 Why MaxCars Matters More Than You'd Think
In BeamMP, every player's vehicles are simulated on every other connected client, not just their own. That means physics load doesn't scale in a straight line with player count — doubling your players roughly quadruples the total physics load each client has to handle. A 10-player server with MaxCars = 3 can mean up to 30 vehicles being simulated at once, which is usually unplayable. Keeping MaxCars low is often more important than keeping MaxPlayers low.
Recommended MaxPlayers / MaxCars by Server Size
- Friends only (3-8 players):
MaxCars = 3-5— small group, performance headroom to spare. - Small community (10-15 players):
MaxCars = 2-3— a good balance for most setups. - Medium public server (15-25 players):
MaxCars = 1-2— needs decent hardware regardless. - Large server (25+ players, racing/roleplay):
MaxCars = 1— anything higher and clients will struggle.
Map
The map your server loads, given as a path ending in /info.json. Must be installed on the server already, either as a stock map or a server-side mod.
/levels/gridmap_v2/info.json— Grid Map/levels/east_coast_usa/info.json— East Coast USA/levels/west_coast_usa/info.json— West Coast USA/levels/italy/info.json— Italy/levels/jungle_rock_island/info.json— Jungle Rock Island/levels/industrial/info.json— Industrial Site/levels/small_island/info.json— Small Island/levels/utah/info.json— Utah/levels/hirochi_raceway/info.json— Hirochi Raceway/levels/johnson_valley/info.json— Johnson Valley/levels/automation_test_track/info.json— Automation Test Track/levels/driver_training/info.json— Driver Training/levels/derby/info.json— Derby/levels/smallgrid/info.json— Small Grid
Network & Logging
Port
The port your server listens on, between 1024-65535. The default is 30814. Only change it if it's already in use, you're running multiple servers on one machine, or your host assigns a specific port.
IP
The local address the server binds to. The default, "::", means "listen on every available interface" and is correct for almost every setup. Leave this alone unless you specifically need to bind to one network interface.
LogChat
When true, in-game chat messages are written to Server.log. Worth enabling on any public server so you have a record to check if someone reports harassment.
Debug
When true, the server logs far more detail, useful when troubleshooting a specific issue. Leave it false otherwise, since it makes your log file grow quickly.
InformationPacket
When true, unauthenticated clients can pull the same info shown on the server list directly from the server. Keep this true — it's required for your server to appear correctly in the browser with an accurate player count.
ResourceFolder
The folder the server looks in for client mods and server-side resources, e.g. "Resources". Only change this if you have a specific reason to store it somewhere else.
ImScaredOfUpdates
Controls whether the server auto-updates when a new version is released. Set to false if you'd rather update manually and test compatibility with your mods first.
UpdateReminderTime
How often the server prints an update reminder in the console, e.g. "30s", "10min", "1h". Purely a reminder — it doesn't trigger anything on its own.
Example Config
A reasonable starting point for a small-to-medium public freeroam server:
Common Mistakes
MaxCarsset too high — the single biggest cause of "laggy server" complaints. Start low and only raise it if performance holds up.- Forgetting to set
Private = false— the server works fine, but no one can find it in the browser. - Sharing the
AuthKey— treat it like a password, not a config value to paste into Discord. - Setting
Mapto a folder name instead of the full path ending in/info.json.
With these settings dialed in, your BeamMP server should run smoothly for the player count you're aiming for. If you're not sure what values fit your hardware, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will help you tune it.