How to Disable or Limit AI on Your Arma Reforger Server

Using the "operating" section in config.json, you can turn off AI on your server completely or set an upper limit for the number of AI units. This is useful e.g. for pure PvP servers or to save server performance.

Note

The "operating" section is not present in your server's config.json by default. You add it yourself once. The dashboard does not overwrite this section when the server starts, so your settings are kept.

Available options

Option	Default value	Description
disableAI	false	If set to true, AI is completely disabled on the server.
aiLimit	-1	Maximum number of AI units. Once the limit is reached, no system can spawn more AI. Negative values are ignored, in which case no limit applies.

Disable AI completely

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Open config.json
   Open the file config.json in the root directory of your server.

4. Add the operating section
   Add the new "operating" section after the "game" section. To do this, put a comma after the closing bracket of "game":

   {
     "game": {
       ...
     },
     "operating": {
       "disableAI": true
     }
   }

   The "operating" section is on the same level as "game", not inside it. ... stands for your existing settings in the "game" section, which you leave unchanged.

   Tip

   Check the file with a JSON formatter like JSONLint after editing – a single missing or extra comma is enough to prevent the server from starting.

5. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server.

Warning

With "disableAI": true, AI functionality on the server is switched off completely. Scenarios that include AI enemies or AI squads (e.g. Combat Ops or Conflict with AI squads) will then no longer work as intended. Only disable AI completely if your scenario works without it.

Limit the number of AI units

Instead of turning AI off completely, you can also set an upper limit. This mainly helps with performance problems caused by too many AI units. The limit applies to all systems that spawn AI – so e.g. also to AI placed by a Game Master.

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Open config.json
   Open the file config.json in the root directory of your server.

4. Enter aiLimit
   Add the "aiLimit" entry with the desired maximum to the "operating" section. If the section does not exist yet, create it after "game" as described above:

   "operating": {
     "aiLimit": 60
   }

   If you previously entered "disableAI": true, set the value to false or remove the entry – otherwise AI stays completely disabled and the limit has no effect. Separate multiple entries within "operating" with a comma. There is no comma after the last entry.

   Tip

   Check the file with a JSON formatter like JSONLint after editing – a single missing or extra comma is enough to prevent the server from starting.

5. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server.

Note

To remove the limit again, set "aiLimit" to -1 or delete the entry. You set player limits per faction via the missionHeader section – see Change Scenario Settings.

Tip

You can find more tips for better server performance in the guide Improve Performance. For an overview of all config.json settings, see Configure Server.