How to Adjust the Round Flow on Your SCP: Secret Laboratory Server

How long the lobby waits, whether late joiners still spawn in, when the Alpha Warhead detonates automatically and how many items a player may carry – you set all of this in the config_gameplay.txt file. This guide explains the keys that control the flow of a round and gives you three recipes for typical server concepts.

Intercom, AFK kick, spawn protection and round restart settings are covered in the guide Adjust gameplay settings.

Warning

The path to the configuration file contains the game port of your server: /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/. Replace <Port> with the actual game port of your server. You can find the game port in the dashboard under Overview.

Change the Round Flow

1. Find the game port
   Open the dashboard of your server and note down the game port from the Overview.

2. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

3. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

4. Open the configuration file
   Open the following file – replace <Port> with your game port:

   /.config/SCP Secret Laboratory/config/<Port>/config_gameplay.txt

5. Adjust the values
   Look for the keys from the sections below and only change the value after the colon. If a key is missing, add it as a new line in the format key: value. Then save the file.

6. Start the server
   Start your server via the dashboard. The changes only take effect with this start.

Note

Many keys in the file are set to default. This makes the server use its built-in default value. You can find the actual values behind it in the tables of this guide.

Default Values at a Glance

Key	Default	Effect
lobby_waiting_time	default (20 seconds)	Lobby countdown until the round starts
late_join_time	0	Seconds after the round starts during which newly joining players still spawn in
team_respawn_queue	default	Order in which roles are assigned when the round starts
auto_warhead_start_minutes	0	Minutes after the round starts after which the Alpha Warhead starts automatically – 0 disables the feature
auto_warhead_lock	true	The automatically started Alpha Warhead cannot be cancelled
auto_warhead_broadcast_enabled	false	Shows a broadcast message on the automatic start and on detonation
auto_warhead_broadcast_message	The Alpha Warhead is being detonated	Text on the automatic start
auto_warhead_broadcast_time	10	Display duration of the start message in seconds
auto_warhead_detonate_broadcast	The Alpha Warhead has been detonated now	Text on detonation
auto_warhead_detonate_broadcast_time	10	Display duration of the detonation message in seconds
disable_decontamination	false	Set to true, the Light Containment Zone is not decontaminated
auto_decon_broadcast_enabled	false	Shows a broadcast message on decontamination
auto_decon_broadcast_message	Light Containment Zone is now decontaminated	Text of the decontamination message
auto_decon_broadcast_time	10	Display duration of the decontamination message in seconds
dms_enabled	true	Enables the Dead Man's Switch
dms_activation_time	240	Length of the Dead Man's Switch countdown in seconds
end_round_on_one_player	false	Controls whether a round may end while only one player is on the server
914_mode	default (DroppedAndHeld)	Controls which items and players SCP-914 processes
limit_category_*	default	Maximum number of items per category in the inventory
limit_ammo*	default	Maximum ammo per ammo type

Important

The current SCP: Secret Laboratory has no settings for respawn tickets or respawn timers of the MTF and Chaos Insurgency. Keys such as minimum_MTF_time_to_spawn, maximum_MTF_time_to_spawn or respawn_tickets_* come from outdated versions of the configuration file and no longer have any effect. Do not copy them from old guides.

Lobby and Late Join

Lobby wait time

lobby_waiting_time sets how many seconds the lobby countdown runs before the round starts. The countdown only begins once at least two players are connected. With default, the server waits 20 seconds. If the server is full, the round starts immediately.

lobby_waiting_time: 30

Late join

late_join_time determines how many seconds after the round starts newly joining players still receive a role. Anyone joining later enters the game as a spectator and has to wait for the next reinforcement wave or the next round. With the default value 0, nobody spawns in directly after the round has started.

late_join_time: 60

Note

Late join only applies to players who have not spawned yet in the current round. Anyone who disconnects and rejoins is not spawned in again.

Automatic Alpha Warhead

The Alpha Warhead can start automatically after a fixed time. This prevents rounds that drag on endlessly. auto_warhead_start_minutes counts from the start of the round – with 0 (default), the feature is disabled.

auto_warhead_start_minutes: 20
auto_warhead_lock: true
auto_warhead_broadcast_enabled: true
auto_warhead_broadcast_message: The Alpha Warhead is being detonated automatically and cannot be stopped.
auto_warhead_detonate_broadcast: The automatic Alpha Warhead has been detonated.

With auto_warhead_lock: true (default), the automatically started warhead can no longer be cancelled. If you set the value to false, players can stop the countdown as usual.

Note

The messages only appear if auto_warhead_broadcast_enabled is set to true. In the configuration template, the value is set to false by default.

Decontamination

The Light Containment Zone is decontaminated during a round. With disable_decontamination: true, you turn decontamination off completely. If you want to keep it but show your own message, enable the broadcast:

auto_decon_broadcast_enabled: true
auto_decon_broadcast_message: The Light Containment Zone has been decontaminated.

Dead Man's Switch

Once both the MTF and the Chaos Insurgency have no reinforcement waves left, the Dead Man's Switch starts a countdown. When it runs out, the Alpha Warhead starts automatically and can no longer be stopped. You set the length of the countdown in seconds with dms_activation_time:

dms_enabled: true
dms_activation_time: 180

With dms_enabled: false, you turn the Dead Man's Switch off completely.

Round End with One Player

By default (end_round_on_one_player: false), a round does not end while fewer than two players are on the server. If you set the value to true, a round can also end normally while only one player is connected – handy when you want to test settings on your own.

end_round_on_one_player: true

SCP-914 Mode

914_mode controls what SCP-914 picks up when refining. With default, the server uses DroppedAndHeld.

Value	Effect
Dropped	Only items lying on the floor of the intake chamber
Inventory	The entire inventory of the players in the intake chamber
Held	Only the item a player in the intake chamber is holding
DroppedAndPlayerTeleport	Items on the floor – players in the intake chamber are only teleported, their items stay unchanged
DroppedAndInventory	Items on the floor and the entire inventory of the players
DroppedAndHeld	Items on the floor and the item the players are holding

914_mode: DroppedAndInventory

Item and Ammo Limits

Item categories

These keys set how many items of a category a player may carry at the same time. The inventory holds a maximum of 8 items – a limit of 8 is therefore effectively unlimited.

Key	Default (without armor)	Category
limit_category_grenade	2	Grenades
limit_category_keycard	3	Keycards
limit_category_medical	3	Medical items
limit_category_scpitem	3	SCP items
limit_category_firearm	1	Firearms

Warning

The value 0 does not mean unlimited: with 0, players can no longer pick up items of this category at all.

Ammo

The ammo limits accept values from 1 to 65535:

Key	Default (without armor)	Ammo
limit_ammo9x19	40	9x19 mm
limit_ammo556x45	40	5.56x45 mm
limit_ammo762x39	40	7.62x39 mm
limit_ammo44cal	18	.44 caliber
limit_ammo12gauge	14	12 gauge (shotgun)

Note

Armor raises the item and ammo limits further. The values from the configuration are the base values without armor.

Spawn Order

team_respawn_queue determines which roles are assigned when the round starts. Each digit stands for one player slot: with N players, the first N digits determine how many SCPs, Facility Guards, Scientists etc. are spawned. Which player gets which role is chosen by the game. If there are more players than digits, the sequence starts over from the beginning.

Digit	Role
0	SCP
1	Facility Guard
2	Chaos Insurgency
3	Scientist
4	Class-D

With default, the server uses the built-in order 4014314031441404134041434414.

Example

With 10 players, this order assigns two SCPs and eight Class-D – suitable for an event in which only Class-D face the SCPs:

team_respawn_queue: 4044440444

Recipes for Typical Servers

You can copy the following recipes directly into your config_gameplay.txt. Only change the existing keys – do not create duplicate entries. If a key is missing, add it as a new line in the format key: value.

Shorter rounds

For servers on which rounds should end quickly:

lobby_waiting_time: 15
auto_warhead_start_minutes: 15
auto_warhead_lock: true
dms_activation_time: 120

More relaxed rounds

For servers on which late joiners can still play along and players may carry more:

lobby_waiting_time: 30
late_join_time: 60
limit_category_medical: 5
limit_category_grenade: 3

Event server

For events with their own flow, where decontamination and automatic warheads would get in the way:

lobby_waiting_time: 60
disable_decontamination: true
auto_warhead_start_minutes: 0
dms_enabled: false
team_respawn_queue: 4044440444

Note

The default values in this guide match the game's configuration template as of 2026. Game updates can change values and keys – when in doubt, check the comments directly in your own config_gameplay.txt.