Configuration

Configuration

Most settings are changed in the dashboard Settings menu. A few advanced options live in config files on disk.

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Two places settings live

Where	Restart needed?	How to edit
Settings (gear icon)	No	Dashboard UI
watchtower/watchtower.conf	No	Settings or text editor
config/watchtower-server.toml	Yes	Text editor only

Rule of thumb: schedule, backups, warnings → Settings or watchtower.conf. Dashboard port and live chart speed → TOML file + restart.

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Change in Settings (no restart)

Open Settings for:

• General — report schedule, how far back to look, TPS/lag warning levels
• Backups — where backups live (folder or panel)
• Security — password, 2FA
• Monitoring — read-only view of check intervals

These save to watchtower/watchtower.conf immediately.

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What needs a server restart

Edit config/watchtower-server.toml for:

Setting	What it controls
dashboardPort	Dashboard port (default 8787)
dashboardBindHost	127.0.0.1 on public servers; 0.0.0.0 on LAN
liveSampleIntervalSeconds	How often live metrics are recorded
liveRetentionHours	How long chart history is kept (default 90 days)
commandPermissionLevel	Minimum OP level for /watchtower commands

Restart the Minecraft server after editing TOML.

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Common tasks

I want to…	Do this
Turn on automatic reports	Settings → General
Point at backup folder	Backups tab or Settings → Backups
Set up panel/cloud backups	Settings → Backups wizard
Fix wrong hosting panel detection	PANEL in watchtower.conf — see Hosting Panels
Hide dashboard from the internet	dashboardBindHost = "127.0.0.1" in TOML — see Security and Access

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Technical details — watchtower.conf keys

Reports and schedule

Key	Purpose
REPORT_INTERVAL_MINUTES	Minutes between reports (0 = off)
REPORT_SCHEDULE_MODE	wall_clock, interval, or off
REPORT_WALL_CLOCK_HOURS	Hours to run (e.g. 0,12)
LOOKBACK_HOURS	Log window per report (1–720)
INCREMENTAL	Only scan since last report

Background checks

Key	Default	Purpose
OPS_LOG_SCAN_SEC	60	Log and crash folder check interval
OPS_POLL_SEC	60	Extra refresh while dashboard open
REPORT_RETENTION_COUNT	30	Keep last N reports
REPORT_RETENTION_DAYS	90	Max report age

Backups

Key	Purpose
BACKUP_DIRS	Comma-separated backup folders
BACKUP_WEBHOOK_TOKEN	Panel heartbeat after backup
BACKUP_EXTERNAL_MARKER	Path to status JSON file
PANEL	auto, none, or panel id

Warning thresholds

TPS_WARN, MSPT_WARN, DISK_WARN_PCT, LOG_STALE_MINUTES, and others — see watchtower.conf.example.

Full TOML table: see previous maintainer docs in repository watchtower-server.toml defaults.

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See also

• Scheduled Reports
• Hosting Panels
• Security and Access