# Instance config

> Every option in an instance's config/settings-saver.properties: which profile it uses, its sync mode and the one-time apply flag.

URL: https://xichil.dev/wiki/settings-saver/v0/config/instance/ · Updated: 2026-11-06 · Applies to: Fabric, Quilt, Legacy Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, MC 1.7.10 - 26.3

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| File | `config/settings-saver.properties` |

Each instance has its own `config/settings-saver.properties` in its game folder (the folder with
`mods` and `saves`). Settings Saver creates it on the instance's first launch. The menu's **Profile**
and **Sync** buttons change it for you; edit it by hand with the game closed, because it is read at
launch.

When Settings Saver updates the file, it changes only its own lines: your comments and anything else
in the file stay.

## Options

| Option | Default | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `profile` | not set | The [profile](https://xichil.dev/wiki/settings-saver/v0/guides/profiles/index.md) this instance uses. When it is not set (the default, written as the comment `# profile=default`), the instance uses `defaultProfile` from the [global config](https://xichil.dev/wiki/settings-saver/v0/config/global/index.md). |
| `sync` | `off` | The [sync mode](https://xichil.dev/wiki/settings-saver/v0/mechanics/sync-modes/index.md): `off`, `auto` or `auto+always`. |
| `appliedOnce` | not set | Written by Settings Saver as `appliedOnce=true` once the [one-time apply](https://xichil.dev/wiki/settings-saver/v0/mechanics/sync-modes/index.md) is used up. Only matters with `sync=off`. |

Values Settings Saver can't use are replaced, with a warning in the game log:

- A profile that doesn't exist (renamed or deleted from another instance) is replaced by `default`
  for that launch.
- An unknown `sync` value is read as `off`.
- Unknown keys are ignored.

## Example

```properties
# Settings Saver, settings for this instance only.

# Name of the settings profile this instance uses (default: the store's defaultProfile)
profile=pvp

# off: only the Save / Load buttons change anything
# auto: save changes you make, and fill in new instances
# auto+always: like auto, and apply the profile on every launch (the instance's file is backed up first)
sync=auto
```

> **Tip:** To make a modpack ship with a profile and sync mode already chosen, include this file in the pack's
> `config` folder. The player's store still needs a profile of that name, or the instance uses
> `default`.

> **Note:** To have an instance with `sync=off` take the profile again on its next launch, delete its
> `options.txt` and the `appliedOnce=true` line. Or skip both and press **Load** in the game, which
> applies the profile over the instance's current settings.