Minetest.conf #

Note: Since version 0.4.14, Luanti has an “advanced settings” feature to change virtually all settings in Luanti, including a brief description of what each setting does. You will now rarely need to edit minetest.conf manually.

minetest.conf is the configuration file used for numerous purposes. This file is read every time the game starts and is always created/modified when the menu quits.

A file called minetest.conf.example is provided as an example. See that file for a more complete list of options.

Location #

If you are running a portable build of Luanti (aka RUN_IN_PLACE=1, user data is stored alongside the executable), it loads from:

../minetest.conf
../../minetest.conf (it can load settings from this location too, but will not write to it)

If you are running a system-wide build of Luanti (user data is stored separate from the executable), it loads from:

~/.minetest/minetest.conf

A custom path to a configuration file can be specified in command line using the option --config /path/to/minetest.conf.

Controls #

In minetest.conf, you can configure most (but not all) keys, but a few more keys can be configured which are not configurable in the in-game settings menu; most notably, camera mode and minimap.

A few things to note:

Controls are written in the format keymap_<action name> = <key name>, e.g. keymap_forward = KEY_KEY_W
Starting from 5.12.0, the key name is defined as SYSTEM_SCANCODE_num, where num is the numeric scancode for the key, e.g. SYSTEM_SCANCODE_225 for the left shift key. Note that sdl2-compat uses scancodes from SDL3 which may be different for certain keys. The old syntax based on Irrlicht keycodes and literal characters is deprecated (except for keycodes representing mouse buttons, e.g. KEY_LBUTTON) and should no longer be used.
For versions earlier than 5.12.0, the list of possible controls (value right of the equals sign) can be seen in [1]. If your key isn’t listed there, try writing the literal character
To disable a control completely, leave the part right of the equals sign empty, e.g. keymap_toggle_debug =

See controls for a list of controls and their setting name (if available).