SE Dev Server Code Skill

Allows reading the decompiled C# code of the Space Engineers Dedicated Server. The "game logic" of the server is largely the same as the game (client) is running. The entry point (main executable), some aspects of logging and configuration differ. Also, some of the libraries are not used by the server, but they may still present to provide the necessary data structures and some backend functionality.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Commands run in a UNIX shell. Use bash syntax. On Windows this is BusyBox; on Linux use the native shell.

Examples:

✅
```
test -f file.txt && echo exists
```
✅
```
ls -la | head -10
```
❌
```
if exist file.txt (echo exists)
```
- This will NOT work

Actions:

prepare: Run the one-time preparation (
```
Prepare.bat
```
on Windows,
```
prepare.sh
```
on Linux)
bash: Run UNIX shell commands via busybox
search: Run code searches using
```
search_server_code.py
```
test: Test this skill by running
```
test_search_server_code.bat
```

Routing Decision

Check these patterns in order - first match wins:


se-dev-server-code
se-dev-server-code prepare
se-dev-server-code bash
se-dev-server-code search
se-dev-server-code test

Priority	Pattern	Example	Route
1	Empty or bare invocation	`se-dev-server-code`	Show this help
2	Prepare keywords	`se-dev-server-code prepare` , `se-dev-server-code setup` , `se-dev-server-code init`	prepare
3	Bash/shell keywords	`se-dev-server-code bash` , `se-dev-server-code grep` , `se-dev-server-code cat`	bash
4	Search keywords	`se-dev-server-code search` , `se-dev-server-code find class` , `se-dev-server-code lookup`	search
5	Test keywords	`se-dev-server-code test` , `se-dev-server-code verify` , `se-dev-server-code check`	test

Requirements

The host system must have the following on

PATH

Python 3.11 or newer
git command line client (used to version each decompiled server build)
dotnet SDK (for installing
```
ilspycmd
```
)

Getting Started

⚠️ CRITICAL: Before running ANY commands, read CommandExecution.md to avoid common mistakes that cause command failures.

If the

Prepare.DONE

file is missing in this folder, you MUST run the one-time preparation steps first. See the prepare action.

If server auto-detection fails, set

SE_SERVER_ROOT

before running the preparation script. It may point to either the dedicated server root or directly to the

DedicatedServer64

directory.

Folder Layout

After preparation the skill folder contains a

Data

junction/symlink. The actual data lives outside the skill folder so that it is preserved across

Clean.bat

Prepare.bat

prepare.sh

cycles.

skills/se-dev-server-code/
├── Data/                 (junction/symlink → per-user persistent server-code data)
│   ├── .git/             local Git repository tracking decompiled sources
│   ├── .gitignore        ignores CodeIndex/, Content/, __pycache__, *.py[cod], *.bak, *.log
│   ├── game_version.txt  recorded SE_VERSION / CLIENT_BUILD_NUMBER / SERVER_BUILD_NUMBER
│   ├── Decompiled/       decompiled C# sources, organised per assembly (committed)
│   ├── Content/          textual server content (NOT committed - regenerated)
│   └── CodeIndex/        CSV indexes (NOT committed - regenerated)
├── Bin64/                (junction/symlink → server's DedicatedServer64, removed after preparation)
└── ...                   skill scripts and documentation

The

Data

folder is a junction/symlink to the per-user persistent server-code data directory (

%USERPROFILE%\.se-dev\server-code

on Windows,

~/.se-dev/server-code

on Linux). Treat

Data/Decompiled

Data/Content

and

Data/CodeIndex

exactly as before.

Local Versioning of Decompiled Sources

The

Data

folder is a local Git repository. Every successful preparation creates a commit of the decompiled C# sources whose message is the server's version label, e.g.

1.208.015 b4

This means:

All previously decompiled server versions are preserved in the local Git history. You can
```
git checkout
```
any past commit inside
```
Data/
```
to inspect or diff against an older build.
Server updates are detected automatically by comparing the binaries' embedded version constants with
```
Data/game_version.txt
```
. If they differ (or the file is missing),
```
Decompiled/
```
,
```
Content/
```
and
```
CodeIndex/
```
are wiped and a fresh decompilation runs.
This makes it easy to update plugins, mods and scripts for compatibility with new server releases: diff the relevant source between two commits inside
```
Data/
```
to see exactly what changed.

The repository uses an internal author/email (

se-dev-skills@localhost

) so commits work even on machines without a configured global Git identity.

Essential Documentation

CommandExecution.md - ⚠️ READ THIS FIRST - Windows command execution details; on Linux keep bash syntax and use
```
prepare.sh
```

Code Search Documentation

QuickStart.md - More examples and quick reference
CodeSearch.md - Complete guide to searching classes, methods, fields, etc.
HierarchySearch.md - Finding class/interface inheritance and implementations
Advanced.md - Power user techniques for complex searches
Troubleshooting.md - What to do when searches return NO-MATCHES or too many results
Implementation.md - Technical details for skill contributors (optional)

Quick Search Examples

bash

# Find class declarations
uv run search_server_code.py class declaration MyCubeBlock

# Find method signatures
uv run search_server_code.py method signature UpdateBeforeSimulation

# Find class hierarchy
uv run search_server_code.py class children MyTerminalBlock

# Count results before viewing (useful for large result sets)
uv run search_server_code.py class usage MyEntity --count

# Limit number of results
uv run search_server_code.py class usage MyEntity --limit 10

# Paginate through results
uv run search_server_code.py class usage MyEntity --limit 10 --offset 0
uv run search_server_code.py class usage MyEntity --limit 10 --offset 20

Always check the server code when:

You're unsure about the server's internal APIs and how to interface with them.
The inner workings of the Space Engineers Dedicated Server is unclear.

Custom Scripting

For building your own utility scripts to work with the indexes and decompiled code:

ScriptingGuide.md - How to write Python scripts, use BusyBox, handle Windows paths

Server Content Data

The textual part of the server's

Content

is copied into the

Data/Content

folder for free text search:

Language translations, including the string IDs
Block and other entity definitions
Default blueprints and scenarios
See ContentTypes.md for the full list of content types

Content Index

Data/CodeIndex/content_index.csv

maps every textual content file to the decompiled C# source files that reference it. Columns:

rel_path

(path relative to

Data/Content/

) and

usage

(path of a C# source file in

Data/Decompiled/

that references it). Each content file appears once per usage, so you can filter and page by

rel_path

to see all C# code that loads or references a given content file. Files with no known usages have a single row with an empty

usage

column.

Running the Dedicated Server

The server executable is

SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe

in the

DedicatedServer64

folder.

Headless Mode (No UI)

SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe -console

This bypasses the Telerik WinForms configuration UI and runs the server directly.

Configuration

The server is configured via XML files. The primary configuration file is

SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg

located in the server's AppData directory (typically

%APPDATA%\SpaceEngineersDedicated\

Key configuration areas:

Server settings (name, world, mods, max players)
World settings (game mode, inventory size, welding speed)
Network settings (port, public/private)

Configuration should be done by editing the XML files directly or with utility Python scripts. See below for planned utilities.

Planned Utility Scripts (Not Yet Implemented)

config_editor.py — Read and modify
```
SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg
```
values from the command line (e.g. set server name, max players, world name)
world_manager.py — List, backup, and manage saved worlds in the server data directory
mod_manager.py — List and validate mods referenced in the configuration

Server-Only Assemblies

Assembly	Description
`SpaceEngineersDedicated`	Server entry point (replaces `SpaceEngineers.exe` )
`VRage.Dedicated`	Dedicated server framework, lifecycle, and configuration
`VRage.RemoteClient.Core`	Remote client support (RCON-like functionality)

General Rules

In the
```
Data/Decompiled
```
folder search only inside the C# source files (.cs) in general. If you work on transpiler or preloader patches, then also search in the IL code (.il) files.
In the
```
Data/Content
```
folder search the files appropriate for the task. See ContentTypes.md for the list of types.
Do not search for decompiled server code outside the
```
Data/Decompiled
```
folder. The decompiled server source tree must be there if the preparation succeeded.
Do not search for server content data outside the
```
Data/Content
```
folder. The copied server content must be there if the preparation succeeded.

Action References

Follow the detailed instructions in:

prepare action - One-time preparation
bash action - Running UNIX shell commands via busybox
search action - Running code searches
test action - Testing this skill

Remarks

The original source of this skill: https://github.com/viktor-ferenczi/se-dev-skills

se-dev-server-code

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content