Editing Game Config Files: A JSON Guide for PC Gamers

One of the best things about PC gaming is the ability to dig into config files and customize everything. Many modern games and game-adjacent tools store their settings in JSON files — and knowing how to read and edit JSON unlocks a surprising amount of control over your gaming experience.

Where Games Use JSON

JSON config files are everywhere in PC gaming. Game settings: Some games store graphics, audio, and keybinding settings in JSON files (look for .json files in the game's install directory or AppData folder). Mod configurations: Modding frameworks like Minecraft's Fabric and Forge use JSON extensively — mod configs, resource packs, data packs, and custom recipes are all JSON. Game launchers: Riot Client, Epic Games Launcher, and many others use JSON for their settings. Streaming software: OBS Studio stores its scenes and profiles as JSON files. Server configs: Dedicated servers for games like Minecraft, Valheim, Satisfactory, and Terraria use JSON configuration files. Macro and peripheral software: Many gaming keyboards and mice allow importing/exporting profiles as JSON.

JSON Basics for Gamers

JSON looks like this: keys (setting names) on the left in quotes, values on the right. Objects use curly braces {}, arrays use square brackets [], strings use double quotes, and numbers and booleans (true/false) stand alone. The most common mistake when editing JSON config files is forgetting a comma between entries or adding a comma after the last entry (trailing commas are not valid in JSON).

Before editing any config file, always make a backup copy. Name it something like config.json.backup so you can restore it if something breaks.

Common Edits Gamers Make

Unlocking FPS limits: Some games have FPS caps buried in config files that can't be changed in the in-game menu. Look for keys like "maxFps", "fpsLimit", "targetFrameRate", or "vsyncInterval" and change the value. FOV (Field of View): Many games restrict FOV in the settings menu but allow wider values in the config. Look for "fov", "fieldOfView", or "cameraFov". Resolution scaling: Keys like "renderScale", "resolutionScale", or "dpiScaling" control internal rendering resolution independently of display resolution — useful for performance tuning. Hidden graphics options: Developers sometimes include graphics settings that didn't make it into the menu. Ray tracing quality levels, shadow cascade distances, LOD bias — these can often be tweaked in config files.

Fixing Broken Configs

If you edit a config file and the game crashes on launch or resets your settings, the JSON is probably malformed. Common issues include: a missing comma after an entry you added, extra comma after the last entry, mismatched brackets or braces, single quotes instead of double quotes, or accidentally deleting a bracket while editing.

Paste your config file into our JSON formatter — it will tell you exactly where the syntax error is, down to the line and character position. Fix the error, save the file, and try launching the game again.

Minecraft Modding Example

Minecraft is arguably the biggest JSON-driven game ecosystem. Resource packs use JSON for block models, item models, and language files. Data packs use JSON for recipes, loot tables, advancements, and world generation. Fabric and Forge mod configs are JSON files in the .minecraft/config/ folder. If you're creating or editing a Minecraft resource pack and something isn't loading, paste the JSON file into a validator to catch syntax errors. Minecraft's error messages for malformed JSON are notoriously unhelpful — a proper validator will save you hours of debugging.

OBS Scene Editing

OBS Studio stores your scenes and profiles as JSON in %AppData%/obs-studio/basic/scenes/. While you normally edit scenes through the OBS interface, power users sometimes edit the JSON directly to batch-rename sources, duplicate complex scene setups across profiles, or fix corrupted scene collections. Formatting the JSON first makes these files much easier to navigate — a typical scene collection can be several thousand lines when pretty-printed.

Best Practices

Always back up config files before editing. Use a proper text editor (VS Code, Notepad++, Sublime Text) — never use Word or WordPad, which can add invisible formatting characters. Validate your JSON after editing using our JSON formatter. If a game regenerates its config on launch, you may need to edit it while the game is closed, and some games only read config files at startup.