Project Zomboid Admin Commands
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Every Project Zomboid server has an admin, and almost every admin ends up looking for the same few commands: how to make an account admin, how to teleport to a friend who is stuck, how to give back the items a bug ate, and how to save before a restart.
This is the list, grouped by what you are trying to do, with the exact syntax and a working example for each. It is checked against Build 42 (42.20 and later) and notes where Build 41 differs.
How to make yourself admin
There are three ways in, and you normally use them in this order.
1. The admin account from the first start
A dedicated server creates an account called admin the first time it starts, and asks for its password in the console. Join the server with the username admin and that password, and you are admin. On HytHost the password comes from the Startup tab, or — if you left it empty — from admin-password.txt in your files.
2. setaccesslevel from the server console
To make your normal account admin, run this in the server console (no slash there):
setaccesslevel "YourName" admin
The name is your username on that server, in quotes. If you are already in the game when it runs, disconnect and join again so the change takes effect.
3. From in game
Once one account is admin, it can promote others from the chat with the same command and a slash: /setaccesslevel "FriendName" moderator. The levels you can give are:
| Build | Access levels, most to least powerful |
|---|---|
| Build 42 | admin, moderator, gm, observer, priority, user |
| Build 41 | admin, moderator, overseer, gm, observer, none |
To take rights away, set the account back to user on Build 42 or none on Build 41. Older guides mention grantadmin; use setaccesslevel, which is the command the game documents for both builds.
No server yet? A HytHost Project Zomboid server creates the admin account for you on the first start — from €6.54/mo.
See Project Zomboid plansOpening the admin panel, and why it is not showing
Admin powers in Project Zomboid come in two forms: the chat commands below, and an admin panel in the game's interface. Once your account is admin, an Admin button usually appears in the column of icons on the left of the screen, opening tools for players, items, safehouses and the server options.
If the panel is not there, it is almost always one of these:
- You are not on an admin account. Check which username you joined with. The admin account and your everyday account are different accounts.
- The change has not reached your session. After
setaccesslevel, disconnect and join again. - The level is too low. A
gmorobserversees less than anadmin. - You are in single player. Admin tools are a multiplayer feature. Single player has debug mode instead, which is a separate thing.
When the interface misbehaves, the chat commands still work, and they do everything the panel does.
Player commands: kick, ban, teleport, god mode, noclip
Shown as you type them in chat. In the server console, drop the leading slash. Usernames go in quotes.
| Command | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
/kickuser "user" -r "reason" | Kicks a player; the reason is optional | /kickuser "rj" -r "AFK" |
/banuser "user" -ip -r "reason" | Bans a player; -ip also bans their IP | /banuser "rj" -ip -r "griefing" |
/unbanuser "user" | Lifts a ban | /unbanuser "rj" |
/banid SteamID | Bans by Steam ID; /unbanid reverses it | /banid 7656119… |
/teleport "user" | Teleports you to a player | /teleport "rj" |
/teleport "user" "target" | Teleports one player to another | /teleport "rj" "sam" |
/teleportto x,y,z | Teleports you to map coordinates | /teleportto 10000,11000,0 |
/godmode "user" -true | Makes a player invulnerable; -false turns it off | /godmode "rj" -true |
/invisible "user" -true | Zombies ignore the player | /invisible "rj" -true |
/noclip "user" -true | Walk through walls; without a value it toggles | /noclip "rj" -true |
/players | Lists who is connected | /players |
/teleportplayer, /godmodeplayer and /invisibleplayer, and adds /banip and /unbanip for bans by address. godmod and godmode both work.Items, XP, vehicles and world events
| Command | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
/additem "user" Module.Item count | Gives items; leave out the user to give them to yourself | /additem "rj" Base.Axe 5 |
/addxp "user" Skill=amount | Adds experience to a skill | /addxp "rj" Woodwork=2 |
/addvehicle "Script" "user" | Spawns a vehicle next to a player, or at x,y,z | /addvehicle "Base.VanAmbulance" "rj" |
/createhorde count "user" | Spawns a horde around a player | /createhorde 150 "rj" |
/alarm | Sets off a building alarm where you stand; you must be inside a room | /alarm |
/chopper | Sends the helicopter event over a random player | /chopper |
/gunshot | Plays a gunshot near a random player, which draws zombies | /gunshot |
/startrain intensity | Starts rain, intensity 1–100; /stoprain ends it | /startrain 60 |
/startstorm hours | Starts a storm for a number of in-game hours; /stopweather clears it | /startstorm 2 |
/lightning "user" | Lightning strike near a player; /thunder is the sound only | /lightning "rj" |
Base.Axe works, base.axe does not. Items from mods use the mod's own module name instead of Base. Build 42 also has /removeitem to take items away.Server commands: save, quit, messages, options, whitelist
| Command | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
save | Saves the world now | save |
quit | Saves and stops the server | quit |
/servermsg "text" | Broadcasts a message to every player | /servermsg "Restart in 5 minutes" |
/showoptions | Lists the current server options | /showoptions |
/changeoption Option "value" | Changes one server option | /changeoption PauseEmpty "true" |
/reloadoptions | Reloads servertest.ini after you edited it and sends it to players | /reloadoptions |
checkModsNeedUpdate | Checks whether Workshop mods have updates; the answer goes to the server log | checkModsNeedUpdate |
/adduser "user" "password" | Creates a whitelisted account | /adduser "sam" "s3cret" |
/removeuserfromwhitelist "user" | Removes an account from the whitelist | /removeuserfromwhitelist "sam" |
/setaccesslevel "user" level | Sets an account's access level | /setaccesslevel "sam" moderator |
/help | Lists every command; /help "command" explains one | /help "additem" |
A whitelist only matters when the server is closed: with Open=false in servertest.ini, only accounts created with /adduser can join. Build 42 also has /setpassword "user" "newpassword" to reset someone's account password. For what each server option does, see Project Zomboid server and sandbox settings.
Server console or in-game chat
Every command here works in both places, with one difference in how you type it:
- In the server console — the window or panel where the server runs — type the command without a slash:
save,setaccesslevel "rj" admin. Commands that act on "you", such as/teleport "rj"or/alarm, need a player and are meant for chat; from the console, name the player explicitly where the command allows it. - In the game, open the chat and start with a slash:
/save,/additem Base.Axe 1. Your account needs a high enough access level.
Do the commands work in single player? No. They are server commands, and a single-player game has no server to run them. Single player has debug mode, started with the -debug launch option, which has its own tools for spawning items and moving around.
Running commands on a HytHost server
On a HytHost server the Console tab of your GamePanel is the server console: type commands there without a slash, and read the answers in the same window. A few things are worth knowing:
- Stopping saves. The panel's Stop button sends
quit, so the world is saved before the server stops. - Some options belong to the Startup tab. Max players, server name, server password, public listing, PvP, Workshop items and mod IDs are written into
servertest.inifrom the Startup tab every time the server starts. A/changeoptionon one of them lasts until the next restart; change it in the Startup tab to keep it. - Scheduled tasks. The panel can run commands on a schedule — for example
servermsgto warn players, thensaveand a restart every night. - Co-admins. Subusers can get their own panel login, separate from their in-game access level.
Do not have a server yet? How to host a Project Zomboid server walks through every option, from your own PC to Project Zomboid hosting.
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See Project Zomboid plansFrequently asked questions
Log in once with the admin account the server created on its first start, or run setaccesslevel "YourName" admin in the server console. From in game, an admin can do the same with /setaccesslevel. Disconnect and join again afterwards so the new level takes effect.
Usually because you joined with an account that is not admin, or because you did not reconnect after the access level changed. Check the username you logged in with, set it with setaccesslevel, then disconnect and join again. Admin tools also do not exist in single player.
Use /additem "username" Base.Axe 5, with the item ID and the count. Leave out the username to give the item to yourself. Item IDs are case-sensitive, and items from mods use the mod's module name instead of Base.
Type /teleport "username" to go to that player, or /teleport "username" "target" to send one player to another. To go to map coordinates, use /teleportto x,y,z, for example /teleportto 10000,11000,0.
Type /noclip "YourName" -true, and /noclip "YourName" -false to turn it off again. Without a value the command toggles noclip. It only works on an account with admin rights.
Type save in the server console, or /save in chat as an admin. The quit command saves the world and then stops the server, which is the safe way to shut it down.
No. Admin commands run on a multiplayer server. In single player, debug mode, started with the -debug launch option, has its own tools for spawning items and moving around the map.
Run your server, not the hardware
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