Project Zomboid server: getting started

Your Project Zomboid server is online. Here's how to join it, take the admin seat, add Workshop mods and tune the world.

Find your server address

1. Log in to the dashboard and open your server.
2. The server address sits in the panel's left rail, right under your server's name - an IP or a name, then a colon, then a port (it looks like 27.124.105.40:16261).
3. Press the copy button beside it so you take the whole thing, including the number after the colon. The controller button next to it opens Steam and joins in one click.

Join from Project Zomboid

1. Open Project Zomboid and pick Join.
2. Open the Favorites tab and press Add Server. Paste the address into Server Address and Server Port (the part before and after the colon), and the join password from the rail into Password if your server has one.
3. Give the entry a name, press Save and then Join Server.

Your server also appears in the in-game Internet browser once Listed in the Internet browser is switched on in the Server Settings tab - the favourite is just faster the first time. Ping depends on where each player lives: Australian game server latency: what ping to expect from each city lists typical numbers.

Your first start

The first boot takes a few minutes longer than the rest: the server generates your world and writes its config. Wait for *** SERVER STARTED **** in the console before anyone joins. Every start after that is quick, and the panel tells you if a Workshop mod update needs a restart.

Take the admin seat

Your server created an admin account on its first start. The Admin Username and Admin Password are in your Startup tab (the password was generated for your server - change it there any time).

1. Join with that username and password - your admin account is a separate character from your normal one.
2. Press Escape and open the Admin Panel for the in-game tools, or type commands in chat with a leading slash (for example /setaccesslevel "Friend" moderator).

The panel's Players tab does the everyday admin without joining the game: see who is on, kick, ban, hand out roles and manage the whitelist.

Name your world and set the rules

Four things live in the Startup tab because the server reads them before it starts: the World / Save Name (also the file name of your save - changing it starts a brand-new world), the Server Name players see, the Max Players cap and the Join Password.

Everything else is in the Server Settings tab: PvP, safehouses, factions, chat and voice, and the sandbox rules - zombie population and speed, loot rarity, day length, starting month. Pick a preset (Apocalypse, Outbreak, Rising or Extinction; a Build 41 server offers Apocalypse, Survivor and Builder) or set each rule yourself, save, and restart to apply.

Add Workshop mods

1. Find the mod on the Steam Workshop and copy its link (or just its ID).
2. Open the Workshop tab, paste it in, press Look up, tick the mods it contains (some Workshop items bundle several) and press Add to server.
3. Press Save list, then restart. The server downloads every item on the way up; the console shows each one.

Your saves

The Worlds tab lists every world on the server. Reset the world and keep your settings, switch to another world, or bring an existing save across as a zip. Stop the server first, then press Back up first and wait for it to finish before you reset or switch: that can't be undone. How to create and restore backups covers getting a world back from one.

Schedule restarts

Project Zomboid holds more of the map in memory the longer it runs, and a restart is also when mod updates apply. Open the Schedules tab and enable the Nightly restart with warnings card: it warns players in-game 5 minutes ahead and restarts at the time you pick.

Build 41

Build 42 is what your server runs. If your group is still on Build 41, the Game build card in the Server Settings tab switches the server to the legacy41 branch: it takes a backup and starts a separate world for the other build, since worlds are not shared between builds.

Common first-boot problems

1. "Server has port ... closed" in the console - should never appear on our servers, both of the game's ports are set up for you. If it does, open a ticket and paste the exact console line.
2. "Server version mismatch" or "mods need update" when joining - a Workshop mod (or the game) updated after your last restart. Restart the server; the panel's banner tells you when this is waiting.
3. Can't log in as admin - the username and password are the ones in the Startup tab, and the admin account is separate from any character you made before. Check both, then try again.
4. Nobody can see the server in the Internet list - that list only shows servers with Listed in the Internet browser switched on in Server Settings. Favourites and the join link work either way.