How to Add Admins and Whitelist Players in 7 Days to Die

This guide covers granting admin access through serveradmin.xml and the most useful in-game commands.

Admin Setup (serveradmin.xml)

Admins are defined in serveradmin.xml. The AdminFileName property in serverconfig.xml names that file, and its path is relative to SaveGameFolder — so it sits with your save data, not in the server root. If you cannot find it, check AdminFileName and SaveGameFolder in serverconfig.xml rather than hunting through the server root.

Entries are keyed on a platform and a user ID, so both Steam and Epic players can be made admins:

<adminTools>
  <admins>
    <user platform="Steam" userid="76561197960287930" name="Your name here" permission_level="0"/>
  </admins>
  <permissions>
    <!-- command permissions can be customized here -->
  </permissions>
</adminTools>

Use your 17-digit SteamID64 for platform="Steam", or your EOS ID with platform="EOS" if you play through the Epic Games Store.

Permission levels run 0 to 1000, and the scale is inverted from what most people expect:

• 0 = Full admin (everything)
• 1000 = Default level for anyone without an entry
• Numbers in between (e.g. 100) can be assigned per-command to build moderator tiers

Restart the server after editing this file

Alternatively, skip the file entirely: running admin add <platform user id> 0 from the console writes a correctly formatted entry for you and takes effect immediately. That is the less error-prone route, and it is how you make yourself an admin before you have ever joined.

Whitelisting Players

A whitelist restricts the server to an explicit list of players. It is off by default, and there is no separate "enable whitelist" switch — the list being non-empty is the switch.

One entry locks out everyone else

Per the in-game help: if there is at least one entry on the whitelist, no user who is not on that list can join. Adding a single name to test the feature will remove every other player from your server on their next connect. Add everyone who should have access before you add the first entry.

From the console

As with admin grants, letting the server write the entry is the less error-prone route:

whitelist add SomePlayer
whitelist list
whitelist remove SomePlayer

whitelist takes the same kind of player identifier as admin add — a name, an entity ID, or a platform plus platform user ID. The name and entity-ID forms resolve against players the server can currently see, so use the platform user ID form for someone who has not joined yet. Run help whitelist to confirm the exact argument order on your build; the console and admin command reference covers the identifier forms in detail.

Turning the whitelist back off

Because enforcement keys on the list being non-empty, the whitelist is only off once it is completely empty. Run whitelist list and remove every entry — clearing all but one still locks out everybody except that one player.

For a small private server, a password is simpler

If the goal is just "only my friends", ServerPassword in serverconfig.xml does the job with no per-player maintenance and no risk of locking yourself out. See the serverconfig.xml Reference. A whitelist is the better tool when you want the server publicly listed but entry-controlled, or when you want to hand out access without handing out a shared secret.

Common In-Game Admin Commands

Connect, then open the console with F1. Useful commands:

cm                              Toggle Creative Menu mode
giveselfxp 10000                Grant yourself XP
se <playerId> <entity#> <count> Spawn an entity
teleport 1000 -1 1000           Teleport to coordinates, y = -1 drops you to ground level
kick "PlayerName" "Reason"      Kick a player
ban add "PlayerName" 7 days "Cheating"   Ban a player

loglevel is not an in-game command

Older guides list loglevel info for log verbosity. That is not valid syntax and it does not work in the F1 console — loglevel is marked Telnet/Web only, and it takes a level plus a boolean: loglevel WRN false, with levels INF, WRN, ERR, EXC or ALL. By default every level is printed on a new connection.

Type help in the console for the list your build supports. 7 Days to Die Console and Admin Commands is the full current reference, covering permission levels, the cp system, and the commands older guides still list that no longer exist.

What to Read Next

• serverconfig.xml Reference for what still lives in that file and the V3.0 SandboxCode migration
• How to Install Modlets and Overhaul Mods for adding new content

Made with 💜 by GameServerKings