ARK Server Admin Commands: How to Become Admin on Your Server

ARK server admin commands let the owner of a server fly, spawn creatures, give items, kick troublemakers and save the world on demand. Before any of them work you need two things: an admin password set on the server, and that password typed into the in-game console with EnableCheats. This guide covers both for ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE), the ID file that makes someone admin automatically, how to open the console on PC, RCON, and a table of the commands admins really use.

Commands and syntax come from the console commands and server configuration pages of the official ARK wiki (ark.wiki.gg).

How ARK server admin login works

ARK has no "op" command and no admin rank you grant from a menu. Admin rights on a dedicated server come from one of two places:

• The admin password. The server owner sets ServerAdminPassword. Any player who types EnableCheats followed by that password in the console gets admin commands for their character.
• The admin ID file. Players whose Steam ID is listed in AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt get cheat access automatically, as if they had typed EnableCheats. No password needed.

Once you are admin on a multiplayer server, most commands need the prefix cheat or admincheat, for example cheat god. In single player you have full rights already and do not need EnableCheats at all.

Step 1: set the ARK server admin password

ServerAdminPassword goes in GameUserSettings.ini, under the [ServerSettings] section. The file lives in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/, inside the WindowsServer or LinuxServer folder depending on the build your server runs.

[ServerSettings]
ServerAdminPassword=PickALongPassword42
ServerPassword=

Three rules from the wiki:

1. No quotes. Write the value as it is. ServerAdminPassword="abc" would make the quotes part of the password.
2. Do not mix it up with ServerPassword. That one is the join password every player needs to enter the server. Leave it empty for an open server.
3. Stop the server before you edit. The wiki warns that changes made to the ini files while the game is running are removed. Stop, edit, save, start.

The wiki also says server options can be passed on the server's command line with the ?Option=Value syntax (for example ?ServerAdminPassword=...), but it discourages that method. A value in the ini file is easier to find and change later.

Step 2: get server admin in game with EnableCheats

With the password set and the server restarted, join it and open the console.

1. Stop the server, set ServerAdminPassword=YourPassword in GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], save and start it again.
2. Join the server with your character.
3. Open the console. On PC it is the Tab key.
4. Type EnableCheats YourPassword and press Enter.
5. Test it with cheat god. If you stop taking damage, you are admin. Type cheat god again to turn it off.
6. Open the admin panel with ShowMyAdminManager if you prefer buttons to typing.

EnableCheats YourPassword
cheat god
cheat ListPlayers

The wiki adds one detail people miss: when you chain commands, each one needs its own cheat prefix.

What about Xbox and PlayStation?

Console versions of ARK use their own servers, so console players cannot join a PC dedicated server. A hosted ARK: Survival Evolved server is for PC players on Steam, and on Epic Games when crossplay is enabled at launch. Everything in this guide is done from a PC.

Make a friend admin without sharing the password

Handing out the admin password is risky: anyone who has it can give themselves admin. ARK has a better way, the admin whitelist file.

Create the file if it does not exist and write one ID per line. Players on the list get cheat access automatically. When you use this method you do not even need an admin password, although you can keep one; anyone who knows it can still become admin.

How to find a player's Steam ID

• The player opens Account details in Steam; the 17-digit Steam ID is shown at the top.
• Or you, as admin, type cheat ListPlayers. It lists everyone connected with their ID.

76561198012345678
76561198087654321

Those two lines are examples; use the real IDs. Restart the server after editing the file. On TheGameHosting you create and edit it in Files, so you never need an FTP client.

ARK server admin commands: the useful list

All of these work in ARK: Survival Evolved according to the wiki. On a server, type them after EnableCheats and with the cheat prefix.

Two warnings straight from the wiki. ForceTame will crash the game or the server if you use it while mounted, so get off first. GiveEngrams unlocks every recipe at once and may cause lag.

Moderation and server commands

For kick and ban, copy the ID exactly as cheat ListPlayers prints it. The wiki documents these commands with the player's Steam ID.

Destructive commands: back up first

Some admin commands cannot be undone:

• DestroyWildDinos removes every untamed creature on the map. Admins use it after changing spawn or difficulty settings so new creatures appear.
• DestroyAll <Type> 1 removes every creature of a type, tamed ones included.

Before you run either, type cheat saveworld and make a backup. On TheGameHosting, Backups takes a copy of the server in a couple of clicks and lets you restore it if a command goes wrong. If you only want different rates or spawns, adjust them in the ini files first; see our ARK server settings guide for the values that matter.

Logs and admin accountability

If several people have admin, the wiki lists AdminLogging=True, which posts every admin command to the in-game chat, and the -servergamelog launch option, which writes admin logs to dated files under Logs.

RCON: admin commands from outside the game

RCON lets a desktop tool send commands to the server without joining. In GameUserSettings.ini:

[ServerSettings]
RCONEnabled=True
RCONPort=27020
ServerAdminPassword=PickALongPassword42

RCONEnabled is False by default and needs both RCONPort (a TCP port, 27020 by default) and ServerAdminPassword to work. The RCON password is your admin password, so keep it long. On a hosted server, RCON only works on a port your server actually receives, so use the address and ports shown in your panel or ask our support which port to set.

If EnableCheats does nothing

1. Wrong password. Open GameUserSettings.ini and compare it character by character, including capitals.
2. You edited the file while the server was running. ARK overwrote your change. Stop the server, edit again, start.
3. The line is in the wrong section. It must be under [ServerSettings], not under [SessionSettings] or at the end of another block.
4. Quotes around the value. Remove them.
5. You forgot the prefix. god alone does nothing on a server; cheat god does.
6. Wrong ID in the file. AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt needs the 17-digit Steam ID, one per line, not a player name.

Same idea in other games, if your group plays more than ARK: how to become admin on a Rust server and how to become admin on a Palworld server.

Run your ARK server with full admin access

Being admin is easy; keeping the server up is the hard part. ARK: Survival Evolved needs at least 8 GB of RAM on our list, and on your own PC the world closes when the computer turns off. On TheGameHosting your ARK server runs 24/7 on an AMD 9950X or 7950X3D CPU with DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage, in Dallas or Amsterdam, with DDoS protection on every plan.

Everything in this guide happens in one panel: Files to edit GameUserSettings.ini and AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt, Console to watch the server start and stop, Backups before DestroyWildDinos, and Users to give a co-admin panel access without sharing your account. There is no charge per player slot. ARK plans start at $6.96 USD per month on the ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting page.

Your server is ready in about 60 seconds after payment. Pick an 8 GB plan or bigger on Pricing, set your admin password in Files and type EnableCheats on your first login.

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