Valheim Server Admin: How to Add an Admin to Your Server

To become a Valheim server admin, add your Platform User ID to adminlist.txt, one ID per line, then restart the server. Copy the ID from the F2 panel in the game or from the server log. Once you are on the list, the F5 console lets you kick, ban, unban, list bans and force a save on the dedicated server.

Valheim has no op command and no in-game way to promote someone. Iron Gate's dedicated server uses three plain text files instead: one for admins, one for bans and one for a whitelist. This guide covers all three, the ID format after crossplay and the 1.0 update, and what admin rights do and do not unlock.

How Valheim server admin rights work

Iron Gate's A Guide to Dedicated Servers says you control permissions by editing three text files in the server's save folder:

Every file takes one Platform User ID per line. The guide gives the format as [Platform]_[User ID] and notes that it is case sensitive. Do not add names, comments or spaces on the same line as an ID: the Valheim Wiki warns that each line is read as a whole.

Valheim server admin list location

The three files sit in the server's save path, the same folder that holds the worlds_local folder. The defaults from Iron Gate's guide are:

The -savedir start option "overrides the default save path where Worlds and permission-files are stored." So if your server starts with -savedir, the lists live in that folder, not in the default one. Editing a copy of adminlist.txt in the wrong folder is the most common reason an admin entry does nothing.

On TheGameHosting, open Files in the panel and look for adminlist.txt near your world files. The exact folder depends on how the server is set up, so if you do not see it, our support team can point you to it on live chat.

How to add an admin on a Valheim server

You need two things: the player's ID and access to the server files. The whole job takes a couple of minutes.

1. Join your server with the account you want to make admin.
2. Press F2 to open the connection panel and copy your Platform User ID. You can also read it from the server log, which shows each player who connects.
3. Stop the server, or at least get ready to restart it.
4. Open adminlist.txt in the save folder. On TheGameHosting, open it in Files and click it to edit in the browser.
5. Paste the ID on a new line, exactly as shown, with nothing else on that line. Add one line per admin.
6. Save the file and restart the server.
7. Join again, press F5 and try an admin command such as banned. If it runs instead of being refused, you are admin.

// List admin players ID  ONE per line
Steam_76561198000000000

The IDs in this guide are examples. Put in your own, or you will give admin rights to a stranger.

Do I need to restart after editing adminlist.txt?

Iron Gate's guide does not say whether a running server picks up changes to the list by itself. Restarting after every edit is the safe habit, and it costs about a minute. On TheGameHosting the Restart button sits next to the console in the panel.

What ID goes in the list: SteamID64 vs Platform User ID

This is where most people get stuck, because the format changed over the years.

• Before crossplay (2021): the first version of Iron Gate's manual asked for plain Steam IDs, one per line. A SteamID64 is the 17-digit number that identifies a Steam account.
• Since crossplay: Iron Gate's current guide asks for a Platform User ID in the form [Platform]_[User ID], case sensitive. Iron Gate's own notes show a Steam ID written as Steam_123456789.
• Since Valheim 1.0 (September 2026): the game also uses a new style of ID, shown in the 1.0.12 hotfix notes as V_123456789. That hotfix fixed the ban list and whitelist so they accept both the new IDs and the old Steam_ style.

The rule that always works: copy the ID exactly as the F2 panel or the server log shows it, prefix and all. Players on Xbox, PC Game Pass or other platforms have their own prefix, so never strip it or type the number from memory. If one of your admins is on a console, ask them to open the player panel while connected and read you the full ID.

Valheim server admin commands

Admin commands are typed in the in-game console. Open it with F5. On Steam the Valheim Wiki says you may need to add -console to the game's launch options first.

The first four come from Iron Gate's guide. save was opened to admins on dedicated servers in patch 0.145.6, and patch 0.214.300 confirmed that a manual save "can be called to a dedicated server if you are on the admin list."

Patch 0.217.22 (October 2023) added more console commands for admins: setworldpreset, resetworldkeys, setworldmodifier, players, setkey, removekey, resetkeys, listkeys, sleep, skiptime, restartparty and genloc. Iron Gate warns that genloc takes time and may cause disconnects, so save first.

Since 0.217.22 there is also a player list in the pause menu, and patch 0.217.38 fixed it so admins can kick players from that list on dedicated servers.

Commands anyone can use

Some console commands look like admin tools but work for every player: ping measures your latency to the server, info prints system information and lodbias (1 to 7) changes your draw distance. You do not need to be on the admin list for them.

Is admin the same as devcommands?

No. devcommands turns on the cheat commands (god, fly, spawn and the rest). The Valheim Wiki is clear on two points:

1. Being an admin "does not give access to any other commands such as cheats or debugmode."
2. The cheat commands "are available in singleplayer or manually hosted mode only. They do not work on a dedicated server."

So on a dedicated server, the admin list gives you moderation and world tools, not a creative mode. If you want to fly around and spawn items, do it in a single-player copy of the world, and keep in mind that since 1.0 items spawned with cheats are marked as "cheated item".

Ban players and set a whitelist

The other two files work the same way as adminlist.txt: one ID per line, restart after editing.

• bannedlist.txt. Add an ID here to block a player before they ever join, or use ban from the console while they are online.
• permittedlist.txt. Iron Gate warns that "adding a person on the permitted list will ban everyone else from the server." Add yourself and every friend before you save it, or you lock out your own group.

For a private world, the server password is often enough: Valheim asks for at least five characters, and the password cannot contain the server name. A whitelist adds a second lock that a leaked password cannot open. If your crew mixes Steam and Xbox, read our Valheim crossplay server guide first, because crossplay changes how players join.

Valheim admin not working? Check these

1. Wrong folder. The server reads the lists from its save path or from -savedir. Search for adminlist.txt and make sure you edited the one next to the world files.
2. Wrong ID format. Copy the ID from F2 or the log, prefix included, with matching upper and lower case.
3. Extra text on the line. No names, comments or trailing spaces after the ID.
4. No restart. Restart the server after you save the file.
5. Console not enabled. If F5 does nothing, add -console to Valheim's launch options in Steam.
6. You tried a cheat command. god, fly and spawn are refused on a dedicated server even for admins.

If you run BepInEx mods, some admin tools come from mods and use their own config files. Our guide to Valheim server mods explains where those go.

Manage your Valheim server from a browser

On your own PC, being admin means finding a hidden AppData folder, editing a text file and keeping the computer on so the world stays open. On a Valheim server from TheGameHosting, the server runs 24/7 on our hardware in Dallas or Amsterdam, and every step in this guide happens in one panel:

• Files to open and edit adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt in the browser, or sFTP if you prefer.
• Backups to save the world before a risky command like genloc, and Schedules to back up and restart on a timer.
• Users to give a co-admin access to the panel without sharing your account. That is panel access; in-game admin rights still come from adminlist.txt.
• Startup to turn crossplay on for Xbox and Game Pass friends.

Plans for Valheim start at $3.69 USD per month with 4 GB of RAM, run on AMD 9950X or 7950X3D CPUs with NVMe storage, and include DDoS protection. You can compare every RAM size on our game server plans. Running a different survival game too? The same idea in Palworld is covered in how to become admin on a Palworld server.

Your server is ready in about 60 seconds after payment. Choose a plan on Pricing, paste your ID into adminlist.txt and restart.

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