How to Add an Admin to a 7 Days to Die Server

To add admin 7 Days to Die server rights to a player, run admin add <name or ID> 0 in the server console, or add a <user> line with permission_level="0" to serveradmin.xml while the server is stopped. Level 0 is full admin and 1000 is a normal player. This guide covers both ways, how to make a moderator with fewer powers, and the mistakes that make an admin entry do nothing.

Being admin is what unlocks the in-game console commands (press F1), such as kicking a griefer, turning on the debug menu or changing the time. The list of who is admin lives in one file, serveradmin.xml, which also holds the whitelist, the ban list and the permission level of each command. If you are still setting the server up, start with how to make a 7 Days to Die server.

How permission levels work

Every player and every command has a number from 0 to 1000. The comments inside serveradmin.xml explain the rule: a user may run any command whose level is equal to or higher than their own. Lower number, more power.

Players who are not in the file get level 1000 automatically. Commands that are not listed in the file default to level 0, so only full admins can use them.

How to add admin 7 Days to Die server rights from the console

This is the fastest way, and the server writes serveradmin.xml for you in the right format for your version.

1. Start the server and join the game with the player who will be admin, so the server knows that player.
2. Open the server console. On TheGameHosting it is the Console tab of the panel. You do not need telnet or the web dashboard.
3. List the players with listplayerids (short: lpi). Note the name or ID of the player.
4. Give level 0:
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   admin add YourName 0

   You can use the player name, the entity ID shown by lpi or the player's platform ID. For a moderator, use a higher number, for example admin add FriendName 1.
5. Test it. In the game press F1 and run a command that needs admin, such as dm (debug menu). If the server refuses, check that you typed the same name or ID shown by lpi.

To take the rights back, run admin remove YourName. The full syntax of each command is in the console: type help admin.

How to add an admin in serveradmin.xml

Use the file when the server will not let you in, or when you want to add several people at once. It sits in the Saves folder of the user data folder (the setting AdminFileName in serverconfig.xml names it), not next to the start scripts. Our 7 Days to Die server config guide lists where each file goes.

1. Stop the server from the panel and wait until it is fully off. The server saves this file while it runs and can overwrite a change made with it on.
2. Make a backup in Backups → Create backup.
3. Open the file in Files (or over sFTP) and find the <users> section.
4. Add one line per admin, outside any <!-- --> comment:
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   <users>
     <user platform="Steam" userid="76561198021925107" name="YourName" permission_level="0" />
   </users>

5. Save and start the server, then join and test with F1.

For Steam players, userid is the 17-digit SteamID64. If your group plays crossplay from another store or a console, copy the platform and ID exactly as lpi or the server log shows them for that player, because a Steam entry will not match an account from another platform.

Heads-up: guides written before version 1.0 show lines like <user steamID="..." /> inside an <admins> block. That is the old format. The file that ships with current versions uses platform and userid inside <users>. When in doubt, use the admin add command and let the server write the line.

Make a moderator with only some commands

You do not have to hand out level 0. Give your helpers level 1 and decide which commands that level can run with cp (command permission):

cp add kick 1
cp add ban 1
cp add say 1000
cp list

Now anyone at level 1 can kick and ban, everyone can use say, and the rest stays for level 0. cp remove kick undoes a rule. These are the commands a moderator uses most:

If players are thrown out with a message instead of a kick, read why a 7 Days to Die server disconnects you: a forgotten whitelist entry is one of the causes.

When the admin entry does nothing

• The line is inside a comment. The examples in the file are wrapped in <!-- --> and are not active. Write your line outside them.
• You edited the file with the server on. Stop it, edit again and start it.
• Wrong ID or platform. Compare your entry with the lpi output for that player.
• Wrong file. If serverconfig.xml sets a custom UserDataFolder or AdminFileName, the server reads the file there.

Admin tools on TheGameHosting

On 7 Days to Die server hosting from TheGameHosting, the panel Console runs admin add and every other server command from your browser, so you never expose telnet to the internet. Files and sFTP open serveradmin.xml, Backups saves a copy before you touch it, and Users gives your co-admin access to the panel without sharing your account. That is panel access; in-game rights still come from serveradmin.xml.

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