How to Host a DayZ Server: Setup, Mods, Ports and Wipes

How to host a DayZ server, in short: download the DayZ Server (Steam app 223350) with SteamCMD and a Steam login, set your name, passwords, slots and map in serverDZ.cfg, start DayZServer with -config and -port, and open the game and query ports. Mods, loot and wipes all live in a few files you will see below. If you do not want to keep a PC running for a 60-player map, you can rent a server that is already set up.

Before you host a DayZ server: PC only

A community server you host yourself is for DayZ on PC (Steam). PlayStation and Xbox players cannot join it; console players play on the official console servers. Everything below is for the PC version.

• Windows or Linux. The Windows program is DayZServer_x64.exe; Bohemia also documents a Linux build, DayZServer.
• A Steam account for SteamCMD. Bohemia's guide downloads the server with your own Steam login, not the anonymous one most other servers use.
• Memory and CPU. Bohemia's server pages do not give a RAM figure. A busy map with mods is heavy; on our plans DayZ needs at least 8 GB.
• Do not run it as root on Linux. Bohemia warns that a compromised server would then give an attacker the whole system.

Step 1: download the DayZ Server with SteamCMD

The commands come from Bohemia's Hosting a Linux Server page. Replace your_login with your Steam user name:

mkdir -p ~/servers/steamcmd && cd ~/servers/steamcmd
curl -sqL "https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz" | tar zxvf -
~/servers/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 223350 +quit

On Windows, use steamcmd.exe with the same +login and +app_update 223350. To update the server after a DayZ patch, run the same command again. Players on a newer build cannot join an outdated server while forceSameBuild is on.

Step 2: configure serverDZ.cfg

DayZ reads its settings from the file you pass with -config. Bohemia notes the name means nothing; serverDZ.cfg is the usual one, and without a config the server will not start. These are the lines you will change first, with the values from Bohemia's Server Configuration page:

hostname = "My DayZ Server | PvE | Chernarus";
description = "Weekly wipes, active admins";
password = "";
passwordAdmin = "change-this";
maxPlayers = 60;
verifySignatures = 2;
forceSameBuild = 1;
disable3rdPerson = 0;
disableCrosshair = 0;
serverTime = "SystemTime";
serverTimeAcceleration = 1;
serverNightTimeAcceleration = 1;
serverTimePersistent = 0;
instanceId = 1;
storageAutoFix = 1;
steamQueryPort = 2305;

class Missions
{
    class DayZ
    {
        template = "dayzOffline.chernarusplus";
    };
};

Other useful lines from the same page: respawnTime (seconds before a new character), motd[] with motdInterval for chat messages, enableWhitelist, and lightingConfig (0 brighter nights, 1 darker nights).

Choose the map

The map is the template line, written as mission name and terrain. These are the mission folders in Bohemia's official DayZ Central Economy repository:

Livonia and Sakhal belong to DayZ's DLCs, so check on Steam what your players need before you switch. The same repository also has seasonal mission folders, for example Christmas and Halloween versions of the maps.

Step 3: start the server and open the ports

Bohemia's Linux start command, with the port set to 2302 as in its configuration page:

cd ~/servers/dayz-server/
./DayZServer -config=serverDZ.cfg -port=2302 -BEpath=battleye -profiles=profiles -dologs -adminlog -netlog -freezecheck

On Windows, the same options go after DayZServer_x64.exe in a .bat file. -profiles is where logs and BattlEye files go; -freezecheck stops the server if it freezes for more than five minutes and writes a dump. For remote admin tools, set RConPassword in BEServer_x64.cfg next to the BattlEye DLL.

Then forward two ports on your router to that PC: the game port you set with -port and the steamQueryPort from serverDZ.cfg. If the server runs but nobody finds it in the browser, the query port is the first thing to check.

How to add mods to a DayZ server

DayZ mods come from the Steam Workshop of the game, app 221100. The server needs the mod files and their keys, and every player needs the same mods. Bohemia's example installs Community Framework and Community Online Tools:

1. Download the mods with SteamCMD: add +workshop_download_item 221100 1559212036 +workshop_download_item 221100 1564026768 to the install command.
2. Put each mod folder in the server folder (Bohemia links it from steamapps/workshop/content/221100/).
3. Copy the .bikey files from each mod's keys folder into the server's keys folder. With verifySignatures = 2, players with unsigned files are refused.
4. Load them on start with "-mod=1559212036;1564026768;". Mods only the server needs go in -serverMod=, which players do not download.

Bohemia's guide downloads the mods with the same SteamCMD command it uses for updates, so every update run also refreshes them. Publish the mod list in your server description or Discord, because players need the same mods loaded to join.

Loot and economy files

Loot, infected and animals are set in the mission folder, mpmissions/<template>/. In Bohemia's repository, db/types.xml defines each item and how many spawn, db/events.xml defines vehicles and other events, and db/globals.xml holds global values such as ZombieMaxCount (1000 in the default Chernarus files) and AnimalMaxCount (200). Bohemia describes db/economy.xml as the main switch for loading, saving and respawning loot, animals and infected. Keep a copy of every file before you edit it.

DayZ server wipe: how to reset the world

A DayZ server keeps its world (bases, stashes, vehicles, characters) in a persistence folder inside the mission folder. Its name comes from instanceId: with instanceId = 1 it is storage_1. To wipe:

1. Stop the server gracefully.
2. Back up the whole mission folder.
3. Delete or rename mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/storage_1 (use your own map and number).
4. Start the server. It creates a fresh storage folder and a clean world.

Another way is to change instanceId to a new number: the server starts on a new storage folder and the old one stays untouched in case you want it back. Bohemia's Central Economy documentation explains why this matters for loot too: the storage folder is the live state of the economy, and changes to the economy files in most cases are not applied until that folder is removed. Big loot changes usually go together with a wipe.

Doing all this at home means a PC that runs day and night, two forwarded ports and your home IP in every player's server list. That is where most self-hosted DayZ servers stop.

How to host a DayZ server with TheGameHosting

The server runs Bohemia's files, so everything above (serverDZ.cfg, mods, keys, storage) works the same. The difference is what you no longer handle:

1. Pick a plan with 8 GB or more. DayZ needs at least 8 GB on our plans; the 8 GB plan is $6.96 USD/month, and modded servers with many players are better on 12 or 16 GB. See DayZ server hosting.
2. Choose Dallas or Amsterdam. Dallas suits the Americas, Amsterdam suits Europe. The Location Changer moves it later.
3. Start it. The server is ready about 60 seconds after payment. The Game Changer lists both DayZ and DayZ Experimental.
4. Edit serverDZ.cfg, types.xml and the rest in Files in your browser, and upload mod folders and keys over SFTP. Check the Startup tab for launch options, or ask us in chat.
5. Join with the IP and port shown in the panel. No ports to open on your router.

Two panel tools fit DayZ well: Backups, so every wipe and every loot change has a copy behind it, and Schedules, for regular restarts. DDoS protection is included, which matters on a public PvP server.

Quick checklist before you open the server

• Admin password set and not shared in Discord.
• Map chosen in template, and a backup of the untouched mission folder.
• Mods in the right order, keys copied, and the same list announced to players.
• A wipe plan (for example monthly, or with each major update) written in the server description.

If you are deciding between DayZ and another survival game for your group, our Project Zomboid server guide and Rust server guide cover the same steps for those games, and what a dedicated server means explains why players can join while you are offline.

Host your DayZ server without the home PC

You now know how to host a DayZ server: the right SteamCMD app, the settings in serverDZ.cfg, how mods and keys load and how a wipe works. On your own machine you also carry the uptime, the ports and the attacks. With TheGameHosting those are solved from the first minute, and you keep full access to every file. Choose your RAM on our game server plans and pricing page and use code FULL2026 for 15% off for life.

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