Project Zomboid Server Commands Guide
Every command below was sent to a live Build 42 server and the response recorded, so what you read here is what your server actually answers. Five commands that other guides still list were removed in Build 42, and six more changed their syntax.
Before you start
- In the panel Console tab, leave the leading
/off. In in-game chat, keep it. - Command names are case sensitive.
- Quotes are only needed when a value contains a space, but they never hurt.
- Most player commands act on connected players.
No such userorUser X not foundusually means they are simply not online, not that the account is missing. - A few commands need your character to exist in the world, so they fail from the console:
alarm,teleportto,thunder,lightning, andcreatehordewithout a name. - Typing
helpin the console prints the exact command list for your build. If any guide disagrees with that output, the output wins.
Removed in Build 42, check here first
These still appear in most Project Zomboid command lists. On Build 42 the server answers Unknown command, or an access-level error.
| Command | What it does | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
addusertowhitelist | Gone. Use adduser, which both creates and whitelists. | addusertowhitelist "user" |
addalltowhitelist | Gone. Let everyone join once with Open on, then switch it off. | addalltowhitelist |
changepwd | Gone from the console. Use setpassword instead. | changepwd "old" "new" |
sendpulse | Gone. Use stats for server performance data. | sendpulse |
replay | Gone. No replacement. | replay "user" -record "file" |
removeadmin | Errors out. Demote with setaccesslevel "user" instead. | removeadmin "user" |
Players, accounts and bans
| Command | What it does | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
adduser | Creates a whitelist account. The password is optional. | adduser "user" "password" |
setpassword | Resets an account password. | setpassword "user" "newpassword" |
removeuserfromwhitelist | Deletes the account from the whitelist. | removeuserfromwhitelist "user" |
setaccesslevel | Sets the role. See the access levels below. | setaccesslevel "user" "level" |
grantadmin | Shortcut for the admin role. | grantadmin "user" |
players | Lists connected players. | players |
kickuser | Kicks a connected player. The reason is optional. | kickuser "user" -r "reason" |
banuser | Bans an account. -ip also bans their IP. | banuser "user" -ip -r "reason" |
unbanuser | Lifts an account ban. | unbanuser "user" |
banid | Bans a Steam ID, so a renamed account stays out. | banid SteamID |
unbanid | Lifts a Steam ID ban. | unbanid SteamID |
banip / unbanip | Bans or unbans an IP address. | banip 1.2.3.4 |
addsteamid / removesteamid | Maintains the allowed Steam ID list. | addsteamid "steamid" |
voiceban | Blocks voice chat from a player. | voiceban "user" -true |
Server control
| Command | What it does | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
help | Prints every command your build actually has. | help |
save | Saves the world immediately. | save |
quit | Saves and shuts the server down. | quit |
showoptions | Dumps every server option and its current value. | showoptions |
changeoption | Changes one option live. No equals sign, and the value is quoted. | changeoption PingLimit "400" |
reloadoptions | Rereads the config file and pushes it to clients. | reloadoptions |
servermsg | Broadcasts a message to everyone online. | servermsg "message" |
stats | Server performance figures. | stats help |
log | Sets the log level. | log |
checkModsNeedUpdate | Checks whether any installed mod has an update. Answer goes to the log. | checkModsNeedUpdate |
reloadlua | Reloads one server-side Lua file. | reloadlua "filename" |
World and gameplay
| Command | What it does | Syntax |
|---|---|---|
additem | Gives an item. Count is optional. | additem "user" "Base.Axe" 5 |
removeitem | Removes items from yourself. 0 removes all of that type. | removeitem "Base.Axe" 5 |
addkey | Gives a key to a player. | addkey "user" "keyId" "name" |
addvehicle | Spawns a vehicle. The script name comes first, not the player. | addvehicle "Base.VanAmbulance" "user" |
addxp | Grants XP. The perk=value pair is not quoted. | addxp "user" Woodwork=100 |
godmode | Invincibility for yourself only. It takes no username. | godmode -true |
godmodeplayer | Invincibility for someone else. | godmodeplayer "user" -true |
invisible | Hides you from zombies. Yourself only. | invisible -true |
invisibleplayer | Hides someone else from zombies. | invisibleplayer "user" -true |
noclip | Lets a player walk through walls. | noclip "user" -true |
teleport | Teleports you to a player, or one player to another. | teleport "user" "toUser" |
teleportto | Teleports to map coordinates. In-game only. | teleportto 10000,11000,0 |
createhorde | Spawns a horde near a player. The count is not quoted, and the console needs a name. | createhorde 150 "user" |
removezombies | Clears loaded zombies. | removezombies |
chopper | Triggers the helicopter event on a random player. | chopper |
gunshot | Plays a gunshot near a random player. | gunshot |
alarm | Sets off a building alarm at your position. In-game only, and you must be inside a room. | alarm |
startrain / stoprain | Starts or stops rain. Intensity 1 to 100 is optional. | startrain "50" |
startstorm / stopweather | Starts a storm, or clears all weather. Duration is in game hours. | startstorm "2" |
thunder / lightning | Thunder or a lightning strike on a player. The console needs a name. | thunder "user" |
setTimeSpeed | Multiplies how fast in-game time passes. | setTimeSpeed 10 |
releasesafehouse | Releases a safehouse claim. | releasesafehouse "title" |
addtosafehouse / kickfromsafehouse | Adds or removes a player on a safehouse. | addtosafehouse "title" "user" |
Access levels
These are the only values setaccesslevel accepts, in the order the server itself lists them:
banned, user, priority, observer, gm, moderator, admin
Note that overseer is gone, even though the game's own help text still mentions it, and none was never valid. Both answer Access Level '' unknown. To take someone's powers away, set them to user.
When a command does not work
Unknown command x
The command was removed in Build 42. Check the table above for the replacement.
No such user or User x not found
The command needs the player to be online. Whitelisted but offline is not enough.
Access Level '' unknown
You passed none or overseer. Use one of the seven levels listed above.
The command prints its own usage text back at you
The arguments are wrong. godmode and invisible take no username, and changeoption takes no equals sign.
Not in a room
alarm needs your character to be standing inside a building, so it cannot work from the server console.
Adding players to a whitelisted server is its own job with its own traps, and it is covered in How to Set Up a Whitelist on a Project Zomboid Server. Every command here runs from the Console tab in our game control panel, and if you are still hosting elsewhere, our Project Zomboid server hosting gives you that console plus one-click backups.