Every Project Zomboid admin command in one searchable table, with the Build 42 quirks marked. Plus the ten commands you will use every week, when to kick, ban or banid, and what event commands do to a busy server.
Running a private Project Zomboid server comes down to two things: who can join and what they can do once inside. Here is how to become admin, set access levels, lock the server down with a whitelist and SteamIDs, and get back in when the admin password is lost.
Joining a Project Zomboid server takes an IP, a port, the right game branch and the right account details. Here is each way in, how to pick a server with low ping from the UK, and what to check when the join fails.
Wiping a Project Zomboid server doesn’t have to mean losing everything. Here is how to choose between a new season, a map wipe, a character reset and a single-town reset, which files each one touches, and what to back up first.
SandboxVars.lua holds the rules of your Project Zomboid world: zombie numbers, loot, utilities and XP. Here is how the file is laid out, what the numbers mean, what a change does to a world already in play, and a searchable reference for all 269 settings.
servertest.ini decides how your Project Zomboid server runs: who can find it, who can join, what anti-cheat does and which mods load. Here is what to set first, how changes take effect, and a searchable reference for every line in the file.
A backup that actually saves you covers the world, the settings and the account database together, and lives somewhere other than the server. What to copy, how the built-in backups work and how to restore cleanly.
8 GB as the Build 42 floor, 10-12 GB for 5-10 players and 12-16 GB or more for bigger or modded worlds. Why player spread and mods matter more than headcount, and how to set the Java heap so the RAM actually gets used.
Workshop mods and custom maps need three different IDs in three different lines. Where each ID comes from, how map load order works, the Build 42 folder rules and how to add mods to a live world without breaking it.
In-game Host, your own dedicated server or a rented one: what each really costs, then the full Windows and Linux setup, ports, first-run files and the settings to get right before anyone joins.
Find out whose Project Zomboid server lag it is, then fix it in order of impact: Java heap vs plan RAM, player spread, zombie population, mods, and when to upgrade.
Build 41 saves don’t carry into Build 42, and neither do 42.19 unstable worlds. How to decide between finishing the old world and starting fresh, the safe run order for the move, and how to get mods and players onto the same build.
