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DayZ ships with a small set of built-in admin commands, and the community fills the gaps with RCON tools and admin mods. This guide covers the built-in layer first — admin login, kick, lock, shutdown, bans, whitelist — then the tools serious servers actually run day to day.

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Step 1: Set the Admin Password

Built-in admin access is controlled by one line in serverDZ.cfg: 
passwordAdmin = "PickSomethingLongAndUnique";
Edit the file via the File Manager and restart the server. Anyone with this password has full admin powers — treat it like the keys to the server, and share it only with trusted staff (consider sub-users for panel access instead of sharing your main account).

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Step 2: Log In and Use Admin Commands In-Game

Admin commands are typed into the normal in-game chat, prefixed with #.
1

Open chat

Press the chat key while connected to your server.
2

Authenticate

#login YourAdminPassword
The server confirms the login in chat.
3

Administrate

Use the commands below. When you’re done, log out with #logout.

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Built-in Command Reference

CommandWhat it does
#login <password>Authenticate as admin
#logoutDrop admin rights
#kick <player>Kick a player from the server
#lockLock the server — no new players can join
#unlockUnlock the server
#shutdownShut the server down (the panel restarts it per your settings)
The built-in command set is intentionally small — there is no built-in teleport, item spawn, or god mode. For those you want Community Online Tools (below).

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Bans and Whitelist

Two plain-text files in the server directory control who can join. Each takes one identifier per line (Steam64 ID or the in-game GUID, depending on your server version — check the format your server writes when it bans someone):
  • ban.txt — every ID listed is refused connection.
  • whitelist.txt — when enableWhitelist = 1 is set in serverDZ.cfg (see Server Configuration), only the IDs listed may join. Perfect for private community servers.
Edit both through the File Manager and restart (or use RCON tools to ban live). Keep a comment-free, one-ID-per-line format — stray characters can silently break the list.

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BattlEye RCON: Remote Administration

Every DayZ server runs BattlEye, which exposes an RCON (remote console) interface. RCON tools connect to it from outside the game and let you and your staff kick, ban, broadcast messages, and monitor players without being logged in — even from a phone or a scheduled task. Well-known options, described generically:
  • BEC (BattlEye Extended Controls) — a classic companion tool for scheduled restart warnings, automated broadcast messages, chat filtering, and admin task automation.
  • CFTools Cloud — a hosted management platform with a web dashboard: live player list, kick/ban with audit trail, scheduled broadcasts, and Discord integration.
  • Various desktop RCON clients — lightweight tools for sending manual RCON commands and watching the player list in real time.
RCON connects using the RCON port and password from your BattlEye config (BEServer_x64.cfg in the server’s battleye/ folder). Keep that password as secret as passwordAdmin.
The winning combo for most communities: RCON (or CFTools) for moderation and broadcasts, plus Community Online Tools for hands-on in-game work.

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Community Online Tools: The Practical Admin Toolkit

Community Online Tools (COT) is the de facto in-game admin mod for DayZ. Once installed, authorized admins get a full UI overlay with:
  • Player management — heal, spectate, kick, and manage any connected player
  • Teleportation — teleport yourself or players anywhere on the map
  • Item and vehicle spawning — spawn any item, weapon, or vehicle for events or testing
  • God mode and invisibility — moderate without being seen or killed
  • Weather and time control — set fog, rain, and time of day live
COT is a Steam Workshop mod and requires CF (Community Framework); both go into your -mod= parameter, and admins are granted access via COT’s permission files. Follow the full workflow in Installing Mods — the same steps (upload @CF and @Community-Online-Tools, copy the .bikey files, add to startup parameters) apply.
Remember that players must run the same mods as the server — adding COT means everyone loads it (it’s inert for non-admins). Test on a quiet server first, and take a backup before introducing new mods.

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Quick Reference: Which Tool for Which Job?

TaskBest tool
Kick a troublemaker right now, in-game#kick or COT
Ban permanentlyban.txt / RCON tool
Restart warnings and scheduled messagesBEC or CFTools Cloud
Teleport, spawn items, run eventsCommunity Online Tools
Private members-only serverwhitelist.txt + enableWhitelist = 1
Server offline / stuckConsole and power controls in the Game Panel

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