Project Zomboid server guides: from setting it up to running it
Project Zomboid is twice the fun with friends, but its server has its quirks: RAM, Workshop Mod IDs, the .ini, sandbox settings and, since July 2026, Build 42 with its new multiplayer. Here are all our guides, in the order you're likely to need them.
Start here
How to Play Project Zomboid with Friends: Host, Dedicated or Rented Server
The three ways to play as a group (from the game, on a PC at home or a rented server) and which one suits you.
How to Set Up a Project Zomboid Server to Play with Friends
What you need, how to set it up and how you and your friends get in.
How Much RAM Does a Project Zomboid Server Need?
RAM is what fails most in Zomboid: how much to get for your players and mods.
How to Move Your Project Zomboid Save to a Dedicated Server
If you already have a save, how to move it to the server without losing anything.
How to Add Mods to a Project Zomboid Server (Steam Workshop)
Workshop ID and Mod ID: how to add Workshop mods without the server refusing to start.
Setting up your game
Game mode, zombies, loot, Workshop maps, where you spawn, who can join and whether you can hurt each other.
Best Project Zomboid Settings for Playing with Friends
The game mode and the settings that change a Project Zomboid co-op game the most: zombies, power and water, XP, loot and time passing while nobody plays.
Project Zomboid Sandbox Settings: Zombies, Difficulty and Loot on Your Server
Where a Project Zomboid server's sandbox settings live (SandboxVars): zombie count, loot, power and water shutoff, and how to change them safely.
Project Zomboid Server .ini Settings Explained: the Options That Matter
What each important option in Project Zomboid's servertest.ini does (Build 42): password, public list, PvP, PauseEmpty, safehouses, saving and backups.
How to Add Workshop Maps to a Project Zomboid Server (and Which Work on Build 42)
How to add Workshop maps (Raven Creek and others) to a Project Zomboid server: Workshop ID, Mod ID, the Map= line and which are up to date for Build 42.
Project Zomboid Private Server: Password and Whitelist
How to make your Project Zomboid server private: a password to join, a whitelist with /adduser and Open=false, and keeping it off the public server list.
How to Change the Spawn Point on a Project Zomboid Server
How to choose where players spawn on your Project Zomboid server: a single town, fixed coordinates with SpawnPoint, or respawning in the safehouse.
How to Turn PvP On or Off on a Project Zomboid Server
How to disable or enable PvP on a Project Zomboid server: the PVP option, the skull safety system, damage between factions and non-PvP zones.
How to Reset Your Project Zomboid Server World and Start a New Game
Start a fresh game on your Project Zomboid server without losing the old one: a backup, moving the world folder aside, the accounts and new settings.
Playing as a group
A shared base, factions, the mods that work best in multiplayer, what happens when you die and roleplay servers.
Safehouses and Factions in Project Zomboid: How to Claim a House on a Server
How to claim a safehouse on a Project Zomboid server, add your friends, create a faction, and which .ini options control it all.
Best Project Zomboid Multiplayer Mods (Build 42)
Workshop mods that work on a Build 42 Project Zomboid server: a skill recovery journal, proximity inventory, read-book markers, cars and more.
Dying on a Project Zomboid Server: What You Lose, Where You Respawn and How Not to Lose Everything
What happens when you die on a Project Zomboid server: a new character, getting your gear back, respawning in the safehouse, and settings and mods that help.
How to Set Up a Project Zomboid Roleplay (RP) Server: Settings and Rules
How to run a Project Zomboid roleplay server: character names, proximity chat and voice, a map that gives nothing away, PvP with rules and a whitelist.
Running it
Who's in charge, the admin commands and backups of your save.
How to Make Yourself (or a Friend) Admin in Project Zomboid, Plus the Basic Commands
How to give admin in Project Zomboid to yourself or another player with /setaccesslevel, how to take it away, and the admin commands you'll use most.
Project Zomboid Admin Commands: The Full List (Build 42)
Project Zomboid admin commands for Build 42, with examples: players, items, teleporting, zombies, weather and the server. Plus how to type them correctly.
Project Zomboid Server Backups: How to Back Up and Restore Your World
How to back up a Project Zomboid server: the backups the game makes on its own, which folders to copy by hand and how to restore a backup safely.
Versions and updates
Build 42 or 41, and what to do when a patch locks everyone out.
Build 42 vs Build 41 on a Project Zomboid Server: What Changes
What changes on a Project Zomboid server with Build 42: multiplayer, Build 41 saves that won't load, mods, RAM, and how to stay on 41 (legacy41).
What's New in Project Zomboid Build 42 for Multiplayer
What's new in Project Zomboid Build 42 when you play together: a map twice the size, basements, animals, crafts, game modes and a fairer server.
Project Zomboid Server Version Mismatch: How to Update Your Server
What to do when Project Zomboid says the server version doesn't match yours: updating the server, leaving a Steam beta, and Workshop mods.
When something goes wrong
Can't Connect to Your Project Zomboid Server? Causes and Fixes
Why you can't join a Project Zomboid server (connection timed out, mismatched mods, game version, password) and how to fix it step by step.
Project Zomboid Server Not Starting? Errors and Fixes
Why a Project Zomboid server closes on startup: mods that aren't for Build 42, memory, a mistyped setting, a full disk or an update, and how to fix each one.
Project Zomboid Server Lag: Causes and How to Fix It
Stutters, teleporting zombies and a slow-motion Project Zomboid server: how to tell whether it's memory, CPU or the connection, and what to change.
Project Zomboid Server Ports (16261 and 16262 UDP) and How to Open Them
Which ports a Project Zomboid server uses (16261 and 16262 UDP), how to open them on your router and in Windows Firewall, and what to do about CG-NAT.
Free or paid
With “Host” from the game (also over Radmin VPN or Hamachi), the free dedicated server on your PC, or a rented server.
Free Project Zomboid Server: The Real Options and Their Catches
How to get a free Project Zomboid server: “Host” from the game, Steam's free dedicated server, or a hosting company's free server, and the catch with each.
How to Host a Project Zomboid Game for Friends (and Fix Join Problems)
How to use Host in Project Zomboid: setting up the game, how much server memory to give it, inviting your friends and what to do if they can't join.
How to Play Project Zomboid with Radmin VPN or Hamachi (No Port Forwarding)
How to play Project Zomboid with friends over Radmin VPN or Hamachi when you can't open ports: creating the network, which IP to use and what to do if it fails.
How to Make a Project Zomboid Dedicated Server on Your PC (Windows and Linux)
Set up the free Project Zomboid dedicated server (Build 42) on Windows or Linux: installing it, setting the memory, the admin password and joining.
By version
Build 42
The normal Steam version since 29 July 2026 (42.20), with multiplayer; today, 42.21. It's what our servers install. It needs more RAM than Build 41 (which is why no Zomboid server of ours gets less than 6 GB), its mods have to be made for Build 42 (Mod IDs go with a backslash in front in the .ini) and its saves don't open in Build 41, nor the other way round.
Explained in: Build 42 vs Build 41 on a Project Zomboid Server: What Changes · What's New in Project Zomboid Build 42 for Multiplayer · How Much RAM Does a Project Zomboid Server Need? · How to Add Mods to a Project Zomboid Server (Steam Workshop) · How to Add Workshop Maps to a Project Zomboid Server (and Which Work on Build 42) · Best Project Zomboid Multiplayer Mods (Build 42)
Build 41 (legacy41)
Still available on Steam's legacy41 beta branch, with security fixes but no new content. It makes sense for finishing a long Build 41 world with mods that don't exist for Build 42 yet. The whole group and the server have to be on that same branch.
Explained in: Build 42 vs Build 41 on a Project Zomboid Server: What Changes · Project Zomboid Server Version Mismatch: How to Update Your Server
Frequently asked questions
What version of Project Zomboid does a server run?
Whatever Steam's public branch has: today, Build 42 (42.21). Players have to join with the same version as the server; if not, the game says the versions don't match and you'll need to update the server.
Does Build 42 have multiplayer?
Yes, since 42.20, which reached the normal Steam version on 29 July 2026. Build 41 saves don't open in it.
How much RAM does a Project Zomboid server need?
With Build 42, 6 GB to start with a small group; 8 GB or more with lots of mods or players. The RAM guide explains it for your case.
What ports does a Project Zomboid server use?
16261 and 16262, both UDP. On a rented server they're already open; at home you have to open them on your router.
Can you get a Project Zomboid server for free?
Yes: on your own PC, or at NapNodes, which gives you a free server that starts when you want to play and stops by itself when nobody is on.
Create your free Project Zomboid serverNo card needed. Or see the Project Zomboid plans.