Project Zomboid Private Server: Password and Whitelist
A Project Zomboid server starts out open: anyone with the address and port can join, create an account and start looting your town. To play with just your group there are three locks, from weakest to strongest: a password to join, the whitelist, and keeping the server off the public list. All three are set in the server's .ini file.
Where to change it: the .ini file
The server options live in <name>.ini, in the Server folder, where <name> is the server's name (servertest if nobody changed it). What each option does is explained in the server .ini guide. On NapNodes the file is .cache/Server/napnodes.ini, but you don't need to open it: all three locks are in the panel under “Settings” → “The essentials”.
Always edit it with the server stopped: the game rewrites the .ini when it shuts down, so anything you change while it's running gets lost. Save, then press “Start”.
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1. A password to join
This is the quickest. In the .ini, put the password on the Password= line (for example Password=zombies2026). Anyone who wants to join will have to type it, along with the address and port, when they add the server under “Join” → “Favorites”.
Don't confuse it with each player's account: in Project Zomboid everyone joins with their own username and password, created the first time they connect. The server password is the same for everyone; the account password belongs to each player. It isn't the admin password either (on NapNodes, that one is in “Settings” → “In-game admin”).
The catch: a shared password gets passed around. If someone leaks it, people get in. For a group that's really closed, use the whitelist.
2. The whitelist: only accounts you create can join
With Open=false in the .ini, the server stops creating new accounts: only existing ones can join. The order matters: if you close the server before creating the accounts, nobody except admins will be able to get in.
Make yourself admin
Log in with the server's admin account and give your own account admin rights with /setaccesslevel "yourname" admin (the Zomboid server admin guide explains how).
Add the people who have already played
While the server is open, everyone creates their own account when they join. In Build 41 you also had to add them to the whitelist with /addusertowhitelist "name" (while they were connected); the Build 42 command list no longer includes it, so check with /help whether your server has it. And once you close the server, ask someone to try joining: if they can't, create their account as in the next step.
Create accounts for anyone missing
/adduser "name" "password" creates the account for each new friend. Send them the name and password privately; they can change the password later.
Close the server
Stop it, set Open=false in the .ini, save and start it again. From then on, anyone without an account sees a message when joining and can't get in.
To remove someone from the list
/removeuserfromwhitelist "name". If you also want to keep them out even if they get an account, /banuser "name" (or /banid with their SteamID, which works even if they change their name). Commands change a little between versions, so /help shows the ones on yours; the rest are in the admin commands list.
If someone dies and can't get back in
There's an option, DropOffWhiteListAfterDeath, that removes a player from the whitelist when their character dies. On a closed server that locks them out until an admin adds them back. If that's not what you want (among friends it almost never is), check that it's set to false in the .ini (on NapNodes, in “Settings”, under “Joining and accounts”).
3. Keep it off the public list
With Public=true the server appears in the game's internet server list, where anyone can see it. With Public=false it doesn't show up there, and people join only through “Favorites” with the address and port. On its own it isn't a lock (anyone with the address can join), but it gets rid of almost all the visitors you weren't expecting. Check how it's set in your .ini.
Accounts are stored separately: back up before changing them
Player accounts, with their name, password and access level, aren't stored in the world but in a separate database (the db folder, next to Saves). Before making big changes to the whitelist, take a backup: on NapNodes, with a plan, from the panel's “Backups”; the free server has no backups, so download the db folder from “Files”. If something goes wrong, you can roll back.
On NapNodes
Everything above works the same on a NapNodes server, including the free one. Under “Settings” → “The essentials” you'll find “Password to join”, “Anyone can create an account when joining” (Open) and “Show in the public server list” (Public): they save automatically and apply on restart. Commands are typed in the panel's “Console”, without the slash. If you get stuck, ask in the panel's “Help”.
Frequently asked questions
How do I put a password on my Project Zomboid server?
With the server stopped, type it on the Password= line of the server's .ini file and start it again (on NapNodes, in “Settings” → “The essentials” → “Password to join”, then “Restart”). Players enter it when they add the server under “Favorites”.
How do I turn on the whitelist in Project Zomboid?
First create your friends' accounts with /adduser "name" "password", then set Open=false in the .ini with the server stopped. If you close it first, nobody gets in. (Build 41's /addusertowhitelist is no longer in the Build 42 command list.)
How do I remove someone from the whitelist?
With /removeuserfromwhitelist "name". To keep them from coming back, /banuser "name". /help shows the commands for your version.
Why aren't my .ini changes saving?
Because you edited it with the server running: the game rewrites it when it shuts down. Stop it, edit, save and start it again.
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