Set up a DayZ dedicated server from scratch

Order the server, open it, and press Start. The first start downloads the game, so wait until the Console prints Mission read.. Then set the name and passwords on Startup, pick the map in Config Editor, and send your players the address.

Checked on DayZ 1.29. Update 1.30 is due on 15 October 2026.

In the ArthOS panel

1. Order a DayZ server and open it from your server list. The panel installs the game files first.
2. When the install ends, open Console and press Start if the server is not already starting. The first start takes longer than the next ones.
3. Watch the Console. When it prints Mission read., the server has loaded its map and is ready.

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4. Open Startup. The settings you change first are cards in the Variables list:
   • Server Name (1): the name players search for. See change the server name.
   • Server Password (2): a server ordered from the Loafhosts store starts with a random join password, so players need it to join. Empty the box for a public server. See set a password.
   • Admin Password (3): the password you type in game to become an admin. It is not the join password. A new server has a random one too.
   • Max Players (4): how many can be on at once. A new server starts at 64. See change max players.
5. Choose Save, then restart the server. These four are written into serverDZ.cfg every time the server starts, so a restart is what applies them.

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6. Open Config Editor. If it says serverDZ.cfg does not exist yet, start the server once and open it again. Under Server, the Map (mission) row offers Chernarus, Livonia and Sakhal. Pick one, choose Save, and restart. A mission is the DayZ name for a map and its loot rules. Each map keeps its own world and loot settings, and the map you leave stays on disk. See change the map.

The Server name, Join password, Admin password and Maximum players rows in Config Editor are locked. They say “Set on the Startup page, which writes it on every start.” That is correct: change them on Startup.

How players join

The address is under the server name at the top of every server page. It is the IP and the game port, for example 203.0.113.24:2302. Your IP and port will differ, so copy them from the panel. Players can search for the server name in the DayZ Launcher, or type the address in Direct Connect. See connect to a DayZ server.

Mods

Mods are not needed to start. Add Community Framework and the mods that need it before players build; see Community Framework. For the steps, see install DayZ Workshop mods. Players must have the same mods as the server.

What the server needs

Bohemia, the maker of DayZ, lists 6 GB of RAM and a dual-core 2.4 GHz processor as the requirement for a server. More players and more mods need more than that. If the server runs short, open your server list and use the server’s menu, or open Billing, then Services. Choose Customize. This needs the permission to order and pay. See the DayZ servers page for the plans.

By hand

If you host DayZ yourself, the same settings are in serverDZ.cfg:

hostname = "My DayZ server";
password = "";
passwordAdmin = "a long admin password";
maxPlayers = 60;

class Missions
{
	class DayZ
	{
		template = "dayzOffline.chernarusplus";
	};
};

Bohemia documents each of these in its server configuration page. The map is the template name: dayzOffline.chernarusplus is Chernarus and dayzOffline.enoch is Livonia. Start the server with -config=serverDZ.cfg.

If it does not work

• The Console never prints Mission read. The first start is still downloading, or the server stopped. Read the last lines of the Console for the reason. See DayZ server logs.
• A change on Startup did nothing. Choose Save, then restart. The values are only written at the start.
• I edited the name in serverDZ.cfg and it came back. On Loafhosts the file line is rewritten from Startup at each start. Change it on Startup.
• Players cannot find the server in the list. See DayZ server not showing in the list.

Sources: Bohemia wiki: Server Configuration, Bohemia wiki: Server Requirements, store.steampowered.com: 221100

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