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🚀 Getting Started with ZomboidHost

This guide walks you through everything from registration to your first zombie encounter - in about 5 minutes.

Step 1: Register an Account

  1. Go to Create Account.
  2. Choose a username (letters, numbers, underscores - 3-20 characters).
  3. Enter your email address.
  4. Choose a secure password.
  5. Read and check the Terms of Service checkbox. This includes acknowledging our adblock whitelist requirement.
  6. Click Create Account.

Step 2: Create a Server

  1. After registration, you'll land on your Dashboard.
  2. Click + New Server.
  3. Fill in:
    • Server Name - shown in-game on the server browser and in your saves.
    • Admin Password - the password for the server's admin account, used for administration purposes.
    • Max Players - slide the bar (1-100). Keep in mind: more players = more RAM pressure.
  4. Click Deploy Server.
  5. Installation takes ~5 minutes. You'll be redirected to your server's management page automatically.

💡 Tip: The admin password is the password for the server's built-in admin account - used to run admin commands in-game. You can change it any time from the Danger Zone on the manage page - it updates automatically without touching any config file. If you need to grant admin to another player after they've joined, use setaccesslevel username admin from the Console tab.

Step 3: Start the Server

  1. On the Manage Server page, click ▶ Start.
  2. Wait about 30-60 seconds for the server to fully boot (generating the world takes a bit on first start).
  3. The status dot will turn green when the server is online.

Step 4: Connect in Project Zomboid

  1. Open Project Zomboid on Steam.
  2. From the main menu, click Join Server → Add a server IP.
  3. Enter the address shown on your manage page. It looks like: 
    zomboid.ddns.net:16261
  4. If the server has a password, enter it (the server password, not the admin password).
  5. Create or select a character and enter the world!

Step 5: Give Yourself Admin Rights

There are two ways to grant admin access:

Option A - Server Console tab (no slash):

setaccesslevel YOUR_USERNAME admin

Option B - In-game chat (use slash prefix):
Press Enter in-game to open chat and type:

/setaccesslevel YOUR_USERNAME admin

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your in-game character name. The player must have already joined and created their account before this command works. See the Console Commands guide for a full reference.

Managing Your Server Day-to-Day

  • Stop/Restart - Use the buttons on the manage page. Always use Stop for a clean shutdown; Kill is a forced termination.
  • Console - Send in-game commands (kick players, change time, etc.) without launching the game.
  • Settings - The 🔩 Settings tab covers all common options: name, player limit, passwords, PvP, mods, and more. Sub users you add via the Sub Users tab can manage settings here too. Advanced options (loot density, zombie config) are documented in the Config guide.
  • Mods - Enter Workshop IDs and Mod IDs in the Settings tab - no config file editing needed. See the Mods guide for how to find the right IDs.

Troubleshooting

  • Can't connect? Make sure the server status is Online, not Installing or Offline. Wait a full minute after starting.
  • Server is slow? Check the resource bars on the manage page. If RAM is maxed out, reduce max players or remove resource-heavy mods.
  • Server disappeared? Servers inactive for 30 days are auto-suspended. Log in and click Resume.