Colony Survival Admin Commands and Permissions (Server Guide)

To become admin on a Colony Survival server, stop the server, open permissionusers.json in your world's save folder and add your SteamID64 with a 1. prefix in the god group, then start it again. After that you can run admin commands in chat, such as /setgroup to promote others, /blacklist add to ban, /whitelist add to lock the server to friends, and /time, /save and /backup to run the world. Everything is group based: peasant for normal players, king for trusted helpers, god for owners.

How permissions work

Colony Survival does not use an admin password. Each player belongs to one or more permission groups, and each group grants a set of permissions. Every new player lands in the default group with no admin powers. Rights come from being placed in a higher group.

Give god to as few people as possible. A god can promote anyone else, including to god.

Make yourself admin the first time

Nobody has rights on a fresh server, so the first god has to be added in a file.

1. Find your SteamID64. It is the 17 digit number starting with 7656. Your Steam profile URL shows it if you have not set a custom URL, otherwise any SteamID lookup site will convert your profile link.
2. Stop the server. The file is read at start, and the server can overwrite edits made while it runs.
3. Open the world folder. The file sits at gamedata/savegames/<world name>/permissionusers.json. The world name is the one in your launch line (+server.world).
4. Add yourself:

{
  "1.76561198000000000": {
    "includes": ["god"]
  }
}

The 1. in front of the ID is required. Without it the entry is ignored. For more than one person, add more entries separated by commas:

{
  "1.76561198000000000": { "includes": ["god"] },
  "1.76561198000000001": { "includes": ["king"] }
}

5. Start the server and join. Type /reloadpermission in chat. If it runs without a permission error, you are an admin.

If the file does not exist yet, start the server once, let the world generate, stop it and look again. If it still is not there, create it with exactly that name. A JSON syntax error, such as a missing comma or a curly quote pasted from a document, makes the server ignore the whole file, so validate it before saving.

Commands for managing players and groups

Once you are god, you rarely need the file again:

<player> can be a name or a SteamID64. Use the SteamID64 for players who are offline or who change their name often.

Banning and whitelisting

There is no kick command that removes a player from the server for a moment. The Kick button you may see in the colony menu removes a co-owner from a colony, not from the server. To keep someone out, use the blacklist:

Both need the god group. The lists are stored as files in the save folder, but manage them with the commands, because the file format has changed between game versions.

For a friends only server, add each friend to the whitelist. Anyone not on it cannot join, even if they find the server in the list.

Commands for running the world

These are king level and above:

Run /save before you stop the server for maintenance, and /backup before a game update or a big mod change. Colony Survival is still in Early Access and an update can change how saves load.

Colony owners are a separate system

Server groups decide who can run admin commands. Colony ownership decides who can manage a colony. A colony owner can add friends as co-owners so they can place jobs and build:

/colony addowner <player>
/colony removeowner <player>

That is how friends share one colony on a server where each player could also start their own. It does not give them any server admin rights.

When commands do not work

• "No permission" on every command: the 1. prefix is missing, the SteamID64 is wrong, or the server was running when you saved the file. Stop it, fix it, start it.
• The file resets after a restart: you edited a different world folder than the one the server loads. Check +server.world in the launch line.
• Commands work for you, not for a helper: they are in king, and the command needs god. Use /setgroup god <player> only if you trust them with everything.
• A modded command is missing: mods like Pandaros Settlers add their own commands and permissions, and they only exist when the same mod is on the server.

Doing it on a hosted server

On a GamezServers Colony Survival server, permissionusers.json is in the world folder in the file manager, so the first admin takes a minute: stop, edit, start. The live console shows the server output while you test, one click backups sit next to /backup for safety, and the world stays online for friends in other time zones. If players cannot find the server in the first place, see our fixes for a Colony Survival server that is not showing, and for the full setup, the Colony Survival hosting guide.

FAQ

How do I make myself admin on a Colony Survival server?

Add "1.<your SteamID64>": { "includes": ["god"] } to permissionusers.json in the world's save folder while the server is stopped, then start it.

How do I ban someone in Colony Survival?

Use /blacklist add <player> with their name or SteamID64. You need the god group.

Is there a kick command in Colony Survival?

No. Use the blacklist to keep a player out, and /blacklist remove to let them back in later.

What is the difference between king and god?

King can use cheats, teleport, time, loot, save and backup commands. God can do all of that and also grant permissions and manage the whitelist and blacklist.

How do I make my Colony Survival server friends only?

Add each friend with /whitelist add <player>. Players not on the whitelist cannot join.