How to Make a DayZ Server (PC, 2026 Guide)

Running your own DayZ server lets you choose the map, the loot, the time of day and the rules. Bohemia Interactive ships a free dedicated server for PC on both Windows and Linux, and this guide covers the whole setup: download, config, launch, ports, mods and how players join. At the end there is a quicker option if you would rather skip the setup.

Short on time? A hosted DayZ server is live in about 60 seconds with its own address, Workshop mods and their keys added from the panel, and no port forwarding. How to host a DayZ server walks through it step by step.

What you need

• A PC or server that stays on while people play, running 64 bit Windows or Linux.
• 8 GB of RAM for a vanilla server, 12 GB for a modded one, and 16 GB for large mod lists or a full 60 player server.
• A Steam account that owns DayZ. Unlike many games, the DayZ server cannot be downloaded with an anonymous SteamCMD login.
• SteamCMD, Valve's command line tool for downloading servers.
• Access to your router settings, so players outside your home can connect.

Many people make a second Steam account that owns DayZ just for the server, so SteamCMD logins do not clash with the account they play on.

Step 1: Download the server with SteamCMD

The DayZ server is Steam app 223350. Install SteamCMD, then run:

steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/dayz/server +login your_steam_username +app_update 223350 validate +quit

On Windows, use a folder like C:\dayzserver instead. SteamCMD asks for your password and Steam Guard code the first time and remembers the session afterwards. Run the same command whenever DayZ updates, because players cannot join a server on an older build.

The server folder contains DayZServer_x64.exe on Windows or DayZServer on Linux, the serverDZ.cfg config file, the mpmissions folder with each map's mission, a keys folder and a battleye folder.

Step 2: Edit serverDZ.cfg

Open serverDZ.cfg in a text editor. The lines most people change:

• hostname: the name shown in the server browser.
• password: set one for a private server, leave it empty for a public one.
• passwordAdmin: the password you use to log in as admin.
• maxPlayers: up to 60 on PC.
• verifySignatures = 2;: keeps signature checks on. Leave it at 2.
• disable3rdPerson and disableCrosshair: set to 1 for a hardcore first person server.
• serverTimeAcceleration and serverNightTimeAcceleration: how fast days and nights pass.
• serverTimePersistent: set to 1 to keep the time of day across restarts.
• steamQueryPort: the port the server browser uses to find you, see the ports section below.
• instanceId: keep it at 1 unless you run several servers on one machine.

Every line ends with a semicolon. A missing one is the most common reason a server refuses to start.

Step 3: Choose the map and edit the mission

The map is set at the bottom of serverDZ.cfg, in the class Missions block:

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

The vanilla templates are dayzOffline.chernarusplus for Chernarus, dayzOffline.enoch for Livonia and dayzOffline.sakhal for Sakhal. Each one matches a folder in mpmissions.

Inside that mission folder are the files that shape your server. db/types.xml controls what loot spawns, how much and where, db/globals.xml holds global values like cleanup timers, and cfggameplay.json covers gameplay rules such as stamina and base building. Back up the folder before you edit it: one broken XML tag can stop the server from loading. How to edit loot on a DayZ server explains every value in types.xml.

Step 4: Launch the server

On Linux:

./DayZServer -config=serverDZ.cfg -port=2302 -profiles=profiles -BEpath=battleye -doLogs -adminLog -freezeCheck

On Windows, use DayZServer_x64.exe with the same parameters, usually in a .bat file. -profiles sets where logs and admin data go, -doLogs and -adminLog turn on logging, and -freezeCheck restarts a hung server. When the log shows the mission has loaded, the server is ready.

DayZ servers are meant to restart every few hours. Most owners schedule a restart every 3 to 4 hours so the world and memory stay healthy. That also means the machine has to stay on and be looked after around the clock, which is the biggest reason people move DayZ to a hosted server.

Step 5: Open the ports

DayZ uses UDP only. Forward these to the server's local IP and allow them through the firewall:

If you run a second server, move its game port up by 100 or so, for example 2402, and give it its own query port. Our port forwarding guide walks through the router side. If the server still does not show up, DayZ server not showing in the launcher goes through every cause. A hosted server has these ports open already, so there is nothing to forward.

Step 6: Add mods and keys

Most community servers run Steam Workshop mods such as Community Framework and DayZ Expansion. For each mod:

1. Download it through SteamCMD with the same account, using +workshop_download_item 221100 <mod id>, or copy it from a DayZ client that is subscribed to it.
2. Copy the @ModName folder into the server folder.
3. Copy the .bikey file from the mod's keys folder into the server's keys folder. Without it, players get kicked for signature errors.
4. Add the mod to the launch command.

./DayZServer -config=serverDZ.cfg -port=2302 "-mod=@CF;@DayZ-Expansion-Bundle" -profiles=profiles

Separate mods with semicolons. On Linux, wrap the whole -mod= argument in quotes so the shell does not treat the semicolons as new commands, and keep mod folder names in lowercase or consistent case, because Linux paths are case sensitive. Mods that only run on the server, such as admin tools, go in -serverMod= so players do not need them. Load order matters: frameworks like Community Framework go first. More detail, including mod updates and loot files, is in how to install mods on a DayZ server, and the signature kick fix helps when players get kicked after adding one.

Badlands and Nasdara

The Badlands expansion releases on 15 October 2026. It adds Nasdara, a desert map in western Takistan and at 267 square kilometres the largest official DayZ map. Livonia and Sakhal both require players to own their DLC, and Nasdara is expected to work the same way. Update your server with SteamCMD after release, then point the template line at the new mission folder that appears in mpmissions. We will add the exact template name here once the expansion is out. Budget extra RAM for a map that size.

How players connect

Players on PC can join in two ways:

1. Open the DayZ Launcher from Steam, go to Servers, and search for your hostname. You can also use Direct Connect with your public IP and game port, for example 203.0.113.10:2302.
2. If the server runs mods, the launcher offers to subscribe to and download them. Then press Play.

Players can also use the in game server browser, but the launcher is easier for modded servers because it loads mods for them.

Common problems

• Server not in the browser: the query port is not forwarded or does not match steamQueryPort. Give it a few minutes after start, too.
• Kicked for signature or key errors: a mod's .bikey is missing from keys, or the player has a different mod version.
• Version mismatch: the server has not been updated. Run the SteamCMD update again.
• Server closes on start: a syntax error in serverDZ.cfg or a broken XML file. Check the latest log in the profiles folder.
• Rubber banding with a full server: not enough RAM or CPU, especially with big mod packs. See how much RAM a game server needs.

The easy way

A DayZ server takes real upkeep: a Steam login that owns the game, five UDP ports to forward, a .bikey to copy for every mod, restarts every few hours and an update after every patch, all on a PC that never gets switched off.

A hosted server handles the plumbing so you can spend your time on the rules of your world. Pick a plan (8 GB for vanilla with friends, 12 GB once you add Expansion or traders), pay, and your server is live in about 60 seconds with its own address. Add Workshop mods from the panel and we load them and install their keys, edit serverDZ.cfg and types.xml in the browser file manager, and keep 3 backups for before big changes. You can split the bill with up to 9 friends, and new customers get half off the first month. See DayZ server hosting for plans, or follow how to host a DayZ server.