ZSGO Server Not Showing in Server List? Fixes for Joining Too

A Zombie Survival Game Online server that runs but never shows in the browser is almost always one of four things: AdvertiseServer is false, LAN is true, the Steam query port (27015 by default) is blocked, or the server is on a different build from the players. If it shows but nobody can get in, check that ServerPassword is exactly NoConfiguredPassword (or the password you meant) and that the game port is open as well as the query port.

First, sort your symptom

Not listed at all

1. Check the two visibility keys

Open ZSGO/Content/DedicatedServer/ServerConfig.json with the server stopped:

"LAN": false,
"AdvertiseServer": true

The developers describe LAN as "visible in the LAN server list only" and AdvertiseServer as whether the server "will show up in any server list or not". AdvertiseServer: false is meant for an open server that only people with the address can reach, so it is easy to set by accident and forget. Both must read as above for a public listing. Restart after any change; the server reads the file at start.

2. Look in the right place in the browser

Open Multiplayer > Join Game and use the search box with part of the server name. The browser has several tabs along the top, and the developers' standard advice for a missing server is to click through them. Friend-hosted games sit under the Games tab. Give a freshly started server a few minutes before deciding it is missing.

3. Check the server name rules

Keep ServerName plain and at least five characters. Our panel enforces 5 to 128 characters for the name, and very short or odd names are harder to search for. Remember that WorldName is shown in the list but, per the developers, does nothing yet, so searching for it will not help.

4. Make sure Steam can query it

The server list is built from Steam's master server, which talks to your query port. If that port is closed, the game itself runs fine but the list never hears about it. The defaults are:

Open both, inbound and outbound, in Windows Firewall and forward both on the router. The two numbers must be different. If you moved the query port with -queryport=, open the new number, not 27015. A second server on the same machine needs its own pair. For router screens see how to port forward a game server.

A quick test from outside the game: in the Steam client open View > Game Servers, go to Favorites, click the add button and enter your.ip:27015. If Steam cannot read it there, the game browser cannot either, and the problem is network, not ZSGO.

5. Check the Steam token, if you use one

When IsGSLTUsed is true, the server logs in to Steam with the token in SteamGSLT. A token that was deleted, expired or created for the wrong App ID stops it registering. Tokens are made at Steam's game server account page with the game's App ID, 2268560. Each token works on one server at a time, so copying a working config to a second server quietly takes the first one off the list. If in doubt, set IsGSLTUsed back to false and see if the server appears.

6. Rule out the anti cheat setting

ValveAntiCheat: true is the right choice for public servers. It does not hide a server, but if you are testing on a machine that has trouble with VAC, flip it to false once to rule it out, then put it back.

Wrong build after a patch

ZSGO is in Early Access and patches every few weeks. When the client updates and the server does not, the server can still be listed, but joins fail or send you back to the main menu. The developers have pointed players with exactly that symptom to servers whose owners had not updated their files.

Fix it by stopping the server and updating it:

steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\zsgo-server +login anonymous +app_update 2536350 validate +quit

Then start it again. Do this after every ZSGO patch, before anyone tries to join. If one friend can join and another cannot, have the second friend restart Steam so their client finishes updating.

Password problems

ZSGO treats one exact string, NoConfiguredPassword, as "no password". Anything else is a password. That causes two common mistakes:

• A typo in NoConfiguredPassword. NoConiguredPassword or noconfiguredpassword is a real password. Players get a password prompt for a server you thought was open. Retype the value exactly.
• An empty value. Do not clear the field to remove the password. Put NoConfiguredPassword back.

When the server does have a password, players type it in the field at the bottom of the server browser before joining. On our panel the password accepts letters, numbers, dashes and underscores only, which avoids characters that break the JSON file.

Listed for you, invisible to friends

If you can see your own server but friends cannot, the server is answering on your local network only. The usual reasons are a missing port forward, a router that does not support loopback (so your own test proves nothing), or a connection behind CGNAT. Our guide to friends who cannot connect while you can covers each case, and how to tell if you are behind CGNAT explains the one you cannot port forward your way out of.

Full or overloaded

MaxPlayers caps the server (4 by default, 32 at most). A full server still shows in the list but refuses new players. The developers recommend 20 players or fewer, and a busy server near 32 wants 12 GB of RAM or more. If joins time out only when the server is busy, raise the RAM or lower the cap.

Still stuck

Read the server's log in ZSGO/Saved/Logs from the most recent start. Errors about Steam or the token near the top usually point straight at the cause. Setup basics, from install to first join, are in how to host a ZSGO server.

On a ZSGO server from GamezServers, the ports are already open on the server's own address, Advertise Server, LAN and Server Password are panel fields with the right defaults, and Auto Update pulls the current build every time you restart, which clears the most common causes on this page in one go.

FAQ

Why is my ZSGO server not in the server browser?

Usually AdvertiseServer is false, LAN is true, or the query port (27015) is not reachable from the internet. Fix the config, open the port, restart and wait a few minutes.

Can players join a ZSGO server that is not listed?

Yes. AdvertiseServer: false hides the server from lists on purpose so that only players with the address get in.

Why does my ZSGO server ask for a password when I did not set one?

ServerPassword does not read exactly NoConfiguredPassword. Any other text, typos included, is treated as the password.

Why do I get sent back to the main menu when I join?

The server is most likely on an older build than your game. Update it with SteamCMD app 2536350 and restart.