A whitelist turns your 7 Days to Die server into an invite-only world. Instead of relying on a shared password, you approve each player individually, and anyone not on the list is turned away at the door — even if they know your server's IP.
In 7 Days to Die, the whitelist lives in a file called serveradmin.xml, and there is one golden rule to understand before you start.
Step 1: Collect Your Players' Steam64 IDs
Each whitelist entry needs the player's Steam64 ID, a unique 17-digit number tied to their Steam account.
Step 2: Edit The serveradmin.xml File
serveradmin.xml on shutdown, so edits made while the server is running will be lost!
- Log into your MintServers panel and click the Stop button.
- Navigate to the Files tab on the left-hand sidebar.
- Open the
Savesfolder and click onserveradmin.xmlto open it in the text editor:
📁 server (your main server directory)
📁 Saves
- Scroll down until you find the
<whitelist>section. It will contain only commented-out examples by default. - Add one
<user />line between the<whitelist>and</whitelist>tags for each player, like this:
name attribute is purely a label to help you remember who each ID belongs to — the game only checks the userid. Also make sure your entries are not wrapped in <!-- and -->, as anything between those markers is a comment and will be ignored!
- Click the Save Content button at the top right of the file editor.
- Head back to the Console tab and click Start. Your whitelist is now active!
Managing The Whitelist With Console Commands
Once your server is running, you don't need to stop it and edit the file every time you want to add a friend. Server admins can manage the whitelist live using the panel Console or in-game commands:
📋 Whitelist Commands
whitelist add <name / player id>— Adds a player to the whitelist. Changes made this way are written toserveradmin.xmlautomatically and take effect immediately, no restart needed.whitelist remove <name / player id>— Removes a player from the whitelist.whitelist list— Prints everyone currently on the whitelist.
whitelist add with the player ID shown in the log. Their entry will be saved with their own platform automatically.
Turning The Whitelist Off
Since the whitelist is active whenever it contains at least one entry, disabling it just means emptying the list.
- Stop your server and open
serveradmin.xmlin the Files tab. - Delete every
<user />line between the<whitelist>tags, so the section is empty again. - Save the file and start your server. Anyone can join once more.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Whitelist Issues
Whitelisted player still can't join:Double-check their Steam64 ID character by character. A single wrong digit means the game sees them as a different account entirely.Whitelist doesn't seem active at all:Make sure your entries are outside the<!-- -->comment markers and that you restarted the server after editing the file.Your edits keep disappearing:The file was edited while the server was running, and the game overwrote it on shutdown. Stop the server first, then edit.Everyone is locked out, including you:You added entries but forgot to add yourself. Either add your own ID to the whitelist or make yourself an admin, since admins always bypass the whitelist.
Your server is now a private club with you as the bouncer! Combined with a server password, a whitelist gives you complete control over exactly who sets foot in your world. If a player is still being rejected and the IDs all look right, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will be happy to help.