Admin commands let you moderate players, fix problems, and test your world without waiting for something to happen naturally, force a world save before a risky change, wipe wild dinos after adjusting spawn settings, or kick a troublesome player. This guide covers logging in as admin and the commands you'll reach for most often.
Step 1: Set Your Admin Password
Before you can use admin commands, your server needs an admin password set. Open GameUserSettings.ini (see our Configuring The Server guide for the file location) and add this under [ServerSettings]:
Save the file and restart your server for the change to take effect.
Step 2: Log In As Admin In-Game
- Join your server and press
Tabto open the console. - Type
enablecheats YourPasswordHere, using the password you set in Step 1, and press Enter. - You should see confirmation that cheats are enabled. You can now enter admin commands.
cheat prefix once you're authenticated, for example cheat SaveWorld. On some console platforms, admincheat is used instead of cheat, they work interchangeably.
Step 3: Commonly Used Admin Commands
Server Management
cheat SaveWorld: forces an immediate world save. Good practice before any risky change.cheat DestroyWildDinos: removes all untamed creatures so new ones spawn under your current settings. Run this after changing difficulty, spawn rates, or installing creature mods. It never affects tamed dinos.cheat SetTimeOfDay 12:00:00: jumps straight to the specified time (24-hour format).cheat Broadcast Your message here: sends a server-wide announcement to every connected player.
Player Moderation
cheat ListPlayers: lists everyone currently connected along with their Steam IDs, run this first to get the ID you need for the commands below.cheat KickPlayer: disconnects a player from the server.cheat BanPlayer: permanently bans a player.cheat UnbanPlayer: removes a player from the ban list.
Spawning & Testing
cheat GiveItemNum: adds an item to your inventory by its item ID.0 cheat Summon: spawns a wild version of a creature in front of you.cheat SummonTamed: spawns the same creature already tamed.
Player Toggles
cheat God: toggles invulnerability to damage and falls (does not prevent drowning on its own).cheat Fly/cheat Walk: toggles free-flight movement, and switches back to normal.cheat Ghost: toggles no-clip, letting you pass through terrain and objects.cheat InfiniteStats: keeps health, stamina, oxygen, food, and water topped up while active.
AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt in your ShooterGame/Saved folder and list one Steam64 ID per line. Anyone on that list gets admin access automatically.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Admin Issues
"Enable Cheats" doesn't seem to work:Confirm you're typing the exact password fromServerAdminPasswordinGameUserSettings.ini, and that the server has been restarted since it was set.A command has no effect:Most commands need thecheatprefix once authenticated. Typing the command name alone often does nothing.KickPlayer or BanPlayer isn't working:Double-check you're using the player's Steam ID fromListPlayers, not their display name.New wild dinos aren't the level you expected:RunDestroyWildDinosafter any difficulty change, existing dinos don't retroactively update.
These cover the commands admins reach for daily, ARK has many more for spawning, teleporting, and tribe management. If you'd like help with something more specific, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will be glad to help.