Knowledgebase DayZ How to Whitelist Your DayZ Server

How to Whitelist Your DayZ Server

A whitelist turns your DayZ server into an invite-only world. Instead of relying on a shared password that anyone can pass along, you approve each player individually by their unique ID, and everyone else is turned away at the door.

⚠️ Important Warning: Always make sure your server is completely stopped on your MintServers panel before editing serverDZ.cfg. If you edit the file while the server is running, your changes can be overwritten when it next saves or shuts down.

Step 1: Enable Whitelisting In serverDZ.cfg

  1. Stop your server from the Console tab.
  2. Open the Files tab and locate serverDZ.cfg in your server's root directory.
  3. Find the line enableWhitelist = 0; and change the value to 1.
  4. Save the file and start your server.
📄 serverDZ.cfg
enableWhitelist = 1;

For a full breakdown of every other setting in this file, see our guide to DayZ Server Configuration.

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Step 2: Add Players To whitelist.txt

  1. Open the Files tab and locate whitelist.txt in your server's root directory.
  2. Add one player ID per line, with no extra spaces or commas.
  3. Save the file.
💡 Note: Once whitelisting is enabled, you don't need to stop your server to update whitelist.txt again later. Add or remove a line and save, and the change applies right away, no restart required.
⚠️ Confirm Your ID Format Before Relying On This: Sources disagree on exactly what ID whitelist.txt expects. Some document it as the player's 17-digit Steam64 ID (the same format used in priority.txt), while others describe a longer identity ID pulled from the server's admin log (.ADM file) rather than Steam itself. If a whitelisted player is still getting kicked, check the exact ID your server records in its logs when it turns them away, and use that format instead.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Whitelist Issues

  • Whitelisted players still can't join: Double-check for typos, stray spaces, or blank lines in whitelist.txt, and confirm you're using the correct ID format for your server.
  • Nobody can join anymore, including friends you didn't whitelist: This is expected. The moment whitelisting is enabled, every player needs to be on the list, with no exceptions besides server admins.
  • Want to turn whitelisting back off: Set enableWhitelist back to 0 in serverDZ.cfg and restart the server.
  • Not sure where to find a player's ID: Ask the player to join once while the whitelist is off, then check your server's admin log or console output for their ID.

With whitelisting enabled, only the players you've explicitly approved can get into your world. If you run into any trouble getting it set up correctly, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will gladly jump in and take a look.

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