Project Zomboid server guide

Everything you need to get your Project Zomboid server running and manage it. Our servers always run the official Build 42 release.

First time in the panel

Your server is created automatically when you pay. Project Zomboid is a large download, so it takes about 5 minutes to be ready.

The panel (panel.labarogames.com) is a separate account from the store, but it's created for you with the same email:

1. After paying you'll get an email from the panel with your username and a button to set your password. Click it and choose one.
2. Log in at panel.labarogames.com with your email and that password. You can also sign in with Google if your email is a Google account.
3. Your server appears in the list. From the store, the “Go to server” button takes you straight to it.

Connecting to the server

Your players need the game up to date on the regular Steam branch. Workshop mods download automatically when they join, and a password is only needed if you set one.

Your server's address is in the panel's “Network” tab: a name like play.labarogames.com followed by a port. To join:

1. In the game, go to the option to join a server and add it with that address and port.
2. If you've set a server password, enter it.
3. The first time, each player picks a username and password. That's their account on your server: they have to use the same ones every time to get back to their character.

Basic settings

Almost everything is configured through forms in the panel, without touching files:

There's no per-plan player limit: you choose the maximum in the “Startup” tab.

In “Server Settings” and “World Settings”, change what you want, press “Save changes” and then “Restart server”. Changes apply on restart.

Admins

The initial admin is the username and password you set when ordering. To give admin rights to another player, type this in the panel's “Console” tab:

setaccesslevel "player_name" admin

Mods

From the panel's “Workshop Mods” page you add Steam Workshop mods without touching files:

1. Find the mod with “Search Workshop”, or paste its link or number into “Steam Workshop ID or URL”.
2. Check the “Mod ID(s)” field: it fills in by itself, but some mods ship several and you only need to keep the ones you want.
3. Press “Add mod” and then “Restart server”. The server downloads the mods when it starts.

To remove one, use “Remove” next to it and restart. If a mod doesn't load, “Verify Mod IDs” checks that the IDs match the Workshop's. No mods are banned.

Memory and performance

Project Zomboid runs on Java, and what affects its performance most is how much memory you let it use. That's controlled from the panel's “Performance” tab.

The “Performance” tab

At the top you'll see how much RAM your server has. Below it, three options:

Press “Save changes” and then “Restart server”. Changes only apply on restart.

How much RAM you need

Workshop maps use the most memory, more than item mods.

Signs you're short of memory

• The server takes a long time to start or gets stuck loading the world.
• Stutters every so often even with few players online.
• The server shuts down by itself with no obvious error.

If that happens, upgrade your plan's RAM from the store and restart.

Updates

The server always runs the official Build 42 release. If you turn on “Steam Auto Update” in the panel, it updates itself on every restart. It's off by default.

To turn it on, in the “Startup” tab change “Steam Auto Update” from 0 to 1 and restart.

It's worth having it on: when a patch comes out, Steam updates your players' game, and if the server stays on the previous version they won't be able to join until you update it. With it on, restarting the server is enough.

Uploading an existing world

You can bring over a multiplayer save you have on your PC (created with “Host” in the game):

1. On your PC, the save is in C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\ and its settings in C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Zomboid\Server\. If you never renamed it, it's called servertest.
2. Look up your server's internal name in the “Startup” tab, “Server Name” field.
3. Stop the server from the panel.
4. Upload the save folder to .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ on the server, renamed to the internal name from step 2. Replace the one that's there.
5. If you want to keep your settings, also upload servertest.ini and servertest_SandboxVars.lua to .cache/Server/, renamed the same way (NAME.ini and NAME_SandboxVars.lua).
6. Start the server.

For large files use SFTP: the connection details are in the “Settings” tab and the password is your panel password. The file manager in the “Files” tab is fine for small files.

Backups

Every server includes 1 backup, in the “Backups” tab:

• Create: “Create Backup”. Best done with the server stopped, so the backup is consistent.
• Restore: “Restore”. You can tick “Delete all files before restoring backup?” to put the server back exactly as it was.
• Download: “Download”, to keep a copy on your PC.

Backups don't use your server's disk space.

Automatic backups

They're not on by default, but you can schedule them in the “Schedules” tab: create a schedule (daily, for example) with a backup task. Each new backup replaces the previous one.

Common problems

I can't log into the panel

The panel has its own password, separate from the store's. Use the button in the panel's email or “Forgot password?” on the login screen. The in-game admin user doesn't work for the panel.

After a game update I can't join

The server is still on the previous version. Turn on “Steam Auto Update” in “Startup” (see Updates) and restart.

A mod doesn't show up in game

Check with “Verify Mod IDs” in “Workshop Mods” that its ID is correct, and that you've added the mods it needs to work. Then restart.

My settings changes don't apply

Almost every change in the panel needs a server restart with “Restart server”.