{"id":15474,"date":"2025-04-24T13:54:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=15474"},"modified":"2025-04-24T14:40:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T14:40:25","slug":"how-to-make-your-project-zomboid-server-private","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/article\/how-to-make-your-project-zomboid-server-private\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Your Project Zomboid Server Private"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you\u2019re planning to host a Project Zomboid server just for your friends, a private setup is the way to go. This guide will walk you through multiple ways to secure your server, including setting a password, enabling a whitelist, and hiding your server from the public server list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re hosting for roleplay, survival events, or a private community, this setup ensures only trusted players can join. And don\u2019t forget, you can grab <strong>30% off any GGServers game server with code: <code>KB30<\/code><\/strong> during checkout!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accessing Your Server\u2019s Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To start making your Project Zomboid server private, follow these steps to access your server configuration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Log into your <strong>GGServers Pterodactyl Panel<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the menu on the left-hand side, click <strong>Files<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Locate and open the file named:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>Pterodactyl\/Server\/Pterodactyl.ini<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where you\u2019ll configure privacy settings like passwords, whitelist behavior, and server visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Set a Server Password<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To block access from anyone who doesn\u2019t know your password:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-1024x425.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-1024x425.png 1024w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-50x21.png 50w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-60x25.png 60w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31-100x41.png 100w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-31.png 1254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the <code>Pterodactyl.ini<\/code> file, find the following line: <code>Password=<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Type in your desired password directly after the <code>=<\/code> sign.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restart your server from the panel for changes to apply.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This makes sure only players who know the password can join\u2014even if they find your server by IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Turn On the Whitelist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For even tighter control, use the whitelist feature to manually approve who can join your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the same <code>Pterodactyl.ini<\/code> file, locate the line: <code>Open=<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Change its value to: <code>false<\/code> This enables the whitelist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong> and restart your server.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"196\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-32.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-32.png 196w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-32-50x19.png 50w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-32-60x23.png 60w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-32-100x38.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Whitelist Management Commands<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To manage who\u2019s on your whitelist, use these commands in your server console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>AddUser &lt;username&gt; &lt;password&gt;<\/code> \u2013 Adds a player to both whitelist and user list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>AddUserToWhitelist &lt;username&gt;<\/code> \u2013 Adds an already registered player to the whitelist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>RemoveUserFromWhitelist &lt;username&gt;<\/code> \u2013 Removes someone from the whitelist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>AddAllToWhitelist<\/code> \u2013 Whitelists everyone currently online.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also control automatic behavior through these options in the config:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>AutoCreateUserInWhiteList=true<\/code> \u2013 Automatically adds new users to the whitelist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>DropOffWhiteListAfterDeath=false<\/code> \u2013 Prevents players from being kicked off the whitelist after death.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3: Hide Your Server from Public Listings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To make sure your server doesn\u2019t show up in the game\u2019s <strong>Internet<\/strong> tab on Steam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the same config file, find the line: <code>Public=<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Change the value to: <code>false<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong> and restart the server.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Your server will no longer appear on the public server list, even if someone is browsing for games to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"236\" height=\"85\" src=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-33.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-33.png 236w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-33-50x18.png 50w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-33-60x22.png 60w, https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-33-100x36.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you&#8217;re running a private group or community, we highly recommend using both a password and a whitelist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Now your Project Zomboid server is protected and only available to those you approve! If you need more help setting things up, <strong>our 24\/7 support team is always ready to assist you<\/strong> at:<br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/billing\/submitticket.php\">https:\/\/ggservers.com\/billing\/submitticket.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re planning to host a Project Zomboid server just for your friends, a private setup is the way to go. This guide will walk you through multiple ways to secure your server, including setting a password, enabling a whitelist, and hiding your server from the public server list. Whether&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[1279],"ht-kb-tag":[1298,1300,1282,1285,1287,1294,1290,1296,1280,1293,1299,1286,1284,1292,1297,1283,1288,1295,1291,1281],"class_list":["post-15474","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-project-zomboid","ht_kb_tag-ggservers-control-panel","ht_kb_tag-ggservers-game-server","ht_kb_tag-ggservers-project-zomboid-hosting","ht_kb_tag-hide-project-zomboid-server","ht_kb_tag-how-to-whitelist-players-pz","ht_kb_tag-multiplayer-roleplay-server-pz","ht_kb_tag-private-multiplayer-pz","ht_kb_tag-project-zomboid-admin-tools","ht_kb_tag-project-zomboid-private-server","ht_kb_tag-project-zomboid-server-config","ht_kb_tag-project-zomboid-steam-settings","ht_kb_tag-pterodactyl-ini-project-zomboid","ht_kb_tag-pz-server-password","ht_kb_tag-pz-server-settings","ht_kb_tag-pz-server-visibility","ht_kb_tag-pz-server-whitelist","ht_kb_tag-restrict-access-project-zomboid","ht_kb_tag-secure-pz-server","ht_kb_tag-server-protection-pz","ht_kb_tag-whitelist-commands-pz"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/15474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15474"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/15474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15498,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/15474\/revisions\/15498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=15474"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=15474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}