{"id":18703,"date":"2026-03-26T14:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/?post_type=ht_kb&p=18703"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:15:42","slug":"how-to-automatically-restart-a-dayz-server-with-a-shutdown-message","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/article\/how-to-automatically-restart-a-dayz-server-with-a-shutdown-message\/","title":{"rendered":"How to automatically restart a DayZ server with a shutdown message."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Running a DayZ server<\/strong> is no small task, and nothing disrupts a session quite like an unexpected crash or a sudden, unannounced restart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you’re managing a small private server for friends or hosting a busy public community, keeping players informed before a restart is the difference between a smooth experience and a flood of frustrated messages in your Discord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up an automated restart schedule for your DayZ server, complete with an in-game shutdown message so your players always get a heads-up before the server goes down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Access the Panel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Log in to your GGServers Control Panel<\/a>. Here you will be able to manage anything related to your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Stop the Server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To safely modify any configuration options, add mods or any task similar to that, the server will have to be stopped to prevent any issues from taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Edit the messages.xml file<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To do this, please go to your File Manager and navigate to mpmissions\\<missionnamehere>\\db and edit the messages.xml file. If it doesn’t exist, you can manually create it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Edit the file to your liking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Each message fires based on its <deadline><\/code> value, which is measured in seconds. The server works through them in descending order \u2014 the highest deadline fires first, counting down until the next one takes over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the final message’s deadline expires and <shutdown><\/code> is set to 1<\/code>, the server restarts. So in the example above, the sequence looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1800<\/strong> (30 min) \u2192 First warning, no shutdown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

600<\/strong> (10 min) \u2192 Second warning, no shutdown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1800<\/strong> (30 min) \u2192 First warning, no shutdown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<messages>\n    <message>\n        <delay>0<\/delay>\n        <repeat>0<\/repeat>\n        <deadline>1800<\/deadline>\n        <onConnect>0<\/onConnect>\n        <shutdown>0<\/shutdown>\n        <text>Heads up, #name will restart in 30 minutes.<\/text>\n    <\/message>\n\n    <message>\n        <delay>0<\/delay>\n        <repeat>0<\/repeat>\n        <deadline>600<\/deadline>\n        <onConnect>0<\/onConnect>\n        <shutdown>0<\/shutdown>\n        <text>Warning, #name will restart in 10 minutes.<\/text>\n    <\/message>\n\n    <message>\n        <delay>0<\/delay>\n        <repeat>0<\/repeat>\n        <deadline>300<\/deadline>\n        <onConnect>0<\/onConnect>\n        <shutdown>1<\/shutdown>\n        <text>Final warning, #name is restarting in 5 minutes. Please find safety!<\/text>\n    <\/message>\n<\/messages><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Save the file and then restart the server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Done, your server should now have automatic restarts with scheduled messages to make your players aware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are experiencing any issues or if you need assistance with anything else, please contact us at our <\/strong>Support Portal<\/a>. We are available 24\/7 to help!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Running a DayZ server is no small task, and nothing disrupts a session quite like an unexpected crash or a sudden, unannounced restart. Whether you’re managing a small private server for friends or hosting a busy public community, keeping players informed before a restart is the difference between a smooth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[1774],"ht-kb-tag":[9757,9766,9763,9755,9761,9768,9764,9767,9770,9771,9756,9758,9762,9772,9754,9769,9765,9759,9760],"class_list":["post-18703","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-dayz","ht_kb_tag-dayz-automated-restart-guide","ht_kb_tag-dayz-community-server-management","ht_kb_tag-dayz-hosting-best-practices","ht_kb_tag-dayz-hosting-optimization","ht_kb_tag-dayz-messages-xml-setup","ht_kb_tag-dayz-mission-file-configuration","ht_kb_tag-dayz-restart-notification-system","ht_kb_tag-dayz-restart-timer-setup","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-admin-guide","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-automation-tools","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-config-tutorial","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-crash-prevention","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-management-tips","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-restart-alerts","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-restart-schedule","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-scripting-guide","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-uptime-improvement","ht_kb_tag-dayz-server-warnings-before-restart","ht_kb_tag-dayz-xml-messages-example"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/18703","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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/18703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18708,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/18703\/revisions\/18708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=18703"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ggservers.com\/knowledgebase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=18703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}