Remote Administration with RCON
Enable and use RCON to remotely kick players, broadcast messages, lock the server, and trigger restarts without console access.
Overview
RCON (Remote Console) lets server admins connect to a running DayZ server and issue commands without direct console access. It uses BattlEye's RCON protocol, which means it runs through the BattlEye layer rather than the game engine directly. RCON is essential for Pterodactyl/WISP-hosted servers where you do not have a persistent terminal session.
Enabling RCON
RCON is configured in serverDZ.cfg. Add or update these lines:
rconPassword = "YourStrongPasswordHere";
rconPort = 28015;
The rconPort defaults to 28015 for the first server instance. If you run multiple instances, offset by 100 per instance (instance 2 uses 28115).
The rconPassword must also match the password in your BattlEye configuration. Open server_profile/BattlEye/beserver.cfg and set:
RConPassword YourStrongPasswordHere
RConPort 28015
Both files must have matching passwords or connections will be refused.
Firewall
RCON traffic is UDP. Open the RCON port on your firewall/security group:
Protocol: UDP
Port: 28015 (or your configured rconPort)
Source: Your admin IP only (restrict access)
Never expose RCON to 0.0.0.0/0 — anyone with the password can kick, ban, and restart your server.
RCON Client Tools
Two commonly used RCON clients for DayZ:
DayZero RCON — GUI tool, supports command history and player list display. Connect with server IP, RCON port, and password.
RConClient — Lightweight CLI tool. Useful for scripted restarts:
rconclient -a 192.168.1.100 -p 28015 -w YourPassword -c "#restart"
Available RCON Commands
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
say -1 "Server restarting in 10 min" |
Broadcast to all players |
kick [playerID] "reason" |
Kick a player by ID |
ban [playerID] |
Ban a player (adds to BattlEye ban list) |
#lock |
Lock the server (no new joins) |
#unlock |
Unlock the server |
#restart |
Restart the mission (not full process restart) |
#shutdown |
Shut down the server process |
players |
List connected players with IDs |
Player IDs shown by the players command are the BattlEye slot numbers, not Steam IDs. Use these for kick/ban commands in the current session.
Scheduled Restart Example
Many server operators configure a cron job or panel scheduled task to send a warning and then restart:
# 10 minutes before restart
rconclient -a 127.0.0.1 -p 28015 -w "pass" -c "say -1 Server restart in 10 minutes"
# 5 minutes before
rconclient -a 127.0.0.1 -p 28015 -w "pass" -c "say -1 Server restart in 5 minutes"
# Restart
rconclient -a 127.0.0.1 -p 28015 -w "pass" -c "#shutdown"
The panel's process manager then auto-restarts the server after shutdown.
Testing the Connection
After saving config and restarting the server, test the connection from your RCON client. If connection is refused:
- Confirm
beserver.cfgandserverDZ.cfgpasswords match exactly (case-sensitive) - Confirm the RCON port is open (UDP, not TCP)
- Check
server_profile/BattlEye/— if the folder does not exist, BattlEye has not initialized yet; let the server run for 30 seconds after first start
Troubleshooting
- "Invalid password" error: The passwords in
serverDZ.cfgandbeserver.cfgdo not match. - Connection refused: UDP port not open, or server hasn't fully started yet.
- Commands do nothing: You are connected to the wrong instance (check port matches the correct server).
#restarthas no effect: This restarts the mission script, not the server process. Use#shutdownand let the panel restart the process.