How to Whitelist Players on Your DayZ Server
Enable the server whitelist, add Steam64 IDs to whitelist.txt, and control exactly who can join your DayZ server.
Overview
The whitelist lets you run a fully private DayZ server — only players whose Steam64 ID is in whitelist.txt can connect, even if they have the server password. It's the right tool for community-only servers, allowlisted events, or group play.
Step 1 — Enable the Whitelist in serverDZ.cfg
Open serverDZ.cfg and add or change this line:
whitelist = 1;
Set it to 0 to disable the whitelist without deleting your whitelist.txt file.
Step 2 — Make Sure verifySignatures Is Set
The whitelist works alongside signature verification. For reliable enforcement, set:
verifySignatures = 2;
With verifySignatures = 0, some clients may be able to slip past server-side checks.
Step 3 — Create or Edit whitelist.txt
whitelist.txt lives in your server's profile directory (the same folder as admins.txt and ban.txt). Open or create it using the file manager and add one Steam64 ID per line:
76561198012345678
76561198087654321
76561199000000001
No commas, no spaces, no quotes — just one raw ID per line. Save the file.
Step 4 — Restart the Server
Restart the server to apply the serverDZ.cfg whitelist setting. The whitelist file itself is re-read on each player join attempt, so you do not need to restart to add or remove players from whitelist.txt after the initial restart.
Adding and Removing Players Without a Restart
Because DayZ checks whitelist.txt at join time, you can manage the list live:
- To add a player — open
whitelist.txtin the file manager, add their Steam64 ID on a new line, and save. They can join immediately on their next attempt. - To remove a player — delete their line from
whitelist.txtand save. They won't be able to join on their next attempt, but if they're already in-game, they'll stay until they disconnect.
Finding a Player's Steam64 ID
Ask players to look theirs up at steamid.io or share their Steam profile URL. The 17-digit number at the end of a /profiles/ URL is the Steam64 ID.
Common Pitfalls
- Server password + whitelist — both can be active at the same time. A player needs both the password and to be whitelisted. For simplicity, you can drop the password once the whitelist is in place.
- Editing while the server is writing — avoid editing
whitelist.txtwhile a server restart is in progress. - BattlEye — BattlEye bans are separate from your whitelist. A whitelisted player who is globally banned by BattlEye will still be blocked by BattlEye.