The Forest Updated May 11, 2026

The Forest Server Admin Management

How to set up admin access on a The Forest dedicated server, authenticate as admin in-game via the multiplayer chat, and use all available admin commands including kick, ban, save, and restart.

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The Forest Server Admin Management

The Forest uses a password-based admin system. There is no separate admin list — any player who knows the admin password can authenticate and run commands in-game via the multiplayer chat.

Step 1: Set the Admin Password

Open server.cfg and set:

serverPasswordAdmin YourSecureAdminPassword

Leave this blank and admin authentication is disabled entirely. Restart the server after making changes.

Keep serverPasswordAdmin different from serverPassword. If they are the same, any player who can join can become admin.

Step 2: Authenticate In-Game

  1. Join the server as a player
  2. Press Enter to open the multiplayer chat
  3. Type the admin password exactly as set in server.cfg and press Enter
  4. If successful, you will see a confirmation message

You are now authenticated as admin for this session. Authentication does not persist between disconnects — re-authenticate after each reconnect.

Step 3: Confirm Admin Access

Once authenticated, type:

/help

A list of all available admin commands will appear in chat. If /help returns nothing or "unknown command", authentication did not succeed — double-check the password and ensure serverPasswordAdmin is not blank.

Admin Command Reference

Command Description
/help List all available admin commands
/save Manually trigger a world save immediately
/restart Restart the server (players are disconnected)
/shutdown Gracefully shut down the server process
/kick SteamID Disconnect a player by their Steam64 ID
/ban SteamID Permanently ban a player by their Steam64 ID

Finding a Player's SteamID

To kick or ban a player you need their Steam64 ID (a 17-digit number starting with 7656). Ways to find it:

  • Check server logs — player connections are logged with SteamID
  • Ask the player to share their profile URL and use steamidfinder.com to convert it
  • Use the Steam overlay (Shift+Tab) → View Profile → copy the URL

Example Commands

/kick 76561198012345678
/ban 76561198012345678
/save
/restart

Notes

  • Admin status is session-only — you must re-authenticate after each disconnect.
  • There is no built-in unban command via chat. Bans are stored in a file in the server's save directory; edit or delete the ban list file to unban players.
  • /shutdown is the cleanest way to stop the server — it saves the world first. Avoid killing the process directly.
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