How to become an admin on your ARK server

ARK admin access is a password, not a player list. Anyone who knows the password can log in as admin, so treat it carefully.

1. Set the admin password

1. Stop the server in the Game Panel.
2. Open GameUserSettings.ini in the Files tab, under ShooterGame/Saved/Config/.
3. Under [ServerSettings], set ServerAdminPassword=YourPassword.
4. Save and start the server.

Do not reuse your panel or billing password here.

2. Log in as admin in game

1. Join the server.
2. Press Tab to open the console.
3. Type enablecheats YourPassword and press Enter.
4. The chat confirms you are now an admin. The login lasts until you disconnect.

3. Commands worth knowing

• cheat SaveWorld forces a save before you do anything risky.
• cheat ListPlayers shows who is connected with their IDs.
• cheat KickPlayer <id> and cheat BanPlayer <id> handle problem players.
• cheat DestroyWildDinos clears wild creatures so they respawn, which is the standard fix after changing difficulty.
• cheat GiveItemNum and cheat Summon are the spawn commands, and both need admin.

4. Admin from the panel console

The Console tab in the Game Panel runs commands as the server itself, so no password is needed there. SaveWorld and ListPlayers typed into the panel console work while you are nowhere near the game, which is the quickest way to force a save before a restart.

5. Admin logging

Set AdminLogging=True under [ServerSettings] so admin commands are announced in the server log. On a server where more than one person has the password, this is the only way to know who spawned what.

If enablecheats reports a wrong password, check the file after a restart. If the value has changed, the server was running when you edited it.