How to host a DayZ server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a DayZ server yourself for free: install the DayZ Dedicated Server, Steam app 223350, with SteamCMD (it will not install with an anonymous login), edit serverDZ.cfg, start DayZServer with a game port and open that port plus the Steam query port. Or rent a DayZ server and skip the Steam login and the networking.

Players join from DayZ itself (Steam app 221100). With forceSameBuild = 1, only players on the same game build as your server can connect, so update the server when DayZ updates.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against DayZ update 1.30, which Bohemia Interactive released with the Badlands expansion on 15 October 2026.

This guide uses Bohemia Interactive's server configuration documentation, Steam announcements and Central Economy files, Valve's SteamCMD documentation, and what we run on every DayZ server we host. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "DayZ Server", Steam app 223350, a separate download from the game (app 221100).
• A Steam account for the download: app 223350 cannot be installed with an anonymous login. When we tried an anonymous install on 5 November 2026, Steam answered "No subscription". The account we install with does not own the DayZ game itself. Use a spare account and expect to deal with Steam Guard if it is on.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. This guide uses 64-bit Linux, which is what we run. We have not tested Windows.
• RAM and CPU: we do not quote a figure here, because we have no measurement we can stand behind. See How much RAM does a DayZ server need?
• Network: the game port you pass with -port and the Steam query port from steamQueryPort in serverDZ.cfg, both reachable from the internet. If you use BattlEye RCon, its port is separate.
• Vanilla mission files: the folder for the map you want to run, such as dayzOffline.chernarusplus. See below for where they come from.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps are for Debian or Ubuntu. The SteamCMD steps follow Valve's SteamCMD documentation; the install command and file names are the ones our servers use.

Install the server

1. Install the libraries SteamCMD needs.

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install curl tar lib32gcc-s1 -y

2. Create a user for the server and switch to it.

   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U dayz
   sudo su - dayz

3. Install SteamCMD and let it update itself once. A fresh SteamCMD updates and restarts on its first run, and an install started across that restart can fail with "Missing configuration", so absorb the restart first.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/server
   cd ~/steamcmd
   curl -sqL "https://client-update.steamstatic.com/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz" | tar zxvf -
   ./steamcmd.sh +quit

4. Download the server with your Steam account.

   ~/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/dayz/server +login YOUR_STEAM_USER +app_update 223350 validate +quit

   Steam sometimes answers "Failed to install app (Missing configuration)" and SteamCMD still ends with "success", leaving no game files. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_223350.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not. We retry up to three times, 15 seconds apart.
5. Copy the Steam client libraries where the server looks for them, as our install does:

   mkdir -p ~/.steam/sdk32 ~/.steam/sdk64
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux32/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk32/
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/.steam/sdk64/

   Then check that the file DayZServer exists in the server folder. If it does not, the install failed.

Get the mission files

Our install account, which does not own the DayZ game, gets no mission files from Steam. If mpmissions in your server folder has no folder for the map you want, take it from Bohemia Interactive's own repository, BohemiaInteractive/DayZ-Central-Economy on GitHub, as we do: download the newest release, then copy the folder of the map you want into mpmissions. Release DZ_130 holds dayzOffline.chernarusplus, dayzOffline.enoch, dayzOffline.sakhal and dayzOffline.nasdara (Nasdara is the Badlands map), plus seasonal variants. Do not overwrite a mission folder that already exists: it holds your world (storage_1) and any files you edited.

Write the settings

1. Edit serverDZ.cfg in the server folder. These are some of the lines our panel writes at every start:

   hostname = "My DayZ server";
   password = "";
   passwordAdmin = "choose-a-long-password";
   maxPlayers = 20;
   verifySignatures = 2;
   forceSameBuild = 1;
   steamQueryPort = 27016;

   Bohemia Interactive's documentation describes steamQueryPort as the fix for a server that does not show in the in-game server browser; our install adds the line at the end of the file if it is missing. The map is chosen by the template line inside class Missions, which must name a folder in mpmissions. verifySignatures = 2 checks game files against their signatures, and Bohemia Interactive's documentation says only 2 is supported, so leave it on and put each mod's .bikey in the keys folder.
2. Set the BattlEye RCon file if you want remote administration. Our install writes it as battleye/beserver_x64.cfg and starts the server with -bepath=./; Bohemia Interactive's documentation says the file must sit in the same folder as the BattlEye server library, and -bePath changes that folder.

   RConPort 2305
   RConPassword choose-another-long-password
   RestrictRCon 0

3. Edit config files only while the server is stopped.

Open the ports and start it

1. Allow the game port and the query port on the machine's firewall and forward them on your router. The game port is the one you pass with -port. 2302 below is the example Bohemia Interactive's documentation uses for -port.
2. Start the server from the server folder. This is the command our panel runs, without its mod lists:

   ./DayZServer -port=2302 -profiles=profiles -bepath=./ -config=serverDZ.cfg -dologs -adminlog -netlog -freezecheck

   Our panel counts the server as ready when its output prints Mission read. Run it under a service manager such as systemd so it restarts after a crash.
3. Update by stopping the server and running the step 4 download command again. With forceSameBuild = 1, players on a newer build than the server cannot connect until you update it.

Mods are a separate job: mods players also need go in -mod=, server-only mods in -serverMod=, and each mod's .bikey goes in keys. See How to add mods to your DayZ server.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

1. Pick a plan. Open the DayZ server hosting page. The plans are LARGE TENT and CAR TENT. Press Create Server on LARGE TENT or Customize Plan on CAR TENT, and finish the order.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints Mission read. when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password. Set an Admin Password too. Then restart.
4. Pick the map with the Map setting. It offers dayzOffline.chernarusplus, dayzOffline.enoch and dayzOffline.sakhal; Nasdara, the Badlands map, is not one of its choices yet. See How to change the map of your DayZ server.
5. Invite your players. Give them the Server Address shown on Overview, and the Server Password if you set one. See How to join your DayZ server.

What the panel does for you

• The Steam login for the download is handled by us, so you need no spare Steam account and no Steam Guard code, and the install is retried if Steam answers "Missing configuration".
• The vanilla mission folder of each map in Bohemia Interactive's newest Central Economy release is installed, and a mission folder that is already there is never touched, so a reinstall keeps your world. If you switch the Map setting to a map whose files are missing, the server fetches them before it starts.
• Settings such as name, passwords, player slots, signature checks and the Steam query port are written into serverDZ.cfg at every start, so an edit to those lines in the file is replaced at the next start. The BattlEye RCon port and password are written into battleye/beserver_x64.cfg in the same way. See DayZ server settings: every option explained.
• At every start, a boot helper copies the .bikey of each uploaded mod folder in your mod lists into keys, and writes a warning in the Console if a folder in your mod list is missing.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine, plus a Steam account for the download. Renting is a monthly fee set by the plan.
• Uptime: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall and router. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, a Steam login for app 223350, the mission files, port forwarding and the steps above. Renting needs a name, a password and your map choice.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab for your own mods and mission edits.
• Updates: bigger DayZ updates can change what players need. Bohemia Interactive said update 1.30 would mark a fresh start, with a full wipe across all platforms. On your own server the world lives in storage_1 inside the mission folder, and wiping it is your call.

Ready to skip the setup? See the DayZ server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to set up your DayZ server: key settings.