How to change the RCON password of your Project Zomboid server

RCON is the remote console of the game. The panel uses it to read the player list and to run kick, ban, access level and whitelist actions. Its password is RCON Password under Settings, then Game Settings. Change it there, then restart the server: the game only reads the new password at the start. It is not the password players type.

Change it

1. Open Settings, then Game Settings.
2. Change RCON Password. Use 6 to 32 characters with no double quotes or backslashes.
3. Click Restart now in the bar that appears.

The RCON Port row beside it is read only. PlayNHost assigns it. Both are needed by anyone who wants to run admin commands from outside the game.

Why you might change it

• You shared the details with someone and no longer trust them. Anyone with the password and the port can run admin commands on your server.
• A tool that you use asked for it and you want a new one.

Every server gets its own password when it is created. You do not need to change it for the panel to work.

What stops working until the restart

If you change the password and do not restart, the game still has the old one. The panel then sends the new one and the game refuses it, so kick, ban and the other actions fail. The Active players card keeps its names while the game answers Steam queries, and shows No answer from the server when it does not. Restart, and the actions work again. After a refused password the card waits up to ten minutes before it asks over RCON again: The Active players card says No answer from the server on Project Zomboid.

Good to know

• The RCON password and the Admin Password are different. RCON is for tools and the panel. The admin password is the in-game admin account: How to change your Project Zomboid admin password or username.
• Do not post the password in a ticket or a public channel.