How to turn on PlayNHost Tools on your Valheim server

ValheimUpdated Oct 22, 20264 min read

PlayNHost Tools is a switch in Settings, Game Settings. It is on by default. It loads a small plugin that runs only on your server, so the panel can show who is online by name, kick and ban players, send messages in game, warn players before a restart and save the world before a backup. Players install nothing, and Steam, Xbox and PlayStation players join as before.

What the tools add

With PlayNHost Tools	Without them
Active players lists each player by name	The card shows a count only
Kick and Ban on each player's row	No kick; bans from Access take up to about 15 seconds
Announce to everyone on the server	No messages in game
Scheduled restarts with players on warn in game first, and an update can Warn, then restart	Restarts happen without a warning
The world is saved just before every backup	A backup holds the world as of the last save

Admins, bans and the allow list under Access work either way, even with the server stopped. So do the Worlds page, the Mods page and the join code.

Switch them on or off

Open your server in the panel and click Settings, then Game Settings.
Find PlayNHost Tools and flip the switch. It saves at once.
Restart the server. The change takes effect at the next start.

On the Valheim BepInEx and Valheim Plus Mod server types the plugin runs next to your mods. Switching it off removes the plugin only; your own mods are not affected.

Check that they are running

The Console prints [playnhost-bridge] ready v1.0.0 once at every start.
The Active players card names the players who are on, and shows Announce.
If the switch is off, the card says: Turn on PlayNHost Tools in Settings to see who is online by name, and to kick, ban and announce from here. with an Open Settings button.

If they do not answer

The card may say PlayNHost Tools are on but not answering, so names, kick and announce are unavailable. Restart the server to bring them back. See The Valheim players card says PlayNHost Tools are not answering.

A newer version of PlayNHost Tools starts with the next restart. only means an update is waiting: it arrives with your next restart.

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