How to Add an Admin to Your Ground Branch Server

Admins on a Ground Branch server are managed through the file Admin.ini. The fastest way, however, is the admin setup password: it makes you a SuperAdmin directly in the game without having to look up any SteamID first.

Note

All configuration files are located in /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/. They are only created on the first server start, so start your server once before looking for the files.

Method 1: Using the admin setup password

This is the fastest route and works entirely in the game.

1. Start the server
   Start your server once via the dashboard so the configuration files get created.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Read the password
   Open the following file and note down the password it contains:

   /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/AdminSetupPassword.txt

4. Join the server
   Launch Ground Branch and join your server — see Join Server.

5. Open the console
   Press the ` key (backtick, left of the 1) in the game to open the console.

6. Run the command
   Enter the following command and replace <password> with the value from the file:

   admin setup <password>

   You immediately become SuperAdmin on that server.

Warning

The setup password expires as soon as it has been used once. It only exists to set up the first admin — every further admin is managed through the admin menu or the Admin.ini afterwards.

Method 2: Editing Admin.ini

Alternatively you can add admins directly in the configuration file. For that you need the player's SteamID64 — a 17-digit number starting with 7656.

Tip

Here you can find a guide on how to find your SteamID64.

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard. The file is only read on server start.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Open Admin.ini
   Open the following file:

   /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/Admin.ini

4. Add the admin
   Add one line per admin inside the section [/Script/RBZooKeeper.ZKAdmin]:

   [/Script/RBZooKeeper.ZKAdmin]
   Admins=(Name="JoeBlow",UniqueId="76561198012345678",ContactInfo="",Group="SuperAdmin")

   Field	Meaning
   Name	Freely chosen display name, only for your own overview
   UniqueId	The player's SteamID64 (17 digits)
   ContactInfo	Optional note field, may stay empty
   Group	The admin group whose permissions the player receives

5. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server.

Note

The SteamID64 is entered without any additions. The suffix :0 mentioned in older guides is no longer required.

Admin groups

Which commands a group may use is also defined in the Admin.ini. Every group gets its own AdminGroups= line, placed above the admins:

AdminGroups=(Name="SuperAdmin",Commands=("all"))
AdminGroups=(Name="Moderator",Commands=("kick","ban","changemap"))

Field	Meaning
Name	Name of the group that you enter under Group for your admins
Commands	List of allowed commands, "all" allows every command

Note

An admin in the SuperAdmin group may do everything, while an admin in the Moderator group in the example above may only kick, ban and change the map. Which commands can be assigned to a group at all is listed in the file GroundBranch/Config/DefaultZooKeeper.ini.

Note

Admins can be managed both in the file and in the game through the admin menu. The groups themselves can only be created and edited in the Admin.ini.

Open the admin menu

Once you are an admin, there are three ways to reach the admin menu in the game:

• The F8 key
• The ESC menu and the admin button there
• The console (`) and the command admin

In the admin menu you manage players (kick and ban), the map change and map list as well as the admin list itself.

Further admin commands

Command	Description
admin setup <password>	One-time setup of the first admin via the console
admin	Opens the admin menu
kick	Removes a player from the server, with an optional reason
ban	Bans a player temporarily or permanently, with an optional reason
unban	Lifts a ban using the player's unique ID
say	Sends a message to everyone on the server
motd	Shows the message of the day to all players
changemap / nextmap	Changes the map or jumps to the next map in the map list
resurrect (res)	Revives a fallen player at the spot where they died
resurrectnear (resnear)	Revives a fallen player at the nearest living player
restartserver	Restarts the server

Note

Which of these commands are available to you depends on your admin group. Only admin setup <password> and admin are officially documented as console commands; all other commands are used through the admin menu.

No RCON

Ground Branch does not offer an RCON interface. All administration happens in the game through the admin menu or the in-game console.

Important

Changes to files in the ServerConfig folder only take effect after a server restart. Always edit the files while the server is stopped so your changes do not get overwritten.

Tip

To learn how to remove players from your server as an admin, see Kick & Ban Players.