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To become admin on a Sons of the Forest dedicated server, add your 17-digit SteamID64 to serverconfig/ownerswhitelist.txt in Files, one ID per line, and restart the server. You join as an owner, the highest role. Owners open the pause menu and click Players to make other players administrators, turn them back into guests, and kick, ban or unban guests.

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Before you start

  • Find your SteamID64: in the Steam app, click your account name in the top-right corner and choose Account details. The 17-digit number starting with 7656 under your name is your SteamID64.
  • Only add people you trust. Owners have the same rights as the host of a game on a PC.

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How to add an owner

1

Open ownerswhitelist.txt

Open your server, click Files, open the serverconfig folder and click ownerswhitelist.txt. See how to use the File Manager.
2

Add the SteamID64

Put each owner’s SteamID64 on its own line. Lines starting with # are comments:
3

Save and restart

Click Save Content and restart the server.
4

Join the server

Join with that Steam account. You now have the owner role.

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Owner, administrator and guest

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Owners and Game Panel access are different

Owner rights only work inside the game. To let a friend start, stop or restart the server, or edit its files, invite them as a sub-user in Users in the Game Panel instead. See how to manage sub-users. A sub-user doesn’t become an owner in game until you also add their SteamID64 to ownerswhitelist.txt.

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How to kick or ban a player

1

Open the Players menu

In game, open the pause menu and click Players.
2

Pick the player

Choose the player and click kick, ban, or the option to promote or demote them.
There are no console commands for kicking or banning, and Sons of the Forest has no RCON. Owners manage players only from this menu.

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Frequently asked questions

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Is there an admin password for Sons of the Forest servers?

No. There is no AdminPassword setting. Admin rights come only from ownerswhitelist.txt and the Players menu. The Password on Startup is the join password for everyone.

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How do I keep strangers off my server?

New servers have no join password (Password on Startup shows none). Set one before you invite players, restart, and share it only with your friends. See getting started.

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My owner rights don’t work. What should I check?

Check that the number is your SteamID64 (17 digits, not your profile name), that it’s on its own line, and that you restarted the server after saving.

Sons of the Forest server guide

Every Sons of the Forest page in one place.

Getting started

Password, game mode and joining.

Console commands

Enable cheats on a server.

dedicatedserver.cfg explained

Every key of the server config file.

Sub-users

Give friends access to the Game Panel.
Tested by the FREAKHOSTING team on our Game Panel on 30 October 2026 (Sons of the Forest dedicated server on our Game Panel). Owner rights checked against the official dedicated server guide. Steps may differ slightly if the game changes.

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Need Extra Help?

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Last Updated: October 2026