To become an admin on your ARK server, open the in-game console, type enablecheats followed by your server admin password, and you can then run cheat commands like giveitem, fly and settimeofday to manage the world.
Set an admin password first
Cheats only unlock once your server has an admin password and you type it in. On GuavaHost you set it in one of two places:
- The Startup tab, if your server exposes an admin password variable there.
- Or the GameUserSettings.ini file on the Files tab, under the [ServerSettings] section, as ServerAdminPassword=YourPassword.
Stop the server before editing the file, save your change, then start it again. Keep this password private, since anyone who has it can cheat on your server.
Become admin in-game
- Join your server.
- Press Tab to open the console (it appears at the bottom of the screen on PC). On Xbox and PlayStation, open the pause menu and look for the admin login option.
- Type enablecheats YourAdminPassword and press Enter.
You now have admin powers for this session. There is no large confirmation banner, but your commands will start working.
Commands from the console vs chat
In the console you type commands directly, like fly. If you would rather run them from the chat box, prefix them with cheat, for example cheat fly. Both do the same thing once you are logged in as admin.
Handy admin commands
- giveitem or gfi <shortname> <qty> <quality> 0 to spawn items.
- gmsummon "<creature>" <level> to spawn a tamed creature at a set level.
- fly and walk to toggle flying, and ghost to walk through walls.
- gcm for creative mode, with unlimited resources and building.
- infinitestats for no hunger, health or weight limits.
- settimeofday 12:00 to set the time of day.
- destroywilddinos to clear and respawn all wild creatures.
- saveworld to force an immediate world save.
- ListPlayers, KickPlayer <ID> and BanPlayer <ID> for moderation.
Run commands from the panel
The command box at the bottom of the Console tab in the panel sends instructions straight to the server. It is handy for things like saveworld or broadcast Server restarting soon without having to log in as admin in-game.
Take a backup before big changes
Commands like destroywilddinos change the world for everyone. Take a snapshot from the Backups tab first so you can restore if something goes wrong.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.