How to install DayZ Editor Loader and add map edits

By Niko Catarino

Updated 3 October 2026

To add a DayZ Editor build to a Steam PC server, install DayZ Editor Loader and its requirements, then place the saved .dze file in EditorFiles/ inside the active mission. Test one small edit before deploying a compound, trader area or replacement town. Buildings that should spawn loot need a separate economy check.

Use DayZ Editor Loader, Workshop item 2276010135, published by dab. The DayZ Editor is the offline authoring tool. Loader is the package that reads its builds on your server. These PC Workshop packages cannot be installed on Xbox or PlayStation servers.

Keep authoring and server loading separate

Component	Where it belongs
DayZ Editor	The creator’s offline editing session, with its required CF and Dabs Framework packages.
DayZ Editor Loader	The server that loads the .dze builds; clients also need it when the build removes baked terrain objects.
Dabs Framework	Loader’s listed dependency; retain the scope needed by the complete mod set.
Custom object packages	Server and clients when their assets are used in the build, following each author’s requirements.

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The Editor’s author states it is offline only. Do not install the full authoring tool on the community server as a substitute for Loader. BuilderItems and other prop packs are content choices: add the packages your build uses, rather than copying an unrelated creator’s entire mod list.

BuilderItems’ author says its definitions are included in Expansion and links the split DayZ-Expansion-Map-Assets package. Check your installed module set before adding the standalone pack. Keep one provider for those definitions; the BuilderItems procedure covers this choice.

Record the terrain, game branch and package versions used to make the edit. A build containing deletions or custom objects needs those same terrain objects and classnames to exist on the target server.

Prepare the active mission and a recovery copy

Read the running server’s template and locate that mission directory. For a Chernarus mission named dayzOffline.chernarusplus, the eventual file path could be:

mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/EditorFiles/my-test-build.dze

Use your actual mission name, including its case on Linux. The server’s profiles directory is not the destination for these .dze files.

Take a stopped backup of the mission, saved world, profiles, current launch arguments and existing map edits. Save an independent copy of mapgrouppos.xml and mapgroupproto.xml before any loot export. Do not rely on a mod-generated .backup file as your only recovery copy.

Rehearse with separate persistence. If your chosen dependencies introduce CF into an existing world, CF’s author requires a wipe before first installation. Plan that change before touching the live save.

Install Loader with the correct scope

In VXPanel:

1. Stop the test service and open Mods.
2. Install Dabs Framework, item 2545327648, then the original Loader item. Compare the installed requirements with both authors’ current lists and the other mods in your build.
3. For the initial procedure, keep Loader and its required framework client-required. This supports edits containing deletions of baked terrain objects.
4. Install any custom object packages used in the .dze. Keep their required frameworks before the dependent packages.
5. Check the accepted keys in the server’s keys/ directory. The inspected Loader package supplies dab.bikey; use the current files supplied by your installed releases.
6. Start once, read the new startup logs and confirm the service creates EditorFiles/ under its active mission. Stop before uploading the edit.

On a self-managed host, follow the manual package and key procedure. For folders named @Dabs Framework and @DayZ Editor Loader, the relevant client-required argument is:

"-mod=@Dabs Framework;@DayZ Editor Loader"

Retain the rest of your mod list and current launch command. Add CF before its dependents when your installed mod set requires it. Quote the complete argument where folder names contain spaces.

The author’s export reference permits server-only Loader for builds with no baked map deletions. Consider that narrower scope only after checking the complete build and its dependencies. If an edit removes a building placed by the terrain creator, use client-required Loader and matching client packages. A panel’s server-side button does not prove a build meets that condition.

Save and upload a small .dze build

On the creator’s PC, load the target terrain in DayZ Editor with its required frameworks and every custom asset package used by the build. Start with one visible object in a clear test area. Keep it as an exported server object, rather than an Editor-only helper.

Save the build in the Editor’s .dze format. The default client save location is under Documents/DayZ/Editor/; if you set a custom client profiles location, use its Editor/ directory. Keep the source save and record the chosen test position.

Upload the .dze to the server’s active mission EditorFiles/ directory using Files and SFTP. Keep one copy of the edit. Remove an older version from that loading directory before adding a renamed replacement.

Do not paste the same placement export into init.c, a VPP object file or another loader as well. Loading identical positions through two systems can produce duplicate objects. A renamed .json, text export or compressed archive is not a valid .dze save.

Start the server and inspect its fresh logs. The inspected Loader reads both supported binary and JSON-form .dze saves, reports failed reads and processes the loaded objects during mission startup. Do not hand-convert the file format to work around an unsupported export; resave through a compatible Editor release.

Verify placement and terrain deletions

Join with the required client packages and travel to the recorded test position. Check visibility, position, rotation, collision and access from a normal player’s perspective. If the build uses custom assets, confirm another joining client can see them too.

For an intended baked-object deletion, verify the old terrain object is absent on both the server and a matching client. Check for invisible collision and nearby terrain features before deploying a larger removal. A server screenshot alone cannot establish the client has applied the suppression.

Stop and start the same test world, then return to the location. Loader recreates placements from the .dze at startup; a decorative map edit is not a player-built saved base. The inspected creation flags include ECE_NOPERSISTENCY_WORLD. Do not use this placement workflow to promise persistence for vehicles, containers or loot inventories. Use the relevant vehicle or economy procedure for those jobs.

Export loot positions for added buildings

Placing a building does not give it working loot by itself. The economy needs both a prototype definition for that building class and the positions where that class exists. Choose the configured building classname for an interactive building. A raw .p3d placement can look similar while lacking the building’s configured doors or loot behavior.

In the reviewed Loader release, the author-supported configuration is this field in the active server configuration, such as the serverDZ.cfg selected by -config=:

enableAutoMapGroupPosExport = 1;

Use it on the test instance after saving independent copies of the mission’s existing map files:

1. Check that mapgroupproto.xml contains the required building prototype and retain the terrain’s existing definitions. Merge supported custom definitions without replacing the whole file with a fragment.
2. Stop the service, add the field to the active server configuration and validate the edited file.
3. Start with the complete set of intended .dze builds loaded. Read the fresh RPT for the export message and any failed object or file operations.
4. Stop the service and inspect the resulting mission-root mapgrouppos.xml. Validate its XML and check the added test position, existing terrain buildings and intended deletions.
5. When retaining that reviewed static result, set the export field to 0 and start again. If you keep export enabled for future edits, preserve independent backups and inspect its output after each build change.
6. Check natural loot from a normal client. Existing item population, locations and lifetime can delay the visible result. Follow loot troubleshooting before assuming the placement failed.

The inspected export filters world objects by classes found in the mission’s mapgroupproto.xml and skips suppressed objects. It writes the mission’s mapgrouppos.xml; it is not an additive upload that leaves an old hand-maintained position list untouched. A custom building without a prototype will not gain loot positions through this export.

Older wiki examples use EditorLoaderModule.ExportLootData and ExportLootExperimental in init.c. Those names are absent from the inspected current Loader script. Use the release’s supported server configuration above; copying an old example can cause a script compile failure.

Fix missing builds and loot

Symptom	Check
EditorFiles/ never appears	Active mission, successful Loader compilation, framework order and service write access.
File present but nothing loads	Actual .dze extension, supported save format, read errors and selected mission.
Some objects missing	Exact classnames, required custom packages and whether the objects were marked Editor-only.
Objects duplicated	Multiple .dze copies, old versions and another placement mechanism such as init.c.
Deleted building remains or has collision	Client-required Loader for baked deletions, matching client package and matching terrain.
Building has no natural loot	Prototype definition, exported position, valid mission map files and economy restrictions.
Existing loot positions disappear	Restore the independent map-file copy and reconcile the complete export before restarting.
Server fails after adding a wiki snippet	Check release support; the reviewed script uses enableAutoMapGroupPosExport, not the older export fields.

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Roll back or update the edit

Stop the service and move the new .dze out of EditorFiles/ into your recovery directory. Restore the previous build set, server export setting and mission map files together, then start and revisit the location. Removing an export does not erase unrelated saved bases or inventories that players created nearby.

Before updating Editor, Loader or object packages, retain the original source save and the tested export. Review the change notes, load the source in the matching authoring environment and repeat the placement, deletion and loot checks. Keep the original distributions; the authors prohibit unauthorized repacks.

Related documentation: Author’s server-export reference.

Return to the DayZ tutorial directory or continue with changing the map.