How to configure DayZ Expansion Groups on a PC server

By Niko Catarino

Updated 5 October 2026

Give players a party interface on your DayZ Steam PC server with Expansion Groups. Begin with nearby invitations and a four-member cap. Use separate clients to check creation and acceptance, then add location sharing or group quests.

Merge the example fields into files generated by your installed release and keep unrelated settings.

Install Groups and its required Book interface

Select the original Groups item, ID 2792983364. The author requires CF 1559212036, Dabs Framework 2545327648, Core 2291785308 and Book 2572324799. Include Book to supply the required party-management interface.

Prepare signing keys and the mission through Expansion installation, including its CF warning for saved worlds. In VXPanel, stop the test service and open Mods. Search the Workshop IDs and check Installed mods against the required list. Load frameworks before Core, then Book and Groups. Consult the Mods reference for the available controls.

Use this client-required launch argument when a manual installation has the shown folder names:

"-mod=@CF;@Dabs Framework;@DayZ-Expansion-Core;@DayZ-Expansion-Book;@DayZ-Expansion-Groups"

Choose a Bundle installation or individual modules; Bundle contains Book and Groups. Navigation supplies shared locations and pings, while Expansion Chat supplies a party channel. Add the modules needed for your chosen features and keep the release branch and client packages consistent.

Preserve party data before editing

Use backup and restore to preserve the stopped test instance’s profiles, mission and world. Let its selected packages initialize. Save that run’s log and stop the service before editing.

Find the directory named by the service’s -profiles argument and locate these records beneath it:

Record under profiles	Role
ExpansionMod/Settings/PartySettings.json	Enables parties and defines membership, invites and displays.
ExpansionMod/Settings/BookSettings.json	Enables the Book interface and its party tab.
ExpansionMod/Groups/	Preserves parties in .bin files in the reviewed implementation.

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Navigation stores MapSettings.json in the active mission. Follow Navigation setup for its map and marker controls.

Enable the Book menu and party tab

Book’s original Workshop package depends on CF, Dabs and Core. Merge the following fields into its generated BookSettings.json, preserving the version and fields outside this patch:

{
  "EnableBookMenu": 1,
  "EnablePartyTab": 1
}

The inspected Book schema uses version 5 and EnableBookMenu. Its legacy version-one conversion class contains EnableBook. Check the installed file’s schema before adding a field from an older example.

The reviewed menu manager adds party tabs when Groups is loaded and both EnablePartyTab and EnableParties are enabled. The supplied Book preset uses B. Inspect the client’s active binding if that key opens another feature or does nothing.

Set a four-member party limit

In the generated PartySettings.json, retain m_Version and merge this membership-and-display patch:

{
  "EnableParties": 1,
  "MaxMembersInParty": 4,
  "UseWholeMapForInviteList": 0,
  "InviteCooldown": 60,
  "ForcePartyToHaveTags": 0,
  "DisplayPartyTag": 1,
  "ShowPartyMemberHUD": 1,
  "ShowHUDMemberBlood": 0,
  "ShowHUDMemberStates": 1,
  "ShowHUDMemberStance": 0,
  "ShowHUDMemberDistance": 0,
  "ShowPartyMemberMapMarkers": 0,
  "ShowPartyMember3DMarkers": 0,
  "EnableQuickMarker": 0,
  "CanCreatePartyMarkers": 0
}

The reviewed party schema is version 8. Count the owner within MaxMembersInParty. Values at or below 0 remove the cap in the inspected checks. Capacity is checked when sending an invite and when accepting it; an outstanding invite does not reserve the last slot.

With UseWholeMapForInviteList: 0, Book’s inspected player list searches a 25-metre sphere. It removes the caller, members and outstanding invitees, then filters by name. Place the second test client nearby and clear the name filter when checking a missing entry.

InviteCooldown uses seconds and the reviewed party/player checks measure elapsed time after a member leaves. The sixty-second example governs those leave-related checks rather than imposing a pause after each Invite click. Keep the departure timestamp and read the cooldown notification when an invite or new-party creation is refused.

The inspected party module checks invitation permission, membership and duplicate invites. A player’s presence in the online list does not resolve those conditions.

Add teammate locations after party acceptance

Keep the initial location-sharing switches off while checking membership. After adding Navigation, select permitted displays through these party fields:

Intended display	Party field to review
Teammate map position	ShowPartyMemberMapMarkers
Teammate world marker	ShowPartyMember3DMarkers; choose its name and distance switches.
Temporary shared ping	EnableQuickMarker; choose its name and distance switches.
Shared map location	CanCreatePartyMarkers and Navigation’s creation rules.

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The supplied Navigation preset binds quick markers to H. Confirm membership and inspect the two clients’ marker filters. Party acceptance establishes membership; map loading, HUD switches and marker visibility need their own observations.

Use the chosen PvE procedure to configure and test damage enforcement; enabling parties won’t check your damage rules. Group quests also need a separate check of quest flags and reward ownership.

Test capacity, leaving and persistence

Start the test service and join from clients with matching packages. Begin with two identities for invitation acceptance, then add enough test identities to exercise the four-member cap.

Behavior	Evidence to retain
Book access	The Book opens through the active binding and displays party and invitation tabs.
Invite and accept	A permitted owner invites the nearby client; acceptance produces the intended membership.
Full-party check	Four total members fit; another acceptance is refused when capacity is reached.
Departure	Membership updates and leave-related cooldown follows the configured sixty seconds.
Location sharing	Selected teammate/ping displays agree with settings and both client filters.
Saved state	A normal restart reloads the recorded party, owner and members.

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Retain settings and timestamps with the map and package versions. Invitation, capacity and persistence require client observations; a solo startup cannot supply them.

Diagnose missing tabs and refused invitations

To choose who receives party messages, use Expansion Chat. Use Name Tags to identify a character under your view and Navigation for map/teammate-location markers.

Symptom	First inspection
Book key has no effect	Book loading, active binding and EnableBookMenu in the generated file.
Party tab absent	Groups loading and the two menu gates, EnablePartyTab and EnableParties.
Invitee is not listed	Nearby sphere, name filter, membership and existing invitation.
Invite or acceptance refused	Invite permission, available capacity, duplicate invite, other party and cooldown message.
Teammate location hidden	Navigation loading, party visibility, marker gates and client filters.
Restart loses the party	Active profiles directory, group-file errors and saved-data compatibility.

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For a failed edit, stop and restore the affected settings and keep the log. If membership changed, recover compatible profiles and world data from one stopped backup. Preserve ExpansionMod/Groups/ when repairing interface visibility: deleting it removes saved parties.

Related documentation: release notes, PartySettings, BookSettings.