Install and configure gebsfish on a DayZ server

By VYKIX

Updated 6 October 2026

Install CF and gebsfish on the server and joining clients, then identify the configuration files your installed release generates before editing them. Older gebsfish instructions use one fishingsettings.json; newer public source splits the settings across four files. Mixing those formats can leave your fishing rules unapplied.

Use the original gebsfish, Workshop item 2757509117, credited to Cole, lothsun and WWIIHiStOrIaN. This guide distinguishes the Workshop notes from public source revision 4b2e4200, dated 10 September 2026. That source identifies version 3.3.2; we haven’t established that the current Workshop download contains the same code.

Install and preserve the previous setup

Stop the server and back up its mission, saved world, profiles and launch settings. If upgrading, include both any older gebsfish folder and the Gebs folder in profiles. Keep your customized economy and trader files with the backup.

Use an isolated instance for the first startup after an upgrade. If CF is new to the saved world, read CF’s first-installation wipe requirement before proceeding.

In VXPanel Mods, install CF (1559212036) and gebsfish (2757509117) with client-visible loading. Put CF before gebsfish and retain the other required packages. For manual hosting, follow the mod and signing-key procedure. Use the keys supplied by the installed packages and keep signature verification enabled.

Start once, inspect the startup log, then stop. $profile: in the paths below means the server’s active profiles directory, determined by its launch configuration.

Identify the configuration format

Use the files actually generated by your release:

• Older folder: gebsfish/fishingsettings.json is the path in the original Workshop description. Check whether the running package predates the folder change before editing.
• Single-file layout in the 2025 changes: Gebs/fishingsettings.json. Preserve its own fields and structure.
• Four-file layout in the pinned September 2026 source: general.json, fish.json, bait.json and junk.json, all inside Gebs. Use the sections below only when your installed version generates this layout.

The Workshop changelog moves configuration into Gebs in March 2025. Its latest displayed entry is 4 November 2025. That history explains why the original description’s path can disagree with a later installation.

In the newer migration code, the old Gebs/fishingsettings.json is archived under Gebs/gebs_oldfiles/. Archiving the file doesn’t transfer its customized values into the new settings. Compare your backup with the generated files and reapply supported choices individually. Keep the independent backup even when the mod has made an archive.

Don’t rename an old JSON file to fish.json or paste its whole contents into a new file. Stop if the generated schema differs from these instructions and match it to the documentation for that release.

Edit the four-file layout

The author’s README separates the main controls as follows:

• general.json: feature switches and shared settings, including environmental effects and predators.
• fish.json: species, allowed water, fishing methods, catch weights and yields.
• bait.json: bait preferences for individual fish.
• junk.json: junk catches and their item pools.

Edit while the server is stopped. Preserve ConfigVersion, generated identifiers, unrelated fields and their value types, then validate the JSON and restart. Read the logs before judging the result from a fishing attempt.

The checked configuration loader can preserve a malformed file while using defaults for that session. A successful startup therefore doesn’t prove your edited values loaded.

For one species in fish.json, review its existing row in Species:

• Environment: 1 for pond, 2 for sea or 3 for both.
• CatchMethod: a bitmask using 1 for rods, 2 for large traps and 4 for small traps. Combine the values for the methods you want.
• CatchProbability: a weight from 0 to 25; 0 disables the catch. It is not a percentage chance per cast.
• BiteSpeed: one string containing 24 space-separated hourly values, rather than a JSON array.

Keep a disabled species row with weight 0 instead of simply deleting it: the loader can add missing default species during a version change. Change one species first and record the water, gear and time used to check it. These conditions can affect the result alongside its weight.

Choose whether fishing can attract predators

Review PredatorSettings in the generated general.json. In the checked source, PredatorSpawnEnabled controls the system, while individual action settings distinguish fishing, fish preparation and failed catches. The net has its own related controls.

Use the values documented for your generated format. An old example’s predator chance is not evidence for the defaults in a newer release. If predators are enabled, check the configured creature classnames and use a separate test character to observe the behavior around each relevant activity.

Keep this decision alongside your PvE rules: blocking player attacks does not decide whether fishing should spawn wildlife.

Register matching loot and cargo files

Older Workshop instructions point to Types&Trader&Classes; later changes refer to a .types folder. In the pinned source, the mission startup generates economy files under profiles:

Gebs/mpmissions/
  gebsfish-types.xml
  gebsfish-spawnabletypes.xml

Use the files matching the package you installed. The types generator and spawnable-types generator can replace generated outputs when the mod version changes. Keep your customized copies outside that generated folder and compare them after updates.

Generating XML in profiles doesn’t register it with the active mission. Copy the reviewed files into the mission’s custom economy folder and register their types and spawnabletypes roles using the loot-file procedure. Preserve existing registrations and check duplicate classnames before restarting. Keep saved world data intact while diagnosing a missing registration.

Fishing catches and loose world loot have different controls. Increasing a fish’s Central Economy nominal is not how you change its catch weight. Likewise, a successful rod catch doesn’t prove that rods, containers or supplies are appearing through the economy.

Check fishing, updates and recovery

Before applying the setup to the live server:

1. Join with an ordinary player and matching packages. Check rods, bait and any traps you intend to support in the appropriate water.
2. Confirm the changed species and enabled features behave as intended, while checking the log for configuration errors.
3. Try preparing and storing representative catches. The November 2025 notes changed preparation behavior for several small catches, so don’t assume each creature has a filleting recipe.
4. Restart and inspect stored catches, gear and containers. Restore the backup on the separate instance and check those contents again.

Record the server build, Workshop release and configuration format with the results. When an update changes classnames or files, compare the supplied definitions with your customized mission before carrying the changes forward.

Source and verification scope

The original Workshop description and latest ten changes, plus the pinned README, package configuration, mission startup, migration, economy generators and weighted-selection helper were read on 6 October 2026. Configuration-code reading covered species fields, file loading, default merging and predator settings. The remaining source, current Workshop binaries and gameplay weren’t fully reviewed or tested. The four-file procedure remains conditional on matching the installed release.