Configure DayZ server messages and restart announcements

By Niko Catarino

Updated 3 October 2026

Configure welcome text, recurring announcements or a shutdown countdown in the mission’s db/messages.xml. Enter its times in minutes. If you enable termination, arrange the subsequent start through your panel or process supervisor.

Choose one message and restart owner

Identify the active mission and existing schedules, then save db/messages.xml, registered message extensions and cfgeconomycore.xml. Review VXPanel’s restart schedules before introducing another mechanism that stops the process.

Send one-off announcements through RCON. The main game configuration also supports motd[] with motdInterval in seconds. Follow the documented controls for your service: a TCAdmin plugin’s messages.cfg belongs to that provider’s implementation.

Add a welcome and recurring message

Get db/messages.xml from the selected mission. When the file exists, add these two <message> entries within its current <messages> root, leaving the other entries intact. If the file is missing, save the complete document at that path:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<messages>
    <message>
        <delay>1</delay>
        <repeat>0</repeat>
        <deadline>0</deadline>
        <onConnect>1</onConnect>
        <shutdown>0</shutdown>
        <text>Welcome to #name. Please read the server rules.</text>
    </message>
    <message>
        <delay>0</delay>
        <repeat>30</repeat>
        <deadline>0</deadline>
        <onConnect>0</onConnect>
        <shutdown>0</shutdown>
        <text>Keep a recovery copy before editing server files.</text>
    </message>
</messages>

The welcome text appears one minute after joining. The other entry repeats at 30-minute intervals, with shutdown disabled in both entries. Use the onConnect spelling in Bohemia’s message example, limit each text to 160 characters and encode an & as & where required by XML.

Validate the complete working-copy XML, then upload it while the process is stopped. Start a private session and join to check the welcome text and recurring announcement. Record their text and timing. Inspect the new session logs if the expected messages are absent.

Coordinate a shutdown countdown

Assign shutdown to one mechanism before enabling a native countdown. Set its deadline in minutes and shutdown to 1 to terminate when the countdown ends. For a server-wide countdown, leave repeat and onConnect at 0. The text can use #tmin for the remaining minutes.

Set a four-hour session deadline to 240. This is elapsed session time; it does not select a wall-clock appointment. The game’s documented thresholds determine warning times. Compare the deadline with host schedules instead of expecting a broadcast during every minute of the session.

Rehearse termination and recovery on a disposable private instance. Check process exit, the supervisor’s restart and the loaded saved state before using the schedule for players. If the host already owns restarts, keep that workflow and use messages with termination disabled for additional announcements.

Fix duplicate or missing messages

Symptom	Check
The message appears twice	Compare original and registered entries with native MOTD and mod broadcasts.
It never appears	Confirm the mission, parsed XML, spelling, connection flag and time elapsed.
Shutdown happens at an unexpected time	Review the deadline alongside host schedules and administration tools.
XML fails after adding a URL	Inspect ampersand escaping and the opening and closing text tags.

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An extension registered with type="messages" adds entries to the original file. To replace a message, edit or remove its original entry; registering another copy cannot override it. See Bohemia’s economy merge rules.

Stop the process for rollback and restore the saved registrations and message files. Confirm which system owns shutdown before starting again.

Source and verification scope

This guide used AI-assisted research and drafting. Verification on 3 October 2026 covered the example’s XML, flags, units and text lengths. It did not include a live announcement, timed shutdown or supervisor recovery.