How to install VPP Admin Tools on a DayZ server

By Niko Catarino

Updated 3 October 2026

To install VPP Admin Tools, load Community Framework (CF) before VPP on both the DayZ PC server and the administrator’s client. Start the server to generate VPP’s profile files, then stop it to configure your Steam64 ID and admin password. Installing the mod alone does not grant administrator access.

VPP is a Workshop mod for DayZ PC. Windows Run as administrator, the server join password, RCON credentials and vanilla passwordAdmin do not grant VPP permissions.

Back up and check the required packages

Back up the launch settings, profile directory and any existing VPP configuration. Confirm the actual -profiles path used by this server. A folder named profiles elsewhere on the host may belong to a different instance.

Use the authors’ Workshop entries:

Package	Workshop ID	Loading scope
Community Framework (CF)	1559212036	Client-required; load before VPP.
VPP Admin Tools	1828439124	Client-required; load after CF.

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Check the installed version’s requirements before adding it to a live mod set. Dependencies and file layout can change between releases.

Adding CF for the first time: CF’s author requires a server wipe before installation. Rehearse on a fresh test world. If your existing world does not already use CF, plan the wipe and verify a recoverable backup before adding it there.

Install CF and VPP on the server

For VXPanel:

1. Stop the server through Console.
2. Open Mods, search CF’s ID and install it with Client scope.
3. Install VPP’s ID with Client scope. Review required-mod prompts rather than skipping missing dependencies.
4. Put CF before VPP in the installed list. Keep the rest of the author’s required load order intact.
5. Let the installation jobs finish, then start the server and read the new startup logs.

For a self-managed server, download the packages, place them in the mod folders used by your launch script, and deploy their supplied .bikey signing keys to the server’s keys directory. Keep signature verification enabled. The general mod guide covers package placement and signing keys.

If your folders are named @CF and @VPPAdminTools, the normal client-visible launch argument is:

"-mod=@CF;@VPPAdminTools"

Add the entries to your existing list instead of discarding other mods. Use your actual folder names. VPP’s client interface needs client-visible loading; do not move it into -serverMod to hide it from the launcher. On VXPanel, let the Mods page manage this argument.

After the first successful start, look under the active profile path for VPPAdminTools/Permissions. If it was not generated, diagnose package loading and profile-directory write access before creating replacement files by hand.

Add your Steam64 ID as a superadmin

Stop DayZ before editing permissions. Open this file beneath the active profile directory:

VPPAdminTools/Permissions/SuperAdmins/SuperAdmins.txt

For example, with -profiles=profiles in the server root, the full relative path is profiles/VPPAdminTools/Permissions/SuperAdmins/SuperAdmins.txt.

Open your Steam account details and copy the numeric Steam ID shown for that account. Use the 17-digit Steam64 value for the account that will join the server, rather than its display name, custom profile URL or a STEAM_0:... ID.

Replace the generated example ID and instruction text with your own ID. Retain only IDs for owners you intend to authorize. Put each additional trusted owner’s Steam64 ID on its own line, with no quotes, labels or commas. Save it as plain text and retain the exact .txt filename.

Superadmins have broad control. Use this file for trusted owners; grant narrower permissions through VPP’s user/group interface for other staff.

The author’s permission-manager source defines the profile-relative superadmin path and file loading. Match these instructions against the files generated by your installed release.

Set the VPP admin password

Open this separate file while the server remains stopped:

VPPAdminTools/Permissions/credentials.txt

Replace its first line with a new, private admin password of no more than 32 characters. Do not leave the generated instructions as the first line, prefix the password with //, or add a blank line before it. Store the password in your password manager and keep the file out of public downloads and screenshots.

The reviewed VPP credentials code reads the first line, rejects a new password longer than 32 characters, and rewrites an accepted password as a SHA-256 hash. It also rejects a slash in either of the first two characters. A 64-character stored hash is expected after startup; it is not a new plaintext password to enter in the game.

Keep VPP password authentication enabled. Restart and inspect the startup logs for a credentials error before trying repeated logins.

Join and open the admin interface

Subscribe to and load the matching CF and VPP packages on the administrator’s client, along with the server’s other required mods. Join using the Steam account whose Steam64 ID you added.

The author’s input definitions set these default bindings:

Key	Action
End	Toggle VPP admin tools.
Home	Open the VPP interface.

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Toggle the tools, open the interface and enter the original plaintext admin password when requested. If a key has no effect, inspect the VPP bindings in DayZ’s control settings; custom bindings, keyboard layouts or laptop function keys can differ.

ALXX’s installation walkthrough, published on 5 August 2026, shows the client, Steam64 and login steps. Its hosting-panel and file-transfer details are specific to that provider. Use your own profile path and VYKIX file-access instructions for server files.

Give other administrators limited permissions

Use VPP’s user/group permission interface to assign the actions each staff role needs. Keep a backup of the resulting permissions before changing them. Do not copy an unfamiliar UserGroups.json from another server over your own configuration.

Test with the intended staff account: verify that its assigned actions work and that actions outside its role remain unavailable. Test an ordinary player account too. A successful owner login does not prove that staff permissions are correct.

Keep superadmin accounts out of ordinary user groups. VPP’s permission manager rejects adding a superadmin through its group interface, and the author warns against duplicating that account in the group JSON. If an owner can log in but tools are missing, back up the permissions, then check for that duplicate membership and invalid JSON before changing permissions.

Diagnose a missing menu or failed login

Symptom	Check
No VPP profile files after startup	Confirm CF/VPP loading, dependency order, startup errors and write access to the active -profiles directory.
No VPP key bindings on the client	Confirm that the client loaded VPP and CF and that the server exposes the required client mod list.
Menu does not open for the owner	Check the joined account’s Steam64 ID, the correct superadmin file and current key bindings.
Password is rejected	Check the first line, original plaintext password, 32-character limit for a new password and startup errors.
Client is kicked for a signature or PBO error	Compare deployed server/client packages and signing keys; follow the update guide.
A staff tool is missing	Review that account’s group permissions and test with its own client, rather than only with a superadmin.

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Do not delete the whole profile directory to reset VPP. It can contain other mods’ data and logs. For a password reset, stop the server, back up the VPP permissions, replace the credentials file’s first line with a valid new password, and restart.

Verify and roll back

Confirm that the owner can log in and perform a harmless admin action on a test server. Then check a limited staff account and an ordinary player account. Record the server build, CF/VPP versions, profile path and tested permissions without including credentials.

If a permissions edit fails, stop DayZ and restore the saved VPP permissions files. If removing VPP, remove its load entry and update the required client list; preserve its data for recovery. Keep CF when another installed mod still requires it, and check VXPanel’s removal behavior before uninstalling a Workshop binding.