How to Add Admins to an Enshrouded Dedicated Server

Enshrouded grants administrator privileges through the userGroups array in enshrouded_server.json; it does not use one universal administrator password. Set a password on the file’s Admin group, ensure that group’s permission flags are enabled, restart the server, and give that password only to the people who should administer the world.

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How Enshrouded admin access works

Each entry in userGroups is an access tier. A group has a name, its own password, permission flags, and (in some configurations) a reserved-slot count. When a player joins and enters a group password, the server assigns that player the permissions attached to the matching group for that session.

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For most servers, the built-in Admin entry is the simplest way to grant full control. You do not normally create a separate account in a control panel or change a single server-wide administrator password. Instead, you change the password stored in the Admin object and keep that value private.

Field names and the default group list can differ between generated files and guides. One commonly shown file contains Admin, Friend, Guest, and Visitor; other examples show Everyone instead of one of those names. Treat the file generated by your own server as authoritative.

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Before you edit the server

• Have file access. You need the server’s file manager, SFTP access, or a local file path for a self-hosted installation.
• Know how your host manages configuration. A managed panel may regenerate enshrouded_server.json from Startup or Settings values when the server boots.
• Use a new password. Do not reuse a personal, hosting-panel, Steam, or Discord password. Anyone who knows the Admin group password can attempt to join with administrator privileges.
• Plan a maintenance window. Stop the server before editing so that the process cannot overwrite your changes and players do not connect while the file is being changed.
• Keep a backup. Copy the original JSON file before making changes. A backup gives you a recovery path if a comma, quote, or property name is damaged.

Self-hosted or file-editable server: step-by-step

1. Stop the Enshrouded server. Use the host panel’s Stop control or stop the dedicated-server process on the machine. Wait until it is fully offline.
2. Open enshrouded_server.json. Look in the server’s configuration folder. The file is normally created during the first successful run. If you cannot find it, start the server once, stop it cleanly, and check the generated configuration directory.
3. Find userGroups. Search the file for the exact property name. Do not edit an unrelated JSON file such as a SteamCMD manifest or a backup copy.
4. Locate the object whose name is Admin. The object may already contain a placeholder password and several Boolean permission properties.
5. Replace only the Admin password value. Keep the quotation marks and JSON punctuation intact. Use a long, unique value that is not visible in public chat, screenshots, startup logs, or shared configuration snippets.
6. Check the permission flags. The commonly documented Admin object enables canKickBan, canAccessInventories, canEditWorld, canEditBase, and canExtendBase. Your generated file may expose a slightly different set, so do not invent properties that are absent from it.
7. Review reservedSlots. Some examples set this to 2; older examples use 0. Leave the value that matches your intended slot policy unless you have verified what your server build does with it.
8. Validate the JSON. A missing comma, an extra comma, an unclosed quote, or a stray comment can cause the server to ignore the groups or fail to load the configuration. Use a local JSON validator or your editor’s syntax checker, then inspect the file manually.
9. Save the file and start the server. Do not edit while the server is running if the process writes configuration on shutdown or startup.
10. Test with a second player account. Join using the Admin password and verify that the expected administrative actions are available. Test in a safe area before using world-editing powers on an important base.

Example Admin object

The following structure is an example drawn from commonly published server configurations. Compare it with the object your own file generated before copying anything; property availability and defaults can change between game updates.

{
  "name": "Admin",
  "password": "use-a-long-unique-secret",
  "canKickBan": true,
  "canAccessInventories": true,
  "canEditWorld": true,
  "canEditBase": true,
  "canExtendBase": true,
  "reservedSlots": 2
}

Do not paste this object over your entire userGroups array. Preserve the other groups and any properties present in your generated file. The important change is the Admin group’s password and, where necessary, its existing permission values.

Adding an admin on a hosted or panel-managed server

Many game hosts expose the same setting through a web interface. The exact labels differ, but the setting is usually under Settings, Configuration, or a user-groups section. Look for the password field associated with the Admin entry rather than a generic server password field.

1. Stop the server from the provider’s control panel.
2. Open the Enshrouded configuration or Settings page.
3. Find the userGroups or Admin-group password field.
4. Enter the new password and save the panel setting.
5. Restart the server and test the password from a client account.

Some panels write their own Startup values into the JSON file each time the server launches. If a direct file edit disappears after a restart, set the password in the panel instead, or remove the conflicting Startup override. A panel’s documentation should take precedence over a generic file-editing guide because providers can use different templates.

To remove administrator access on a panel that manages the group, clear the Admin password in the panel’s designated Admin-password field and save the change. Do not assume that deleting the entire Admin object is safe: the server may expect the default group to exist, and a panel may recreate it on the next boot.

Which password should players use?

Give each person the password for the group they should receive. A player who enters the Admin group password joins with the Admin group’s permissions; a player who enters a Friend, Guest, or other group password receives that group’s permissions instead.

Never post the Admin password in a public channel. If it is exposed, stop the server, replace the password, restart, and tell trusted administrators to use the new value.

Using a custom moderator group

If you want someone to moderate players without granting full building or world-editing control, you can add another object to userGroups with its own name, password, and Boolean flags. For example, a moderator group could enable kicking and banning while leaving world and base editing disabled.

Custom groups are not as well documented as the built-in Admin entry, and examples from community guides are not a substitute for checking the schema generated by your server version. Start with a backup, copy the shape of an existing group, change only the name, password, and permissions you understand, validate the JSON, and test with a non-owner account. If the server rejects the file, restore the backup and use the built-in groups.

The legacy top-level password setting

Some older configurations contain a top-level password property. Community guides state that this is no longer the dedicated-server access mechanism after Update 2 and that passwords in userGroups control access instead. The exact update behavior has not been confirmed in official Keen Games documentation, so do not rely on the top-level value to grant administrator rights.

Set the password on the intended group, especially Admin, and confirm the result by joining with that group password. Keep the top-level property unchanged unless your own server version or host explicitly documents a different requirement.

Permissions you may see in the Admin object

Boolean values must be written as true or false, without quotation marks. A value such as "true" is a text string, not a JSON Boolean, and may not be interpreted as a permission flag.

Troubleshooting after the change

The password is rejected

• Confirm that you changed the password inside the Admin object, not an unrelated top-level property.
• Check capitalization, spaces, and punctuation. Passwords are not interchangeable when even one character differs.
• Make sure the server was restarted after saving.
• On a hosted server, check the panel’s Admin-password field; a Startup value may have overwritten the file.
• Verify that the client is connecting to the intended server instance rather than an old address or a second installation.

The server starts but admin actions are missing

• Reopen the Admin object and confirm the relevant flags are set to true.
• Check whether the property exists in the file generated by your version. Do not add a newer-looking field blindly.
• Confirm that the player joined with the Admin password, not a Friend or Guest password.
• Test with a fresh connection after restarting; permissions may not change for an already connected session.

The server will not load the groups

• Run the file through a strict JSON validator.
• Look for a trailing comma, smart quotation mark, comment, or missing closing brace.
• Compare the edited section with your backup and restore the backup if necessary.
• Use the panel’s configuration editor if the host regenerates the file or rejects manual changes.

The change disappears after every restart

This usually indicates that the hosting panel is treating its own Settings or Startup values as the source of truth. Set the Admin password through that interface, save it, and restart from the panel. If the provider offers both a file editor and a structured settings page, use one consistently rather than editing both.

Security and administration practices

• Use a separate Admin password for each server. A leak on one community server should not expose another.
• Share the password privately with only the people who need full permissions.
• Rotate it whenever an administrator leaves the group or the value appears in a public log or chat.
• Give ordinary players a lower-privilege group password instead of the Admin password.
• Back up the JSON file before changing groups, and record which permission flags each group is meant to have.
• Test powerful permissions on a disposable area before editing a valuable base or world.

What is confirmed, and what may vary

The consistent configuration model across current community guides is that administrator access is attached to a group in userGroups, each group has a password, and the server must be restarted after configuration changes. The exact default group names, the appearance of canEditWorld, the default value of reservedSlots, and the behavior of custom groups vary between examples. No official Keen Games reference confirming every field and default was identified, so inspect the file your server generates and follow your hosting provider’s current labels.

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