Enshrouded does not provide an admin console or chat command for kicking players. Removal is controlled by the canKickBan permission on a user group. On a dedicated server, give that permission to the Admin group (the default role with it enabled), join using the Admin group password, and remove the player through the game’s in-game management menus.
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For peer-to-peer hosting, use the Host Settings role presets: only the Admin preset is described as having kick and ban authority. A kick is temporary and is not recorded; a ban is stored in the server’s bans array and prevents the account from returning until the ban is removed.
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The important distinction is between a command and a permission. Enshrouded’s server administration model does not expose a documented /kick, console command, or equivalent chat shortcut. Instead, the server checks whether the user group attached to your account has canKickBan set to true. If it is false, the relevant management control will not be available to you, regardless of whether you are the person who started the server.
Dedicated servers use the userGroups section of enshrouded_server.json. The standard groups in the official example are Admin, Friend, and Guest. Admin has canKickBan: true; Friend and Guest have it set to false. A player receives a group’s permissions by entering that group’s password while connecting. A group without a password is open to anyone who joins under it, so leaving an administrative group unprotected effectively gives every entrant its privileges.
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These settings are separate from the character’s in-game ownership or from being the person who paid for hosting. The account must authenticate into a group that carries the permission.
Dedicated server: configure kick permission
Edit the configuration only while the dedicated server is stopped. Editing a live file can be overwritten when the process exits, and a malformed file can prevent the next start.
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1. Stop the server and make a backup
- Stop the Enshrouded dedicated-server process using the control provided by your host or your operating system.
- Make a copy of
enshrouded_server.jsonbefore changing it. Keep the untouched copy outside the server’s active configuration folder so you can restore it if startup fails. - Tell connected players that administration changes are being made. Do not edit while someone is joining, leaving, or changing roles.
2. Locate the existing user group
Open enshrouded_server.json in a text editor that does not add rich-text formatting. Find the userGroups collection and identify the group intended to administer the server. On an unmodified configuration this is normally the Admin group, but use the names and fields already present in your file rather than replacing the whole section with a template from another version.
3. Enable canKickBan
Inside the chosen group’s object, set canKickBan to the JSON Boolean true (without quotation marks). Do not put the value in quotes: true is a Boolean, while "true" is text and may not be interpreted as a permission. Leave all other existing properties in place. Published examples have used different names for some unrelated permissions, including canEditWorld and canBuildAndClaim; that difference is a reason to modify the group you already have instead of deleting fields or pasting a schema from a different release.
4. Protect the administrative group
Set a unique, strong password for every group, especially the one with kick and ban rights. The group password is what determines the permissions a connecting player receives. Reusing the same password for Admin and a lower-privilege group defeats the separation between them. Do not publish the Admin password in a public chat, server listing, stream overlay, or mod pack.
5. Validate the JSON before restarting
- Every property and string must use straight double quotation marks.
- Use commas between properties and between group objects.
- Do not leave a trailing comma after the final property or final group.
- Keep the existing braces and brackets balanced.
- Do not add comments inside the JSON file.
A single missing comma or brace can cause the server to reject the configuration. If your host provides a JSON validator, validate the file before starting. Otherwise, compare the edited file with the backup and change only the intended permission and password fields.
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6. Start the server and authenticate as Admin
Start the dedicated server after saving the file. When you connect, enter the password belonging to the group whose canKickBan value is true. Joining with a Friend or Guest password does not inherit Admin rights. If the server starts but your controls are unchanged, disconnect and reconnect with the correct group password; a session that was authenticated before the edit may still carry its previous permissions.
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Remove a player from the game
Once your account is authenticated in a group with canKickBan, use the server’s in-game player-management controls to remove the selected player. The available labels and placement can change between game versions. Current official material establishes the permission and role behavior, but it does not confirm a specific menu name or location.
Some third-party instructions refer to a Social tab for selecting a player and choosing a kick or ban action. Treat that path as version-dependent and unverified against the official documentation. If your build does not show a Social tab, do not assume the permission failed; look through the current in-game player or server-management menus while you are connected under the Admin group.
Choose a kick when you want an immediate, temporary removal. A kicked player is not written to a permanent list and can join again if they still know a permitted group password. If the player reconnects, that is expected behavior for a kick rather than evidence that the action did not work.
Kick versus ban
| Action | What it does | Where it is recorded | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | Ends the player’s current participation. | Not recorded as a lasting entry. | Short-term disruption, a mistaken join, or a player who may return later. |
| Ban | Removes the player and blocks the account from returning until the ban is removed. | Stored in the server’s bans array. |
Repeated disruption, cheating, harassment, or another rule violation that warrants a persistent block. |
Use the least permanent action that solves the problem. A kick does not create an audit record, so write down your own incident details if your community needs moderation history. A ban changes server data and should be reserved for a decision you can explain to other administrators.
How bans are represented
When a ban is created, the server writes an object to the bans array in enshrouded_server.json. The documented fields include accountIDHash, displayName, characterName, and banDate. The account ID hash is the durable identifier; display and character names can change, so do not rely on a name alone when checking whether a ban belongs to the right person.
Do not manually invent an identifier or copy a name into the hash field. If you must inspect a ban, stop the server first and make a backup before touching the file. A malformed entry can affect startup or leave the ban list unusable.
Unbanning a player
The available unban instructions are less certain than the permission model. A third-party guide describes removing a player through a Social-tab workflow or editing the bans array by hand while the server is stopped. The official material does not confirm that menu path, so treat it as a procedure to verify on a test server before using it on a live community.
- Stop the dedicated server.
- Back up
enshrouded_server.json. - Find the matching object in the
bansarray using the account information shown by the server. - Remove only that object, preserving commas and the surrounding array syntax.
- Validate the JSON, save it, restart the server, and have the player test access.
If the ban remains after a file edit, stop again and restore the backup rather than repeatedly changing fields whose names or format may differ in your game version.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Peer-to-peer hosting
Peer-to-peer hosts do not edit a dedicated-server configuration in the same way. The host assigns roles from the in-game Host Settings menu. The documented presets are Visitor, Helper, Friend, and Admin. Only Admin is described as having the ability to kick and ban.
| Host Settings preset | Kick/ban authority | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor | Not described as enabled. | Use for ordinary participants who should not moderate. |
| Helper | Not described as enabled. | Useful for limited assistance without granting the documented kick/ban right. |
| Friend | Not described as enabled. | Normal trusted-player access, not server moderation. |
| Admin | Described as enabled. | Assign only to people who should remove or ban participants. |
Open Host Settings, assign the Admin preset to the intended moderator, and then use the current player-management controls. Interface labels can change with updates, so confirm that the role assignment is active before attempting a removal. If the Admin preset is missing or does not expose moderation controls, check that you are the actual peer-to-peer host and that everyone is running the same game version.
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You cannot see a kick or ban control
- Reconnect using the password for the group whose
canKickBanvalue istrue. - Confirm the value is the Boolean
true, not a quoted string. - Check that you edited the active server’s
enshrouded_server.json, not a backup or a different installation. - Stop and restart the server after saving; permission changes are not guaranteed to apply to an existing session.
- For peer-to-peer play, verify that your role is the Admin preset in Host Settings.
The player comes back immediately
That is normal after a kick. Kicks are not persistent. Use a ban when the account must be prevented from reconnecting, and verify that a corresponding entry appears in the bans array.
The server will not start after editing
Restore the backup, then compare the edited file character by character. The usual causes are a missing comma, an extra trailing comma, mismatched braces or brackets, smart quotation marks, or a value inserted into the wrong group object. Reapply only the canKickBan change after the original file starts successfully.
The configuration has unfamiliar permission fields
Keep fields you do not understand. Permission names have differed between examples, and removing an apparently unrelated field can change building, world-editing, or other behavior. Modify the existing canKickBan property rather than trying to normalize the entire schema.
A menu guide mentions Social, but your game does not
The Social-tab route is not confirmed by the official role documentation. Use the current in-game management interface available to an authenticated Admin, and do not edit unrelated files merely because a guide uses a different menu name. Record your game version when reporting the discrepancy so another administrator can reproduce it.
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- Give Admin access to the smallest possible number of people.
- Use a different password for every group and rotate the Admin password when a moderator leaves.
- Stop the server before every configuration edit and retain a dated backup.
- Test kick, ban, and unban behavior on a private test server before changing a public world.
- Document the reason for a ban separately, because kicks are not recorded by the server.
- After a game update, recheck the group fields and menu labels; role defaults and interface paths are version-sensitive.
The reliable model is simple: authenticate into the right group, confirm that group has canKickBan: true, then use the in-game player controls. Use kick for a temporary removal, ban for a persistent block, and treat any unverified menu path or hand-edited ban entry as something to test before relying on it in a live world.
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