Admins on a Valheim server can kick and ban players and run admin console commands. To make someone an admin, add their Valheim player ID to the server’s adminlist.txt file. Once you are an admin, see Valheim Admin Commands for the commands you can run.

Add a Player to the Admin List

Get the player’s Valheim player ID. Since Valheim 1.0 this is the V_ prefixed ID shown in the in-game F2 player list (V_ followed by the SteamID64 for Steam players).
Open .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/adminlist.txt with the File Manager or SFTP.
Add the player ID on its own line. For more than one admin, put each ID on a new line.
Save the file. The server rereads the file within about 10 seconds, so no restart is needed.

For example, a file with two admins looks like this. These IDs are placeholders: replace them with the real IDs from your own F2 player list, or the entries will not match anyone.

V_76561198012345678
V_76561198087654321

Entries from before 1.0 (a bare SteamID64 or a Steam_ prefixed ID) still work for Steam players on current versions, but use the V_ ID for new entries. If an old entry stopped working right after the 1.0 update, update your server to the latest version, or replace the entry with the V_ ID.

Case sensitive

Player IDs and character names are case sensitive, in adminlist.txt and in admin commands. Copy the ID exactly as the F2 list shows it, including the V_ prefix.

Enable the F5 Console

Admin commands run from the in-game console, which is off by default. Each admin turns it on in their own game, in one of two ways:

In-game setting: open Settings, go to the Gameplay tab, and turn on the developer console option.
Launch option: add -console to Valheim’s launch options. In Steam, right-click Valheim in your Library, choose Properties, and enter -console under Launch Options. See Steam Launch Parameters for more detail.

Then join your server and press F5 to open the console.

Using a mod manager

If you play modded through a mod manager such as Gale or r2modman, start the game with the mod manager, not from Steam, or your mods will not load. To use the launch option, add -console in the mod manager’s launch arguments: in r2modman under Settings > Set launch parameters, and in Gale under Settings in the profile’s Launch section (Custom launch arguments). The in-game setting works either way.

Commands That Need Devcommands

Being on the admin list is enough for the commands in Valheim Admin Commands. Other commands, such as sleep, skiptime, and resetkeys, only work after you turn on devcommands, and player cheats such as fly, god, and spawn do not work on a dedicated server at all without a mod.

Install the Server_devcommands BepInEx plugin for these. Without it, an admin can type devcommands and then sleep, but the console shows no reply, and devcommands is one switch shared by every admin on the server, so another admin running it turns it off again.

Install Server_devcommands (by JereKuusela) on your own game client with a mod manager such as r2modman or Gale. Accept the BepInExPack Valheim dependency when prompted.
Start the game from the mod manager, not from Steam, so the plugin loads.
Join your server and press F5. The plugin turns devcommands on automatically for admins. If it doesn’t, type devcommands; the console replies “Dev commands: True”.

The full install steps, server-side install for event commands, troubleshooting, and the list of devcommands are in How to Enable Cheats on Your Valheim Server.

If you have trouble getting admin access, contact our support team.