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# How To Invite Friends To Project Zomboid Server

To invite friends to your Project Zomboid server on Sparked Host, send them the server address, the port, the join password if you set one and, on a whitelisted server, the account you created for them. There’s no port forwarding to configure: a dedicated server is already online. Friends then join from the main menu or the Steam client.

Most answers to how to invite friends to Project Zomboid server setups cover the in-game **Host** button, which is for listen servers. On your own Project Zomboid server, you decide who gets in through server settings in Apollo Panel, so most of this quick guide happens before anyone can launch the game.

## How do you host a Project Zomboid multiplayer server?

Project Zomboid supports two server types: listen and dedicated. A listen server runs inside the host’s game and closes when the host quits, which suits short multiplayer sessions. A dedicated server runs independently of the host’s game and computer, so your co-op group can play through the zombie apocalypse while you sleep.

|                             | Listen server                      | Dedicated server (Sparked)    |
|-----------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| How you start it            | **Host** option in the main menu   | Always online in Apollo Panel |
| Host must be online to play | Yes                                | No                            |
| How friends join            | Steam invite from the in-game menu | Address, port and password    |
Each connected player adds roughly 200 MB of RAM on the host, so plan how much memory to allocate before players join. Four co-op players add under 1 GB on top of the base server; a 16-player multiplayer server adds over 3 GB before mods.

## What do friends need before they join?

Everyone who wants to play Project Zomboid with you needs the same game version and mods as the server. A version mismatch is the most common reason Project Zomboid joining fails: a friend set to the Build 41 beta branch can’t connect to a server on the current build.

Players check this in their Steam library: right-click **Project Zomboid**, open **Properties** and look at **Betas**. Set up mods before friends start playing, too. Adding mods later means a restart and another download for every client.

Steam library Properties window with the Betas tab open for Project Zomboid

## Find your server address in Apollo Panel

Friends connect with the IP and port shown in **Console**.

1. Log in to Apollo Panel and open your Project Zomboid server.

2. In **Console**, copy the address above the **Start** and **Stop** buttons. Its format is SERVER_IP:PORT: the server’s IP and its game port.\
   Apollo Panel Console with the server address above the power buttons

3. Note the port. The game’s default port is 16261, but only the port set in **Console** works for your server.

## Set a server password in the server settings

A server password keeps out strangers who find your address, though anyone you give it to can create an account. All server settings live in one .ini file in **Files**.

> **Important:** stop the server before you edit settings. Project Zomboid rewrites this file on shutdown and can overwrite your changes.

1. Click **Stop** in **Console**.

2. Go to **Files** and open ServerFiles/Server/Pterodactyl.ini.

3. Find the Password= line and set your value:

ini

```
   Password=YourSharedPassword
```

Server .ini file with the Password line filled in\
4. Keep Public=false to stay out of the **Internet** tab.\
5. Save the file and click **Start**. The new settings apply after the restart.

Leave the rest at default settings; no special parameters are needed at launch. Skip the **Manage Settings** screen in the game’s multiplayer menu: selected settings there only edit listen-server presets.

## Turn on the whitelist for a friends-only server

The whitelist makes it a friends-only server: only accounts you create can log in.

1. Stop the server and open the same .ini file in **Files**.

2. Edit the Open line:

ini

```
   Open=false
```

Server .ini file with Open set to false\
3. Save and start the server.

#### Add each friend’s account username

1. In **Console**, create the account:

text

```
   adduser "FRIEND_NAME" "FRIEND_PASSWORD"
```

Replace both values with their account username and account password. **Console** commands go without a slash; in-game chat commands need / and admin access.\
Apollo Panel Console after running adduser\
2. Send them the address, port and their login details.

To remove users, run removeuserfromwhitelist "FRIEND_NAME". Reinstalling the game or verifying files won’t fix a whitelist rejection; only the host can add players.

## How do friends join a Project Zomboid server?

To join friends on a dedicated server, players set your address in the game’s server browser or the Steam servers list, then play on the same Zomboid server.

### Join through the in-game server browser

1. Launch Project Zomboid and click **Join** in the main menu.\
   Project Zomboid main menu with Join highlighted

2. Open **Favourites** and enter the IP, port and login details.\
   Favourites tab with the server details filled in

3. Click **Save**, select the server and click **Join Server**.\
   Server selected in Favourites with the Join Server button

Public servers also show in the **Internet** tab; search by server name. The first connection opens a window asking for a username and password; on an open server, that becomes the player’s account.

### Join through Steam

1. In Steam, go to **View** > **Game Servers** and open **Favourites**.

2. Add the server’s address.\
   Steam Game Servers window with the Add a server dialogue open

3. Select it and click **Connect**.\
   Steam Favourites list with the Project Zomboid server selected

## Can you send a Steam invite to a dedicated server?

Yes, once the host is in game on the server. Press Esc for the pause menu and use the invite option, or press Shift + Tab for the Steam overlay and invite someone from your friends list.

Steam overlay friends list with the invite option

On a whitelisted server, run adduser first: a Steam invite gets friends in Project Zomboid to your server, not past the whitelist.

## Why can’t I join my friend’s Project Zomboid server?

**Version mismatch error** → different builds → set the same branch in the Steam library; when the server updates, every player updates the game too.

**Mod error on connect** → a mod changed → restart the game so Steam can download it; the host should restart the server after mod changes.

**Rejected login** → whitelist on, no account → the host runs adduser.

**Connection times out** → wrong port or stopped server → copy the address from **Console** again and start the server if it’s stopped.

**Lag as friends join** → not enough memory on the host → check the memory graph in **Console**. Rubber-banding during a horde points to RAM, not new zombie behaviour, and it hits other players too; allocate more by upgrading the plan.