How to Make Yourself Admin on an MTA Server (acl.xml and authserial)

To make yourself admin on a Multi Theft Auto server, create an account in the server console with addaccount YourName password, stop the server, add <object name="user.YourName" /> to the Admin group in mods/deathmatch/acl.xml, and start it again. Then type /login YourName password in game and press P for the admin panel. If the login is refused from a new PC, authorize it in the console with authserial YourName.

MTA's permission system is called the ACL (access control list). It looks intimidating because it is XML, but you only ever need to touch two parts of it: groups, which say who is in them, and ACLs, which say what they can do.

How the ACL works

acl.xml has two kinds of block:

• Groups (<group name="Admin">) list objects: player accounts as user.name and resources as resource.name. A group also points at one or more ACLs.
• ACLs (<acl name="Admin">) list rights, such as command.kick or function.banPlayer, each allowed or denied.

A player gets the rights of every group their account belongs to. The base config ships with groups called Everyone, Moderator, SuperModerator, Admin, Console and RPC, and the Admin group already includes the Moderator, SuperModerator, Admin and RPC ACLs. So putting your account in the Admin group gives you everything.

Step 1: Create the account

In the server console (the window or terminal the server runs in):

addaccount YourName a-long-password

Players can also make their own accounts in game with /register name password, if the server allows it. Either way, the account lives in the server's account database, not in acl.xml.

Step 2: Add it to the Admin group

Stop the server first with shutdown. MTA keeps acl.xml in memory and writes it back on shutdown, so edits made while it runs can be lost.

Open mods/deathmatch/acl.xml and find the Admin group. Add your account as the last object:

<group name="Admin">
    <acl name="Moderator" />
    <acl name="SuperModerator" />
    <acl name="Admin" />
    <acl name="RPC" />
    <object name="resource.admin" />
    <object name="resource.webadmin" />
    <object name="resource.acpanel" />
    <object name="user.YourName" />
</group>

The name after user. must match the account name exactly, including capital letters. Save, then start the server.

Step 3: Log in and open the panel

Join the server and type in chat:

/login YourName a-long-password

You should see a login confirmation. Press P to open the admin panel from the admin resource: player list with kick, ban, mute, freeze and slap, resource start and stop, map changes and server settings, all with buttons.

To add more admins, repeat steps 1 and 2 for each, or once you are logged in, use the Admin tab in the panel to put an existing account into a group without editing the file.

When the login is refused: authserial

MTA protects admin accounts by tying them to the PC they were first used from. In mtaserver.conf:

<auth_serial_groups>Admin</auth_serial_groups>

means any account in the Admin group can only log in from serials (PC identifiers) it has been authorized for. The first login authorizes its serial. A login from a second PC, or after a Windows reinstall, is blocked until you approve it from the server console:

authserial YourName

That allows the last serial that tried. Other forms:

Do not turn serial protection off by emptying auth_serial_groups. Besides the security risk, the config itself warns that disabling it can affect your server's visibility in the master server list.

Letting resources do admin things

Some resources, such as a roleplay game mode or an anticheat, need rights of their own: to kick players, run SQL or read other resources. A resource that lacks a right logs an access denied error to the server console. Two ways to fix it:

1. Add the resource to a group, the same way you added yourself: <object name="resource.yourgamemode" /> in the Admin group. Only do this for resources you trust, since it gives the code full admin rights.
2. Approve its request. Resources can list the rights they want in their meta.xml, and you approve them from the console:

aclrequest list yourgamemode
aclrequest allow yourgamemode all

The second is safer because it grants only what the resource asked for.

Moderators without full power

For staff who should kick and mute but not stop resources or ban, put their account in the Moderator or SuperModerator group instead of Admin. Those groups use ACLs with fewer rights, and the admin panel hides buttons a moderator cannot use.

Common problems

Admin on a GamezServers server

On a GamezServers MTA server, the live console in the panel is where you run addaccount, authserial and aclrequest, and the file manager opens acl.xml in your browser. Stop the server from the panel, edit, save, and start it again. Take a one click backup first, since a typo in acl.xml can lock everyone out. For the full server setup, see how to host a Multi Theft Auto server, and if players cannot find the server at all, MTA server not showing in the server browser.

FAQ

How do I give someone admin on my MTA server?

Make an account with addaccount name password in the console, add <object name="user.name" /> to the Admin group in acl.xml with the server stopped, then start it. They log in with /login.

Why can't I log in as admin on my MTA server?

Most often the serial protection blocks a new PC. Run authserial YourName in the server console, then try /login again.

What key opens the MTA admin panel?

P, once you are logged in to an account in the Admin group and the admin resource is running.

Can I edit acl.xml while the server is running?

You can, but the server may overwrite it on shutdown. Stop the server first, or use the admin panel to change groups while it runs.