How to Whitelist, Ban and Add Admins on an Astroneer Server

Astroneer dedicated servers manage players through categories stored in AstroServerSettings.ini: Owner, Admin, Whitelisted, Unlisted, Blacklisted and Pending. To ban someone, set them to Blacklisted. To make the server whitelist only, set DenyUnlistedPlayers=True, and then only Owner, Admin and Whitelisted players can join. The owner and admins can do most of this from inside the game, and every change ends up as a PlayerProperties line in the ini file, which you can also edit directly while the server is stopped.

If you have not set up the server or the owner yet, start with how to host an Astroneer dedicated server.

The six player categories

Every player who has ever connected gets a category. New joiners start as Unlisted on an open server.

Kicking, banning and whitelisting in game

The owner and admins manage players from inside Astroneer while connected to the server. Open the menu, find the player list for the server, and choose the action for a player: kick them from the session, ban them (Blacklisted), whitelist them, or promote them to admin. The change applies straight away and the server writes it to AstroServerSettings.ini.

A kick only removes the player from the current session. They can rejoin unless you also ban them or the server is in whitelist mode and they are not on the list.

Turning on whitelist mode

Whitelist mode is a single setting in Astro/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/AstroServerSettings.ini:

[/Script/Astro.AstroServerSettings]
DenyUnlistedPlayers=True

With it on, Unlisted and Pending players are refused. Owner, Admin and Whitelisted players still get in.

The order matters. Before you switch whitelist mode on:

1. Make sure everyone in your crew has joined the server at least once, so they exist in the player list.
2. Whitelist each of them in game, or set their category in the file.
3. Then set DenyUnlistedPlayers=True and restart.

If you turn it on first, your friends show up as Pending when they try to join, and you approve them by changing them to Whitelisted.

A password (ServerPassword) and a whitelist do different jobs. A password keeps out anyone who does not know it, and leaks the moment someone shares it. A whitelist ties access to the player's account. For a fixed friend group, the whitelist is the stronger choice, and you can use both.

Editing PlayerProperties by hand

Each player's category is a line in the same section:

PlayerProperties=(PlayerFirstJoinName="StarDigger",PlayerCategory=Owner,PlayerGuid="76561198000000001",PlayerRecentJoinName="StarDigger")
PlayerProperties=(PlayerFirstJoinName="RoverQueen",PlayerCategory=Admin,PlayerGuid="76561198000000002",PlayerRecentJoinName="RoverQueen")
PlayerProperties=(PlayerFirstJoinName="Pebble",PlayerCategory=Whitelisted,PlayerGuid="76561198000000003",PlayerRecentJoinName="Pebble")
PlayerProperties=(PlayerFirstJoinName="Griefer",PlayerCategory=Blacklisted,PlayerGuid="76561198000000004",PlayerRecentJoinName="Griefer")

Rules for editing:

• Stop the server first. The server keeps its own copy in memory and writes it back, which can undo your edit if it is running.
• Change only PlayerCategory. The name and GUID fields are how the server recognizes the player.
• Keep one line per player. Duplicate entries for the same player give unpredictable results.
• Spelling counts. Whitelisted, Blacklisted, Unlisted, Admin, Owner, Pending, exactly like that.
• Back up the file before editing. A broken line can stop the server from reading the section.

Adding a line for someone who has never joined is possible if you know their GUID, but it is simpler to have them join once, then change their category.

Admins: who should get it

Admin is for people you would trust with the server while you are away. They can kick and ban other players, so give it to one or two regulars rather than the whole crew. Everyone else can stay Whitelisted in whitelist mode or Unlisted on an open server.

The owner is special: it comes from OwnerName (your exact Steam name) and OwnerGuid (your SteamID64). If you change your Steam name, update OwnerName and restart, or the server stops recognizing you as owner. Setting OwnerGuid as well avoids that problem entirely.

Removing a ban

Set the player back to Unlisted or Whitelisted, in game if the option is shown to you, or in the file with the server stopped. Then restart if you edited the file.

Remote management for self hosters

Self hosters can enable the server's console port with ConsolePort and ConsolePassword in the same ini file. Community tools such as AstroLauncher use it to send commands like DSListPlayers, DSKickPlayerGuid and DSSetPlayerCategoryForPlayerName, and offer a web page for kicks, bans and whitelisting. Keep that port closed to the internet; it is meant for tools on the same machine.

On a GamezServers Astroneer server

On an Astroneer server with us, Your Steam name and the optional Your Steam ID in the control panel set the owner, so you get owner controls the first time you join, and the server password is a panel setting too. AstroServerSettings.ini is in the file manager for whitelist mode and hand edits, and one click backups give you a restore point before you change the player list. Because the server runs around the clock, a whitelist is the easy way to keep a long running crew world to your crew. Moving an existing world over is covered in moving an Astroneer save to a dedicated server.

FAQ

How do I ban someone on my Astroneer server?

Ban them from the player list in game as the owner or an admin, or stop the server and set their PlayerCategory to Blacklisted in AstroServerSettings.ini.

How do I make my Astroneer server whitelist only?

Set DenyUnlistedPlayers=True in AstroServerSettings.ini and restart. Whitelist your friends first, or approve them from Pending afterwards.

What does Pending mean on an Astroneer server?

The player tried to join while whitelist mode was on and is not on the list. Change them to Whitelisted to let them in.

Why did my Astroneer whitelist edit disappear?

The server was running while you edited the file and wrote its own copy back. Stop the server, edit, then start it.