ARK:SAServer Admin

ARK: Survival Ascended RCON Commands: Server Admin Reference

ASA server admin over RCON: enable it with RCONEnabled and ServerAdminPassword in GameUserSettings.ini, why you drop the admincheat prefix over RCON, the EOS ID trap (kick/ban/chat commands take the 32-character Account ID, not a Steam64 ID), permanent-only native bans, the AllowedCheaterAccountIDs.txt admin whitelist, and the commands that actually work - ListPlayers, Broadcast, ServerChat, SaveWorld, DoExit, DestroyWildDinos.

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ARK: Survival Ascended kept the genuine Valve Source RCON protocol from ARK: Survival Evolved - any standard Source RCON client connects unchanged. What it did NOT keep is the ID system: ASA moderation commands address players by their EOS ID, not a Steam64 ID, and getting that wrong is the single most common reason a kick or ban silently does nothing. This reference covers what actually works over RCON on ASA.

This guide is for ARK: Survival Ascended. Running legacy ARK: Survival Evolved? Its commands differ (Steam64 IDs, Workshop mods) - see the ARK: Survival Evolved RCON reference.

Enabling RCON

RCON is configured in GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings] - the file lives in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ (the path says WindowsServer even when you run the server under Wine or Proton on Linux, because ASA ships Windows server binaries only):

[ServerSettings]
RCONEnabled=True
RCONPort=27020
ServerAdminPassword=YourSecretPassword

ServerAdminPassword is

Command	Syntax	Notes
`KickPlayer`	`KickPlayer <EOSID>`	Disconnect (no ban).
`BanPlayer`	`BanPlayer <EOSID>`	Ban + kick; persists to the server ban list.
`UnbanPlayer`	`UnbanPlayer <EOSID>`	Remove a ban.

Command	Description
`Broadcast <message>`	On-screen message to all players. (Failed over RCON in early ASA builds; long since patched - if it does nothing on your version, use `ServerChat`.)
`ServerChat <message>`	Message to all players in chat.
`ServerChatTo "<EOSID>" <message>`	Private chat to one player by EOS ID (quoted).
`ServerChatToPlayer "<Name>" <message>`	Private chat to one player by name (quoted).
`GetChat`	Recent chat buffer - polling tools use it to mirror in-game chat.

Command	Description
`SaveWorld`	Force an immediate world save.
`DoExit`	Shut the server down. It is meant to save on the way out, but operators conventionally send `SaveWorld` first - cheap insurance, and Wine/Docker setups have reported the exit-save not firing.
`DestroyWildDinos`	Wipe all wild creatures map-wide (they respawn; standard after raising level caps or changing spawn/mod config so new-tier dinos appear).
`ShowMessageOfTheDay`	Display the MOTD.

ARK: Survival Ascended RCON Commands: Server Admin Reference

Enabling RCON

The EOS ID trap

Listing players

Moderation

Messaging

Server control

Whitelisting admins

A note on ports

Quick reference

Running these in MantaScope