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ARK: Survival Evolved Admin Commands: Core Console Command List and Syntax Guide (2026)

A practical ARK: Survival Evolved admin-command reference covering console access, multiplayer authentication, core player and server commands, creature cheats, RCON use, and version-sensitive syntax.
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ARK: Survival Evolved admin commands are entered through the in-game console. In a multiplayer session, authenticate with enablecheats <ServerAdminPassword> first; single-player games do not require that step. On PC, press Tab to open the console. The command names below cover the core administration, messaging, world-control and player-cheat functions commonly documented for ARK: Survival Evolved.

This is a verified core reference, not a claim that every command in the game has been reproduced here. Published command lists disagree about the cheat versus admincheat prefix, whether player identifiers are Steam IDs or ARK IDs, and the names of whitelist commands. Those details can vary by server version, hosting panel and whether you are running Survival Evolved or Survival Ascended, so test syntax on your own server before using it during a live event.

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Open the ARK console on your platform

PC

Press Tab while in the game. The console input appears at the bottom of the screen. Enter a command and press Enter. If nothing happens, confirm that the console is enabled in the session and that you are typing into the console rather than the normal chat box.

Consoles

On console editions, the command console is opened from the pause screen with the platform’s button combination. The exact combination is not the same as the PC shortcut. The cited ARK command reference also states that enablecheats is not compatible with gaming consoles, so do not assume the PC authentication sequence applies to PlayStation or Xbox. Use the console-specific procedure supplied by your server host or game build.

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Stadia

The cited reference lists the backtick key (`) for opening the console on Stadia. Stadia availability and support can depend on the version and service context, so treat that shortcut as version-specific.

Authenticate as an administrator

Multiplayer servers

Run:

enablecheats <ServerAdminPassword>

Replace the angle-bracketed text with the password configured in the server’s ServerAdminPassword option. The password must match that server setting exactly. A successful login grants the current player administrator privileges for the session; it does not change the password or grant rights to every player.

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Single-player games

Single-player sessions do not need enablecheats. Open the console and enter the command you need. If a command is rejected, check its spelling and the current game version before changing configuration files.

Choosing a command prefix

Documentation is inconsistent. The Fandom command reference marks some commands as requiring the admincheat prefix in multiplayer, while other guides use cheat for most commands or accept an unprefixed form in particular contexts. For example, a server may expect admincheat saveworld rather than saveworld. This is a syntax issue, not proof that the command itself is unavailable. Check the command reference for your exact build or use the server console’s help output, then use the accepted prefix consistently.

Core administration command list

The table is a practical set of commands repeatedly documented for Survival Evolved. Arguments shown in angle brackets are values you supply; do not type the brackets themselves.

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Command What it does Important qualification
enablecheats <ServerAdminPassword> Authenticates a multiplayer player as an administrator. Use the server’s exact ServerAdminPassword; not required in single-player and reported as incompatible with gaming consoles.
listplayers Lists connected players and their identifiers. One source calls the returned value an ARK ID and another calls it a Steam ID. Verify what your server outputs before using an ID in another command.
saveworld Forces an immediate save of the world to disk. Use before maintenance or a controlled shutdown; wait for the server to finish responding.
broadcast <message> Displays a message to every player, centered on screen. Keep the text short enough to be readable during play.
kickplayer <SteamID> Disconnects a player from the server. Sources specify a Steam ID, but your server may expose a different identifier through listplayers.
banplayer <SteamID> Bans a player. Confirm the identifier and the command’s accepted prefix before applying a permanent action.
unbanplayer <SteamID> Removes a player ban. Use the same identifier format the server stored for the ban.
destroywilddinos Removes wild dinosaurs from the map so new wild creatures can respawn. This affects wild creatures, not your tamed collection; allow time for respawns after running it.
doexit Shuts the server down. Save first and warn players; an abrupt exit can interrupt ongoing activity.
dorestartlevel Restarts the current level. Treat it as a restart operation and announce it before execution.
setservertime <value> Sets server time using a value from 0 to 24 in one documented syntax. Another guide uses settimeofday with a clock value such as 12:00; the accepted command depends on the server version.

Identify and manage players

Get the identifier first

Run listplayers and copy the identifier exactly as displayed. The sources disagree about whether that output is an ARK ID or a Steam ID, and the player-management examples specify Steam IDs. Do not substitute a display name when the command expects an ID. If two players have similar names, an identifier is safer than name matching.

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Kick, ban and unban

Use kickplayer for a temporary removal, banplayer for a ban and unbanplayer to reverse a ban. Before a ban, check that you selected the intended identifier; an ID-format mismatch can produce a failure that looks like a permissions problem. If a hosted panel offers a player-management form, compare the ID shown there with the value returned by the in-game console.

Whitelist naming differences

Whitelist commands are not named consistently across guides. One documented pair is allowplayertojoinnocheck and disallowplayertojoinnocheck. Another guide uses whitelistplayer. Because these are not interchangeable spellings, check the command set accepted by your server before relying on a whitelist for an event or private session.

Send notices and server chat

Screen-wide announcement

broadcast <message> sends a notice to all connected players and displays it in the middle of the screen. Use it for scheduled restarts, emergency maintenance and rule announcements where every player must see the message.

Chat as the server

serverchat <message> sends a chat message as the server. To target one player by name, use serverchattoplayer with that player’s name and the message. A SteamID-based variant is recommended when names contain unusual characters, are duplicated or are difficult to parse; consult the syntax accepted by your build rather than guessing the argument order.

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Message of the day

setmessage <message> sets the message shown to players when they join. Keep persistent information—restart windows, rules or contact instructions—in this message, and use broadcast for time-critical notices during an active session.

World and server control

Save before maintenance

saveworld writes the current world state to disk immediately. Make it the first step before a planned restart or shutdown, then allow the server console or control panel to finish processing the save. A save command does not itself stop players from making changes afterward, so schedule the shutdown promptly if you need a clean maintenance point.

Refresh wild spawns

destroywilddinos removes wild dinosaurs across the map. The removed creatures can respawn, but the command does not instantly repopulate every location. Warn players that wild populations will temporarily change and that the server may need time to generate replacements.

Restart or stop

dorestartlevel restarts the current level; doexit shuts the server down. Neither command is a substitute for a save. Announce the action, run saveworld, wait for the save response, and only then issue the restart or exit command.

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Set the in-game clock

One guide documents setservertime with a numeric range from 0 through 24. Another documents settimeofday with a value formatted like 12:00. Because the names and argument formats conflict, test the form on a nonproduction session and verify the resulting clock before using it to coordinate a live event.

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Player and creature cheats

Movement and damage protection

  • god protects the player from most damage, but the cited descriptions exclude drowning.
  • fly enables flying movement.
  • ghost enables a no-clip style movement mode in guides that document it.

Movement and protection cheats affect the current player. Turn them off or return to normal movement before handing control back to a regular player, and test the exact toggle syntax on your build.

Unlock engrams

giveengrams unlocks all engrams for the current player according to the cited command lists. On a progression-focused server, announce this before use because it changes the player’s normal unlock path.

Spawn creatures

summon creates a wild creature. summontamed creates a tamed creature. gmsummon creates a tamed creature at a specified level; the documented example uses level 150. Blueprint and creature naming syntax can differ between builds and mods, so copy the identifier required by your version instead of assuming a name from another command list.

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Give items

giveitemnum <ItemID> uses an item ID. Item-ID catalogs are maintained separately from the core command reference and may differ when mods or game versions change. Verify the ID and any quantity or quality arguments supported by your build before issuing a large grant.

The disputed setcheatplayer command

The documented toggle is setcheatplayer true or setcheatplayer false, but its purpose is unresolved. PCGamesN describes it as enabling cheat commands for the current player, mounted dinosaur and game world. GameServerKings describes an administrator debug overlay that reveals tribe TeamIDs. Other hosting guides describe a client cheat HUD or an admin indicator. Because these behaviours are materially different, test the toggle on your server and do not use it as the sole proof that administrator authentication succeeded.

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Using commands through RCON or a hosting panel

GameServerKings reports that saveworld, broadcast, listplayers, kickplayer, banplayer and destroywilddinos can be run over RCON. Hosted servers may expose the same interface through a control panel’s Console tab. This avoids joining the game for routine maintenance, but the panel still uses the server’s own command parser and permissions.

When a panel rejects a command that works in-game, compare the required prefix, confirm that the panel is connected to the correct ARK instance and check whether the panel expects an ID format different from the in-game output. Nitrado publishes a guide for administering hosted ARK: Survival Evolved servers; use your host’s current instructions for connection details and panel-specific permissions.

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Troubleshooting rejected commands

“Unknown command” or no response

  • Confirm that the console is open and that you pressed Enter.
  • On multiplayer, authenticate with the exact ServerAdminPassword.
  • Try the prefix required by your server: documentation may call for cheat or admincheat.
  • Check spelling and argument order; whitelist and time commands are especially inconsistent across guides.
  • Confirm that you are running Survival Evolved rather than Survival Ascended, because combined command lists can blur version differences.

Player command targets the wrong person

Run listplayers again immediately before the action and copy the returned identifier. Do not rely on a remembered name or an ID copied from a different platform. For duplicate names, use the server’s ID-based syntax rather than a name-based chat target.

World state did not change

For a save, wait for the server response and check the server log or panel status. For destroywilddinos, remember that the command removes wild creatures first; new spawns require time. For time commands, try the syntax documented for your build—setservertime with a numeric value and settimeofday with a clock value are not guaranteed to be aliases.

A safe administrator workflow

  1. Identify the exact game and server version, and decide whether you are using the in-game console or RCON.
  2. Open the console with the shortcut for your platform.
  3. On multiplayer, authenticate with enablecheats <ServerAdminPassword> unless your platform’s documentation says that method is unsupported.
  4. Run a low-risk check such as listplayers to confirm that commands are being parsed.
  5. For player actions, copy the identifier from the current output rather than typing a display name.
  6. For world changes, announce the action with broadcast, save with saveworld, then perform the restart, exit or creature reset.
  7. Record the command, time and affected player or world so another administrator can reverse or audit the action.
  8. After testing a version-sensitive command, verify the result in-game and in the server log before using it on a public event server.

What “full command list” means in practice

No single, fully verified command catalog was available in the cited material. The Fandom console-commands page is identified as the authoritative syntax reference, and server console help can reveal what the running build accepts. Community and hosting lists also mix Survival Evolved with Survival Ascended and sometimes omit prefixes or argument details. Use the core table here for the commands with repeated coverage, then consult the reference for any command not listed or any syntax your server rejects.

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