Running an Arma Reforger dedicated server is one thing; administering it cleanly is another. This guide is the complete reference for setting admins, wiring up BattlEye RCon, using the in-game admin commands (#kick, #ban, #restart, #shutdown), and moderating your server day to day. Everything below is verified against the official Bohemia Interactive wiki and reflects the current live build, 1.7.0.41 “Partisan Update” (released May 28, 2026). Where a value is version-gated, the version is noted so you know exactly when it changed.
The three admin layers in Arma Reforger
Before touching a single command, it helps to understand that Arma Reforger exposes three separate ways to administer a server. They overlap but are configured in completely different places, and confusing them is the single most common reason people can’t get admin access to work.
- In-game admin — granted via
game.passwordAdminand thegame.admins[]list inconfig.json. You authenticate from the in-game chat with#loginand then issue#-prefixed commands. - Game RCON — the
rconblock inconfig.json. A UDP-based remote protocol that lets an external tool send the same#commands without being in the game. - BattlEye RCon — an entirely separate anti-cheat RCon, configured in
BattlEye\BEServer_x64.cfg, not inconfig.json. This is what most third-party admin tools (and BattlEye GUIs) connect to.
For the full structure of config.json beyond the admin pieces, see our dedicated Arma Reforger server configuration walkthrough. This guide focuses on the admin and RCON surface specifically.
Setting admins in config.json
There are two mechanisms, and you’ll usually use both together.
1. The admin password
Set game.passwordAdmin to a string with no spaces. Anyone who knows it can type #login in chat to become an admin for that session. This is the quickest way to grant temporary access, but the password is shared, so treat it like a root password.
2. The admins list
The game.admins array (added in 0.9.9.31) accepts identityIds and/or Steam64 IDs. Since version 1.0.0, anyone in this list can run #login with no password at all — the server recognises their identity automatically. The server owner (authenticated via ownerToken.bin) also bypasses the password.
Two important limits landed in version 1.3.0: the list is capped at 20 unique IDs, and the admin priority queue only works for admins specified by IdentityId — admins listed by SteamId still get admin rights but do not get a reserved priority slot. If reserved slots matter to your staff, list them by IdentityId.
"game": {
"name": "My Reforger Server - Conflict Everon",
"password": "",
"passwordAdmin": "changeme_nospaces",
"admins": [
"76561198200329058",
"your-identity-id-here"
]
}The value 76561198200329058 above is a 17-digit Steam64 ID — the format you’ll most often paste in. A player can find their own id in-game with the #id command, which is the cleanest way to collect IDs from your moderators.
The RCON block in config.json
The game’s own RCON (a full rcon block) was added in 1.0.0. It is optional — leave it out and the server runs fine — but it lets you administer remotely over a UDP-based protocol. The block sits at the top level of config.json, alongside game and operating.
| Field | Type / default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
address | string, required | IP the RCON socket binds to. |
port | 1..65535, default 19999 | RCON UDP port. |
password | string, required | No spaces, minimum 3 characters. RCON will not start without it. |
permission | admin or monitor | admin = any command; monitor = only non-state-changing commands. |
maxClients | 1..16, default 16 (since 1.1.0) | Max simultaneous RCON clients. |
blacklist | array, default [] | Commands excluded from execution. |
whitelist | array, default [] | If set, ONLY these commands are allowed. |
A minimal working block looks like this. Note permission: "admin" — the wiki template ships with monitor, which silently blocks #kick, #ban, #restart and #shutdown. If your RCON commands “do nothing,” this is almost always why.
"rcon": {
"address": "192.168.9.10",
"port": 19999,
"password": "changeme_withoutspaces",
"permission": "admin",
"maxClients": 16,
"blacklist": [],
"whitelist": []
}Use blacklist to forbid specific commands even from an admin connection (e.g. block #shutdown from a junior-mod tool), or whitelist to lock a connection down to an explicit allow-list. If whitelist is non-empty, everything not on it is denied.
BattlEye RCon setup
BattlEye RCon is the layer most external admin tools connect to, and it is configured completely separately from config.json. BattlEye is enabled by default (gameProperties.battlEye defaults to true since 0.9.8.73). To turn on remote RCon, edit Arma Reforger\BattlEye\BEServer_x64.cfg and append these two lines — never erase the existing contents of that file:
RConPort 5678
RConPassword myNewBEPasswordThis is a hard rule: if you erase or malform BEServer_x64.cfg, BattlEye breaks and players get kicked with “Missing GameID/MasterPort server config settings.” The fix is to delete the file and verify the game/server files via Steam so a clean one is regenerated, then re-add your two lines. The RConPort here (the wiki example uses 5678) is the BattlEye RCon port and is distinct from the game RCON port (19999).
Admin commands reference
Admin commands are prefixed with # and typed into the command line. Open it in-game with the chat key (Enter in-game, C in the lobby; some clients use /). The list below is the complete set documented on the official Server Management wiki — there are no hidden vanilla commands beyond these.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
#login / #login | Authenticate as admin. Password optional for listed admins and the owner. |
#logout | Drop admin rights. |
#roles | Admin role command. |
#players | List session players and their playerIds. |
#id | Show the local player’s id. |
#kick | Kick a player by playerId. They may rejoin. |
#ban create | Ban a player. Duration 0 = permanent. Dedicated-server only. |
#ban remove | Lift a ban. |
#ban list | List bans (BanID; Player UID; Duration). 25/page over RCON, 10/page in-game. |
#restart | Restart the current scenario; clients stay connected. |
#shutdown | Shut the server down. |
Kicking and banning in practice
The normal moderation workflow is: run #players to get the offender’s playerId, then act on it. A #kick is a soft removal — the player can immediately reconnect — so use it for AFK clearing or warnings. For repeat or serious offenders, #ban create is what you want.
The ban target accepts a playerId, an identityId, or (since 1.2.0) a playerName. Duration is in seconds, and 0 means permanent. Some real examples straight from the wiki:
#ban create 123456789 3600 # 1 hour ban
#ban create 123456789 0 # permanent ban
#ban create 123456789 86400 teamkilling # 24h ban with a reason
#ban list # review who is banned
#ban remove # unban One custom Bohemia RCON command worth knowing is @logout (prefixed with @, not #). It de-authenticates your RCON client immediately instead of waiting for the 45-second idle timeout — handy when scripting tools that connect, act, and disconnect.
Restarts and shutdowns
The two relevant commands are #restart and #shutdown. The key distinction: #restart reloads the current scenario while keeping clients connected — useful for clearing a stuck match state without dumping everyone to the browser. #shutdown ends the process entirely; your process manager (systemd, a panel, a Docker restart policy) is then responsible for bringing it back.
For scheduled nightly restarts you do not use these commands directly — you wrap a clean #shutdown (or a process kill) in an external scheduler. There’s one config field that interacts with this: operating.disableServerShutdown (default false, since 1.0.0). When true, the server will not auto-shut-down if it loses its backend connection, which is what you want for unattended boxes that occasionally hiccup their connection to the Bohemia backend.
Also remember that after every Bohemia patch the dedicated server must be on the same build as clients. A nightly restart routine should re-run app_update 1874900 validate through SteamCMD so a freshly-patched server doesn’t reject connecting clients on a version mismatch. App ID 1874900 is the stable dedicated server (the experimental branch is 1890870; the game client is 1874880 — don’t confuse them).
Ports you need to know
RCON sits among several UDP ports. Getting these straight is essential for remote admin to work at all.
| Purpose | Default | Protocol | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Game traffic (bindPort/publicPort) | 2001 | UDP | Must be port-forwarded for clients to connect. |
Steam/A2S query (a2s.port) | 17777 | UDP | Server browser listing and queries. |
Game RCON (rcon.port) | 19999 | UDP | The game’s own RCON. Optional. |
BattlEye RCon (RConPort) | e.g. 5678 | — | Set in BEServer_x64.cfg, separate from the game RCON. |
At minimum, forward 2001/UDP (game) and 17777/UDP (query) so the server is reachable and visible. Whether you forward the RCON port externally depends on whether you administer remotely — both the game RCON and BattlEye RCon are UDP-based and only need exposure if a tool outside your network connects to them. Note that IPv6 is not supported; use IPv4 only.
Moderation tooling: queues, AI, and slot reservation
Several operating and game fields shape how moderation feels, even though they aren’t “commands”:
- Admin priority queue — since 1.3.0, listed admins jump ahead of normal players, but only when listed by IdentityId (not SteamId).
operating.slotReservationTimeout— range 5..300, default 60 seconds. Holds a kicked/disconnected player’s slot open. The minimum (5) effectively disables it. Applies only to replication kicks.operating.joinQueue.maxSize— range 0..50, default 0 (disabled), added 1.2.1.66. Lets players wait in a join queue instead of being bounced. For a deeper treatment see our guide on setting up server queues in Arma Reforger.operating.disableAI— defaultfalse, added 1.1.0. Settrueto fully disable the AIWorld for a pure-PvP server; or cap AI withoperating.aiLimit(default -1 = unlimited). Walkthrough: disable AI and run a PvP server.
The 1.7.0.41 “Partisan Update” also introduced a reconnection queue system; the exact behaviour wasn’t fully documented at research time, so check the current changelog if you rely on it. The maxPlayers field (range 1..128, default 64) caps total concurrent players regardless of queue settings.
Hardware sizing for an admin-heavy server
Bohemia does not publish official per-player server hardware tables, so treat the following as community and hosting-experience guidance, not a spec sheet. The one thing that is well-established: Arma Reforger servers are single-thread / CPU-bound, and large AI battles are the dominant CPU driver. High single-core clock speed matters far more than core count for tick stability.
- ~8 GB RAM for ~32 players, ~16 GB for ~64 players, up to ~64 GB for a full 128-player server (approximate).
- A fast modern CPU (chips like the Ryzen 5800X3D are commonly cited for high-player rigs); an 8-core part is a sensible baseline.
- Always set
-maxFPS(the wiki strongly recommends 60–120). Running uncapped lets the server consume all available CPU; ~30 FPS is far lighter but degrades responsiveness. - Keep ~40 GB free disk.
If you’d rather not size and patch a box yourself, our managed Arma Reforger hosting ships with the RCON and admin config pre-wired and handles the same-build-as-clients update step for you after every Bohemia patch. The full panel-level admin documentation lives in the Arma Reforger docs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Arma Reforger admin commands?
The full vanilla set, all prefixed with #, is: #login, #logout, #roles, #players, #id, #kick, #ban create, #ban remove, #ban list, #restart, and #shutdown. There are no other documented vanilla commands — anything beyond these comes from mods such as admin-tool add-ons. You type them into the in-game command line (Enter in-game, C in the lobby) after authenticating with #login.
How do I make myself an admin on my Arma Reforger server?
Two ways, and you can use both. Set game.passwordAdmin to a no-spaces password and use #login in chat. Or add your Steam64 ID or identityId to the game.admins array — since version 1.0.0, anyone in that list can just type #login with no password. Find your ID in-game with #id. Remember the list caps at 20 IDs (since 1.3.0) and only IdentityId-listed admins get the priority queue slot.
How do I set up RCON on an Arma Reforger server?
Be clear about which RCON. For the game RCON, add an rcon block to config.json with an address, a port (default 19999), a password of at least 3 characters and no spaces, and set permission to admin (not the template’s monitor) if you want to run kicks, bans and restarts. For BattlEye RCon, instead append RConPort and RConPassword lines to BattlEye\BEServer_x64.cfg — never overwrite that file or BattlEye will break.
What’s the difference between the game RCON and BattlEye RCon?
They’re separate systems. The game RCON is Bohemia’s own UDP protocol configured in config.json (default port 19999) and runs the standard # commands with an admin/monitor permission model. BattlEye RCon is the anti-cheat’s remote console, configured in BEServer_x64.cfg (the wiki example uses port 5678), and is what most third-party admin GUIs connect to. Many servers run both.
How do I ban a player permanently or for a set time?
Use #ban create . Duration is in seconds, so 3600 is one hour and 86400 is a day; a duration of 0 is a permanent ban. The target can be a playerId, identityId, or (since 1.2.0) a playerName. Review bans with #ban list and lift one with #ban remove . Banning is dedicated-server only.
Why do my admin commands do nothing over RCON?
The most common cause is permission: "monitor" in the rcon block — monitor only allows non-state-changing commands, so #kick, #ban, #restart and #shutdown are silently refused. Change it to "admin". Other culprits: a whitelist that excludes the command, a blacklist that includes it, a password under 3 characters, or the RCON port (19999) not being reachable. For setting up the server itself, our step-by-step Arma Reforger server setup guide covers the install and config from scratch.
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