How to connect to your Project Zomboid server

The quickest way into your Project Zomboid server is to join by address. Type your server’s address in the IP box and its port in the Port box, both from the address card on Overview. Joining this way also wakes the server if it’s asleep.

Before you start

• Find your address and port. Open the panel and look at the address card on Overview. It shows something like knoxcounty.play.wilderack.com:31260. The part before the colon is the address. The number after it is the port.
• Use your server’s port, not 16261. That’s the game’s default, but every Wilderack server gets its own port. Only a server with a Dedicated IP uses 16261.
• Match the server’s build. Steam gives players Build 42 by default. If your server runs Build 41, see joining a Build 41 server.
• Have the server password ready if you set one.

Project Zomboid is a PC game, on Windows, macOS, Linux and Steam Deck. The steps are the same on all of them. There’s no console or phone version, so there’s no crossplay to set up.

Join by address

1. Copy the address and port from the address card on Overview.
2. Start Project Zomboid and choose Join on the main menu.
3. In the server details, type the address without the port in the IP field, like knoxcounty.play.wilderack.com.
4. Type the port in the Port field, like 31260.
5. If the server has a password, type it in the server password field.
6. Pick a username and an account password. The first time you join, this creates your account on the server. Write them down, because you need the same pair every time.
7. Save the server to your favourites, then join.

The first join takes longer. The game downloads the server’s mods from the Steam Workshop and loads the map around you. After that, joins are quicker.

Find it in the server list

Your server can also appear in the game’s public server list.

1. In Settings, give the server a public name and description. In the file these are PublicName and PublicDescription.
2. Under Advanced, open Zomboid/Server/wilderack.ini and set Public=true.
3. Restart the server.
4. In the game, open Join and search the public list for your server’s name.

The list only shows servers that are awake. When your server sleeps, it drops out of the list until someone wakes it. Favourites and joining by address are more reliable, so share those with friends.

Server passwords

A server password keeps strangers out. Set it in Settings, or in Zomboid/Server/wilderack.ini as Password=. It’s separate from each player’s account password. For a tighter group, you can also turn off open sign-up and add each friend by hand. See admins, whitelist and bans.

When the server is asleep

Joining by address wakes a sleeping server, usually in a couple of seconds. If the game gives up before the server answers, join again.

Friends can also wake it with your wake link, play.wilderack.com/w/knoxcounty. It opens a page with a big wake button. It’s handy to pin in your Discord. The How to join card on Overview has the link and a button to share it.

Joining a Build 41 server

Players need the Build 41 branch of the game to join a Build 41 server.

1. In Steam, right-click Project Zomboid in your library.
2. Choose Properties.
3. Under Game Versions & Betas, pick legacy41.
4. Wait for Steam to finish the download, then join as normal.

To go back to Build 42, pick the default branch in the same place. Worlds from one build don’t load in the other, so this only changes which servers you can join.

Can’t connect?

• The game says the server failed to respond. Check the port, then wake the server. See server failed to respond.
• The game says a mod doesn’t match. The server needs a restart to pick up a mod update. See workshop item version is different.
• The game says your version doesn’t match. You and the server are on different builds. See version doesn’t match.
• You get stuck loading the map. See connection lost while the map loads.

Still stuck? Real people can help at support@wilderack.com.