RCON Guide

RCON stands for remote console. It lets you send commands to your Mordhau server over the network, from outside the game — so you can change the map, kick someone, or check who is on, without launching Mordhau and joining first.

If you run a server, this is the tool you will end up using most.

INFO

This page assumes you already have a server running. If you do not, start with the dedicated server guide.

Admin commands vs RCON

Both let you run the same commands, but they are reached differently.

In-game admin commands are typed into the console while you are playing. You authenticate with adminlogin and the admin password from Game.ini. Convenient when you are already in the server.

RCON connects over TCP from any RCON client. No game needed, and it keeps working when the server is full or when something has gone wrong enough that you cannot join.

The command list is the same either way.

Turning RCON on

RCON is configured in Game.ini, in the same section as your other server settings:

Platform	Path
Windows	Mordhau\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\Game.ini
Linux	Mordhau/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini

Add these two keys:

[/Script/Mordhau.MordhauGameSession]
ServerName=My Mordhau Server
MaxSlots=32
AdminPassword=changethis
RconPassword=a-different-long-password
RconPort=7778

DANGER

Stop the server before you edit Game.ini. It rewrites the file from memory on shutdown, so edits made while it is running are thrown away.

WARNING

If you leave RconPassword empty the server generates a random one at startup, which means you will not know it. Set it yourself.

Do not reuse your AdminPassword here, and do not use anything short. RCON is an unencrypted protocol — anyone who has the password and can reach the port has full control of your server.

Restart the server. You can also override the port on the command line if you prefer:

./MordhauServer.sh Mordhau FFA_ThePit -Port=7777 -BeaconPort=15000 -QueryPort=27015 -RconPort=7778 -log

Opening the port

The RCON port is TCP, unlike the game, beacon and query ports which are all UDP. A firewall rule that covers the other three will not cover this one.

Only forward it if you actually need to reach RCON from outside the machine. If you administer the server over SSH anyway, leave the port closed to the internet and connect to 127.0.0.1 from on the box — that is strictly safer, and costs you nothing.

Connecting

Any client that speaks the Source RCON protocol works. mcrcon is small, has no dependencies and runs on both Windows and Linux:

mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 7778 -p your-rcon-password

That drops you into an interactive prompt. To fire a single command and exit:

mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 7778 -p your-rcon-password "playerlist"

Graphical clients exist too if you would rather have a window than a terminal — most of the general purpose Source RCON tools work fine against Mordhau.

Commands

Player identifiers are Playfab IDs, not Steam IDs. Get them with playerlist.

Players

Command	What it does
playerlist	Everyone on the server, with their IDs
kick <name or PlayfabID> <reason>	Removes a player, they can rejoin
ban <name or PlayfabID> <minutes> <reason>	Bans for a duration in minutes
unban <name or PlayfabID>	Lifts a ban
banlist	Everyone currently banned
mute <name or PlayfabID> <minutes>	Mutes voice and text
cancelvotekick	Stops a votekick in progress

Admins

Command	What it does
adminlogin	Authenticate in-game before using any other command
adminlist	Current admins
adminadd <PlayfabID>	Grants admin
removeadmin <PlayfabID>	Revokes admin

The match

Command	What it does
changelevel <map name>	Switches map, for example changelevel FFA_Grad
restartlevel	Restarts the current map
addbots <number>	Adds bots
addbots team <number> <0 or 1>	Adds bots to a team, 0 is red and 1 is blue
removebots <number>	Removes bots
slomo <value>	Changes game speed, 0.5 is half and 2 is double

TIP

slomo affects everyone on the server. It is entertaining exactly once, and then people leave.

Everyday things

Find someone's ID before you act on them

playerlist

Ban for a day

ban 1A2B3C4D5E6F7890 1440 Griefing

Durations are minutes, so an hour is 60, a day is 1440, a week is 10080.

Rotate the map early

changelevel TDM_Camp

Fill a quiet server

addbots 8

When it will not connect

Connection refused. RCON is not listening. Check RconPort is set in Game.ini, and that you restarted the server after editing it — with -log you will see RCON start up in the console output.

Connection times out. A firewall is eating it. Remember the port is TCP.

Authentication failed. Wrong password. If you left RconPassword blank the server invented one at startup, so set it explicitly and restart.

Commands run but nothing happens. Check the syntax and the argument order. ban in particular wants the duration before the reason, and getting them the wrong way round fails quietly.

Your edits keep disappearing. The server was running when you saved. Stop it first.

Security

Worth repeating, because people get this wrong and lose servers over it:

• RCON is unencrypted. The password crosses the network in a form that anyone on the path can read.
• Use a long, unique password. Not your admin password, not your Steam password.
• Do not expose the port publicly unless you have to. Localhost, or an SSH tunnel, or a firewall rule limited to your own IP.
• Change the password if you ever paste it into a Discord message, a support ticket, or a screenshot.