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Getting started

This guide combines installation and the essential first steps so dzbot works reliably after you connect your server.

Requirements​

  • A DayZ server hosted on Nitrado (PC / PS / XBOX / Switch 2), connected with the Nitrado account that owns it
  • A Discord account to sign in to dzbot

Don't have a Nitrado account or server yet? Follow the Get a Nitrado server guide first, then come back here.

Wait until your DayZ server is fully available in Nitrado before you start.

1) Start at dzbot.de​

On dzbot.de, click Get started for free — or Connect server in the top navigation if you are already signed in. A short guided start takes you through three steps:

  1. Sign in with Discord. Discord shows the app as "DayZ Server": that is dzbot. The name is neutral on purpose, because your players see it in Discord too. The page explains what each requested permission is for before you continue.
  2. Connect Nitrado. Sign in with the Nitrado account the server is rented with.
  3. Pick your server. dzbot lists the DayZ servers of that Nitrado account. Servers that are already connected to dzbot are marked and open directly. Picking a server creates it on dzbot and starts your trial.

You then land in the admin area of your new server, where the setup wizard takes over.

After signing in, My servers in the website navigation lists all your linked servers.

2) If connecting fails​

  • "No code provided": the OAuth callback was interrupted. Start the connection flow again from the website navigation.
  • "No DayZ servers found": confirm your Nitrado account has at least one active DayZ service.
  • "Only the server owner can connect it": you signed in with a Nitrado account that was only granted access to the server. Sign in with the account the server was rented with — granted access can lack rights dzbot needs, such as FTP.
  • Token expired: reconnect from Server Admin → Settings. dzbot also shows an alert in the admin area when reconnect is needed.
  • Connection lost for good: a server that stays disconnected from Nitrado for 30 days and has no active dzbot subscription is deleted, together with its players, logs and settings. Its accounting stays with your organization. If it was the only server of your organization, the organization is deleted too, unless it has accounting records: then those are kept and everything else goes. Reconnect within those 30 days to keep it.

3) The setup wizard​

Later you reach the admin area with Server Admin in the top-left of your server page; Open Shop in the admin header takes you back to the player view.

The setup wizard walks you through the essentials one screen at a time: server name, subdomain, timezone and your in-game name, then optionally Discord, a starter shop (or a copy of another server's shop in your organization) and the DayZ++ migration. Anything you skip shows up as a checklist on the dashboard. The steps below describe the same settings in detail.

Trial and payment​

A new organization can try dzbot with every feature for up to 14 days, without entering payment details. The trial belongs to the organization and covers the servers it connects during that time; a server added after the trial has ended has none. Paying for a server ends the trial for that server: its subscription starts and is charged right away, and its remaining trial days lapse. The organization's other servers keep their trial until it ends.

  • The dashboard shows how long the trial runs from the first day; from day 4 a banner on every admin page shows when it ends. In the last week the organization's billing admins also get a few reminders by Discord message.
  • Set up payment under Server Admin → Billing. Checkout, the Stripe billing portal and the invoices name the server a subscription is for, so an organization with several servers can tell them apart.
  • After the first payment the billing admins get a thank-you message with the date of the next payment.
  • dzbot's own messages about payment start with dzbot · Billing for and the server name. The bot carries your server's name and shares the conversation with your game server's messages, so this line shows they come from dzbot.
  • If the trial ends without payment, the server is paused: the admin area and the player site only show the way to payment, automations, restarts and Discord features stop, and the mod files dzbot installed on your game server are taken off again (this takes effect with the next restart). Nothing is deleted and logs keep being collected. As soon as payment is set up everything runs again, and your mods come back with the next restart. The billing admins get a Discord message when the server is paused.
  • The same applies when a paid subscription ends.

4) Set the admin player name​

Open Server Admin → Players and find the admin player. Change the username to your in-game username so dzbot does not create a second player profile when logs arrive.

If a player profile already exists with your username, open a ticket in Discord so a moderator can merge the accounts.

5) Run the DayZ++ user migration (optional)​

If this server currently runs DayZ++ / killfeed.xyz and you want to keep your existing linked users, use the User migration step in the setup flow before you finish the rest of the initial setup.

Follow the dedicated User migration guide to request API access, create the correct API key, and start the import from Server Admin → Setup.

6) Update core server settings​

Navigation path:

  • Server Admin → Settings

Recommended values to review:

  • Server name: short community name used across the UI.
  • Subdomain: your player-facing URL (<subdomain>.dzbot.de).
  • Timezone: used by the scheduler and for showing times. The times in your game server's logs are detected automatically.

7) Player list synchronization​

Synchronize player lists (in Settings → Integrations) is on for every newly connected server.

This makes dzbot the source of truth for whitelist, restriction (ban), and priority lists, and keeps Nitrado aligned. All ban, whitelist, and priority entries that existed in Nitrado when you connected your server were imported automatically, so no entries are lost. Nitrado bans become permanent bans in dzbot. dzbot overwrites those lists on every sync — changes made directly on Nitrado or via other tools will be overwritten.

If the setting is off, bans, whitelist and priority entries from dzbot never reach your server, and the admin area shows a warning until you switch it on.

In Settings → Players & Access:

  • Enable Whitelist enabled if you run a controlled community.
  • Enable Auto-whitelist linked players to reduce manual approvals.

For full whitelist behavior, see Whitelisting.

9) Connect Discord integration​

Step 1: Connect the server and install the bot​

The easiest way is the Discord step of the setup wizard:

  • Click Add bot to Discord. Discord opens in the same tab; pick your Discord server there and confirm.
  • Discord then sends you straight back to the wizard. Your Discord server is already selected and saved, and the step turns green as soon as dzbot sees the bot. If you cancel on Discord, you land back on the same step.
  • You must own the Discord server or have the Administrator permission on it. The server list only shows Discord servers where that is the case and where the bot already is. A Discord server that is already connected to a server of another organization is not offered.
  • Discord asks to give the bot Administrator. That lets it see private channels too (the online list, tickets, donation or log channels only some roles can see). You can untick it; the bot then only sees the channels where you give its role (named after the bot) View Channel and Send Messages yourself, and every private channel dzbot should use needs that by hand.

You can also do it by hand in Settings → Discord: select Discord Server and Save. If the bot is not on that Discord server yet, you will see an admin alert with an install link that brings you back the same way.

When the bot joins, it posts a short note once into the Discord server's system channel (the one Discord uses for join messages, if it has one): that dzbot is connected to your server, with a link to finish the setup. It does not post this again when the bot is re-added later.

Step 2: Configure optional Discord channels​

Once the bot is connected, the wizard offers Create default channels. This is optional: it creates a "dzbot" category with a kill feed channel and an online players channel (only the bot posts there) plus a "Tickets" category that becomes the category of the first support level. Channels are selected in the matching settings. Whatever already has a channel or category is left as it is, so you can run it again to fill gaps.

Or choose your own channels: return to Settings → Discord and choose the optional Discord targets from the dropdowns:

  • Discord Support Channel (support/task notifications)
  • Discord Online Players Channel (live list channel)
  • Discord Leaderboard Channel (leaderboards, refreshed every 15 minutes)
  • Discord Base Alarms Category (auto-managed channels)
  • Discord Killfeed Channel (PvP kill messages)
  • Discord Damage Feed Channel (PvP damage messages)
  • Synchronization of Discord names (optional)

If you just changed the Discord server, save first and then reopen the Discord settings tab after the bot has been added there so the channel and category dropdowns can refresh for that server.

For the full integration model and role requirements, see Discord integration concept.

10) Verify log import health​

Many features rely on imported server logs (map activity, killfeed, player routes, log explorer, actions).

Check Server Admin → Log Explorer and confirm you see recent entries. If results are empty, wait a few minutes and re-check. For expected delays, see Logs import concept.

Next steps​

Before you open the dashboard, read What changes after setup — it covers the new rules for restarts, file changes, and player lists that affect your server from day one.