SCUM admin commands, squads and logs

SCUM administration happens in the game's chat. A player whose SteamID64 is listed in AdminUsers.ini can type commands that start with # - #ListPlayers, #Teleport, #SpawnItem, #Kick, #Ban, #Announce, #ListSquads and dozens more - and two extra permissions in square brackets unlock god mode building and the shutdown command. There is no web console or standard RCON in the way Source games have one, so you have to be connected to the server to administer it, and the evidence for every decision comes from the log files in SCUM/Saved/SaveFiles/Logs/. This guide covers the admin files, the commands worth knowing, squads and flags from an admin's point of view, bans, and how to read the logs.

The settings file itself is covered in SCUM server settings explained; this post is about the people.

Making someone an admin#

Admins are listed in SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/AdminUsers.ini, one SteamID64 per line. Extra permissions go in square brackets after the ID, separated by commas:

7656119800000000176561198000000002[SetGodMode]76561198000000003[SetGodMode, ShutdownServer]76561198000000004[ShutdownServer]

A few details that trip people up:

• The ID is the 17-digit SteamID64, not the profile name or the custom URL. If you are unsure, have the player join once and read the ID from the login log described below.
• God mode in SCUM is not invulnerability. SetGodMode lets an admin place base-building blueprints instantly without the materials, which is what you want when building a trader camp or event arena. An admin with god mode on can still die.
• The file is read at start. Adding an admin means a restart. Batch your changes into a scheduled restart rather than restarting the server for every new moderator.

A second file, ServerSettingsAdminUsers.ini, lists who may change server settings from the in-game menu. Keep it shorter than the admin list. Moderators need to kick and ban; very few people need to change the loot multiplier at 2am.

The other access lists#

The same folder holds the lists that control who can join and who can speak:

The naming is a classic source of mistakes. In SCUM, "whitelisted" means priority access, not "only these people may join" - that is the exclusive list. A private server for a closed group uses ExclusiveUsers.ini; a public server that wants its regulars to get in at peak time uses WhitelistedUsers.ini.

Edit these files with the server stopped, or use the in-game commands for bans and mutes, which update the lists for you.

Commands you will use every day#

Commands are typed into chat, start with #, and are not case-sensitive. A player argument accepts a name or a SteamID64; use the ID whenever two players have similar names.

Players and moderation

Movement

Spawning and world

Spawning is the permission most often abused by staff and the first thing players notice. On a public server, keep spawning to the owners and log every use - the admin log does that for you, as long as somebody reads it.

Commands that need "please"

The destructive commands require the word please at the end, as a guard against a typo wiping a base:

#DestroyAllBaseBuildingElementsForSquad 1234 please#DestroyAllBaseBuildingElementsForPlayer 76561198000000001 please#DestroyAllVehicles please#ResetPlayerBalances 76561198000000001 please

Radius-based cleanup commands such as #DestroyAllItemsWithinRadius, #DestroyCorpsesWithinRadius and #DestroyZombiesWithinRadius are capped at around 100 metres and are the right tool for cleaning up after an event or a glitch.

Server control

#ShutdownServer stops the server and needs the [ShutdownServer] permission. Older guides mention #RestartServer; current builds use the shutdown command, and the host's restart policy or scheduler starts the server again. Command names do change between versions; when something stops working after an update, check the current list in the game's patch notes before assuming the permission is wrong.

Squads from an admin's point of view#

Squads are SCUM's groups. Players create and join them in game; a squad has a leader and members, shares respawn options, and owns bases through the flags its members place. As an admin, squads matter because most disputes are between squads, and most cleanup is per squad.

The squad commands:

The server settings that shape squads live in ServerSettings.ini: how many tombstones a squad may keep, whether players may own more than one flag and how many, how long a flag takes to overtake, and the price of a squad respawn. Those are explained in the settings guide. The rules your community actually plays by - maximum squad size if you enforce one beyond the game's, alliances, how close to another base you may build - belong in written rules, with the commands above as the enforcement.

Three admin jobs come up again and again:

1. Abandoned bases. Find the flag with #ListFlags, identify the owner and squad with #SquadInfo, confirm in the login log that nobody has played for weeks, then remove the buildings with the per-squad or per-player destroy command. Announce your inactivity rule first so it is policy, not a surprise.
2. Squad disputes. Kill and chat logs, not screenshots, decide them. More on logs below.
3. Squad-sized cheating. When one member of a squad is caught cheating, decide in advance whether the whole squad loses its base. Most servers punish the cheater and investigate the rest - the logs show who was present and who benefited.

Logs: the evidence#

SCUM writes two sets of logs. SCUM/Saved/Logs/ holds the engine output - what the server window prints - which is where start-up errors and crashes appear. SCUM/Saved/SaveFiles/Logs/ holds the gameplay logs, split by type and timestamped:

The admin log deserves a weekly read even when nothing has gone wrong. It is the only place you will find out that a moderator has been spawning gear for their friends. The kill log, with positions, settles nearly every argument about whether a fight broke a safe-zone or raid-time rule.

These logs grow without limit and can take a lot of disk on a busy server. Prune old ones on a schedule, after copying anything you need for an open dispute. Logs worth keeping has a retention policy that works for game servers, and SFTP and the file manager covers getting files off the server.

Because SCUM has no standard remote console, most communities that want admin information in Discord use a bot that reads these log files - posting kills, logins and admin actions into staff channels. That is a reasonable setup, with the usual caution: the bot needs file access to your server, so give it read access to the logs and nothing else.

Fame, money and the trader economy#

SCUM's progression runs on fame points and money, and both can be changed by admins. That makes them the second thing, after spawning, that staff are tempted to hand out and players are quick to resent.

The legitimate uses are narrow: compensating a player who lost progress to a server-side bug you can confirm in the logs, resetting someone who exploited a duplication glitch, or setting a level playing field for an event. In each case, record what you changed and why in the same place you keep your ban records. A fame adjustment with no note looks exactly like favouritism six weeks later.

Trader prices are not set by commands at all. They live in EconomyOverride.json in the config folder, edited with the server stopped. If players are getting rich too quickly, the economy log in SaveFiles/Logs/ shows what they are selling and where; fixing the price of the one item being farmed is better than cutting every price on the server.

Running events as an admin#

Admin commands are also how you run the events that keep a server busy on a slow weekday. A few that work well on SCUM, and the commands behind them:

1. A king-of-the-hill arena. Build a small fortified area with #SetGodMode True, announce it with #Announce, and use #DestroyAllBaseBuildingWithinRadius to clear it afterwards.
2. A convoy or vehicle race. Spawn identical vehicles with #SpawnVehicle at the start line so nobody brings their own advantage, then clear them with #DestroyVehicle when the event ends.
3. A loot drop. Spawn a crate of items in a contested spot with #SpawnItem and its location option, and announce the sector a few minutes ahead.

Three rules keep events from causing problems. Announce the start and the end so nobody mistakes event kills for rule-breaking. Run events away from players' bases, so radius cleanup commands cannot touch anything you did not build. And take a backup of the save database before an event that involves destroy commands, for the same reason you would before any other cleanup. Growing a game server community has more on events that bring players back.

A moderation workflow that holds up#

Commands are the easy part. A server keeps its players when moderation is predictable.

• Write the rules down and link them in scum.WelcomeMessage. "No base building within 500 m of a trader" is enforceable; "be fair" is not.
• Evidence before action. Check the kill, chat or admin log before banning. Note the log file and time in the ban reason you record.
• Temporary before permanent, for anything but cheating. A kick or a day's ban with an explanation converts more rule-breakers into regulars than a permanent ban does.
• One person per account. Every moderator gets their own entry in AdminUsers.ini, so the admin log shows who did what. Shared accounts make every incident unanswerable.
• Separate server access from game admin. Moderators need in-game commands, not access to your hosting account. On a panel host, give staff who need files or the console their own sub-user with limited permissions - subusers and least privilege explains the idea.

Server rules, moderation and staff covers the human side in more depth, including appeals and how to handle a moderator who goes rogue.

Troubleshooting#

Admin commands do nothing. The ID is wrong (not the 17-digit SteamID64), the line has a typo, or the server has not been restarted since the edit. Check #ListPlayers for your exact ID.

`#SetGodMode` is rejected. The entry lacks [SetGodMode]. Permissions are separated by commas inside one pair of brackets.

A ban did not stick after a restart. It was added to a file while the server was running and the server wrote its own list over it. Use #Ban in game, or edit with the server stopped.

Players say the server is whitelisted when it should be private. WhitelistedUsers.ini is priority access. For a closed server use ExclusiveUsers.ini and its exclusive mode.

A destroy command removed the wrong base. Restore the save database from the backup you took before. Then check IDs with #SquadInfo before every destructive command.

The logs folder is huge. Normal on a busy server. Archive and prune on a schedule.

FAQ#

How do I make myself admin on a SCUM server?

Add your 17-digit SteamID64 to AdminUsers.ini in SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/, on its own line, and restart. Add [SetGodMode] or [ShutdownServer] after the ID for those extra permissions.

Does SCUM have RCON?

Not in the form Source or Minecraft servers have it. Admin commands are run from in-game chat by a connected admin. Community tools mostly work by reading the log files instead.

What does SetGodMode actually do?

It lets an admin place base-building elements instantly, without materials. It does not make the admin invulnerable.

How do I see which squad a player is in?

Use #SquadInfo with the player's SteamID64. #ListSquads lists all squads by fame, and #ListSquadMembers shows the members of a given squad.

Where are the SCUM server logs?

Gameplay logs - admin, login, kill, chat, economy, violations - are in SCUM/Saved/SaveFiles/Logs/. The engine output, with errors and crashes, is in SCUM/Saved/Logs/.

How do I remove an abandoned base?

Find the flag and owner with #ListFlags and #SquadInfo, confirm the owner's inactivity in the login logs, back up the save database, then use the per-player or per-squad destroy command with please at the end.