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Common RCON Commands (Cheatsheet) (AASM v0.8.3) | ARK Ascended Server Manager

Common RCON Commands (Cheatsheet)

The 30 RCON commands every ARK admin should know

A reference page for the RCON commands you'll use most. Copy-paste straight into AASM's In-App RCON Console or the standalone ASA RCON Manager app.

Broadcasts & Messaging

CommandEffect
broadcast <message>Large center-screen message to all players
serverchat <message>Chat-style message in everyone's in-game chat
serverchatto "<steamId>" <msg>Whisper to a specific player
serverchattoplayer "<name>" <msg>Whisper by player name

Player & Tribe Management

CommandEffect
listplayersList all connected players + Steam IDs
kickplayer <steamId>Disconnect a player (rejoinable)
banplayer <steamId>Add to BanList.txt and disconnect
unbanplayer <steamId>Remove from ban list
showmyadminmanagerOpen admin manager UI for the calling admin client

World & Save Operations

CommandEffect
saveworldForce a world save now (returns when complete)
destroywilddinosWipe all wild dinos (player tames untouched)
settimeofday HH:MMJump in-game time
setallhomeserver <n>Cluster - bulk-rebind home server
doexitSave and shut down the server (use AASM's Stop button instead - it also stops the supervisor)

Combat & Cheat (admincheat / cheat prefix)

Many cheat commands require cheat or admincheat prefix in-game. From RCON they typically run without the prefix.

CommandEffect
giveitem "Blueprint'...'" <qty> <quality> <blueprint?>Give an item by blueprint path
summon <creatureId>Spawn a creature at admin's location
spawndino <blueprint> <level> <dist> <ydist> <zdist>Spawn dino with finer control
destroyall <classname>Wipe all entities of a class (DANGEROUS)
destroystructuresWipe all player structures (VERY DANGEROUS - never run on live PvE)

Destructive cheats are default-disabled in ASA RCON Manager. Enable the destructive layer explicitly and double-check syntax - a typoed destroyall can wipe weeks of player progress.

Server Info & Diagnostics

CommandEffect
getchatShow recent chat lines (useful for moderation review)
getgamelogDump server-side game log to RCON
setmessageoftheday "<text>"Set MOTD shown on connect
broadcastrconcommand(advanced) Broadcast RCON command across cluster - careful

Step 1 - Paste, watch the response, learn the rhythm

Start with non-destructive commands (listplayers, saveworld, broadcast) to get a feel for what works on your server's install + mod loadout. Custom mods sometimes add their own RCON commands; check the mod's docs.

Common RCON Commands (Cheatsheet) - done

Bookmark this cheatsheet. Most day-to-day admin work uses about 8 of these commands repeatedly - the rest are for emergencies.

Related Guides

In-App RCON Console

Where to run these commands.

View Guide
Standalone RCON Manager

Run RCON from another machine.

View Guide
Whitelist & Ban List

Persistent player management.

View Guide