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Project Zomboid Server Docker (B42 Unstable Supported)

Important

Using Docker Desktop with WSL2 on Windows will result in a very slow download!

Server Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores	4+ cores
RAM	4GB	Recommend over 8GB for stable operation
Storage	5GB	10GB

Note

Build 42 Support: To use Project Zomboid's latest Build 42 Unstable branch, set SERVER_BRANCH=unstable in your .env file. Leave empty or unset for the stable branch.

How to use

Copy the .env.example file to a new file called .env file. Then use either docker compose or docker run

Important

Please make sure to change the following in the .env: PASSWORD/RCON_PASSWORD/ADMIN_USERNAME/ADMIN_PASSWORD

Docker compose

Starting the server with Docker Compose:

services:
  projectzomboid:
    image: indifferentbroccoli/projectzomboid-server-docker
    restart: unless-stopped
    container_name: projectzomboid
    stop_grace_period: 30s
    ports:
      - 16261:16261/udp
      - 16262:16262/udp
      - 27015:27015/tcp
    environment:
      GENERATE_SETTINGS: true
    env_file:
      - .env
    volumes:
      - ./server-files:/project-zomboid
      - ./server-data:/project-zomboid-config

Then run:

docker-compose up -d

Docker Run

docker run -d \
    --restart unless-stopped \
    --name projectzomboid \
    --stop-timeout 30 \
    -p 16261:16261/udp \
    -p 16262:16262/udp \
    -p 27015:27015/tcp \
    -e GENERATE_SETTINGS=true \
    --env-file .env \
    -v ./server-files:/project-zomboid \
    -v ./server-data:/project-zomboid-config
    indifferentbroccoli/projectzomboid-server-docker

Environment Variables

The following environment variables control server behaviour:

Variable	Default	Info
ADMIN_USERNAME		Admin username
ADMIN_PASSWORD	CHANGEME	Admin password. Please change this before starting the server.
PASSWORD		Server password
RCON_PASSWORD		RCON password
RCON_PORT	27015	The port for the RCON (Remote Console)
SERVER_NAME	pzserver	Name of the server/map
DEFAULT_PORT	16261	Default starting port for player data.
UDP_PORT	16262	UDP port. Minimum=0 Maximum=65535
MEMORY_XMX_GB	8	Server maximum memory allocation in GB. Sets -Xmx in ProjectZomboid64.json
MEMORY_XMS_GB		Optional: Server initial memory allocation in GB. Sets -Xms in ProjectZomboid64.json. If not specified, only -Xmx is configured
UPDATE_ON_START	true	If set to false, skips downloading and validating server files from Steam on startup. The server will always be installed if start-server.sh is missing.
SERVER_BRANCH	""	Steam branch to install. Set to "unstable" for Build 42 Unstable branch, or leave empty for stable.

Configuration Files

These files are stored in your server-data volume (./server-data on the host), under Server/. They persist across container restarts and can be edited directly while the server is stopped.

<SERVER_NAME>.ini

Path: server-data/Server/<SERVER_NAME>.ini

The main server settings file. Controls gameplay options such as PvP, loot respawn, safehouse rules, anti-cheat, player limits, and more. This file is generated by the server on first run. Edit it directly to configure anything not exposed as an environment variable.

<SERVER_NAME>_SandboxVars.lua

Path: server-data/Server/<SERVER_NAME>_SandboxVars.lua

Controls sandbox/world settings such as zombie population, loot abundance, season, time of day, and other in-world difficulty options. Generated by the server on first run. Changes take effect on server restart.

<SERVER_NAME>_spawnregions.lua

Path: server-data/Server/<SERVER_NAME>_spawnregions.lua

Defines the spawn regions available to players when they first join. Each region maps to a named area on the map. You can restrict or expand available spawn points by editing this file. A default is created on first run based on the active map.

Developer information

Building the image

You can build the image from the Dockerfile using the following command:

docker build -t indifferentbroccoli/projectzomboid-server-docker .

Scripts

init.sh

Entrypoint of the container. This script will check if the server is installed and if not, it will install it. Also has a term_handler function to catch SIGTERM signals to gracefully stop the server. Features basic checks that will confirm if the server can be started.

start.sh

Starts the server with the settings from the .env file.

install.scmd

Installs the server. This script will download the server files using SteamCMD and extract them to the server directory.

funtions.sh

Contains functions that are used in the other scripts.