ARK Admin Commands – All Cheats and Commands 2026

ARK: Survival Evolved includes a powerful admin mode that lets server operators — and players with the right credentials — spawn dinosaurs, manage players, modify the game world and adjust server settings on the fly. This guide shows you how to enable the admin console, which commands matter most, and how to run your server effectively via admin commands.

Order an ARK Server

Before you can use admin commands, you need your own ARK server. Choose at least 8 GB RAM — ARK is very resource-hungry.

1. Go to rent an ARK server
2. Choose at least 8 GB RAM (recommended: 12 GB for more players)
3. The server installs automatically via SteamCMD
4. Set your ServerAdminPassword in the server settings — you need it for enablecheats

Enabling the Admin Console

Open the admin console depending on your platform:

After opening the console, authenticate with:

enablecheats <YourAdminPassword>

After that you can enter all admin commands without a prefix. For commands that modify the game world (spawning, teleporting, killing), you additionally need admincheat as a prefix.

Basic Admin Commands

These are the commands you will use daily as a server admin:

Dinosaur Commands

Spawning and managing dinos is one of the main reasons to use admin commands in ARK:

# Spawn a dino (simple)
admincheat summon <DinoID>

# Spawn a dino at a specific level
admincheat SpawnDino <Blueprint> <Distance> <ZOffset> <Level>

# Tame the dino you are looking at (no narcotics needed)
admincheat forcetame

# Kill all wild dinos and let them respawn
admincheat destroywilddinos

# Recolor the targeted dino (region 0-5, color 0-255)
admincheat settargetdinocolor <Region> <Color>

Important Dino IDs (Spawn Commands)

Player Management

As an admin you have full control over all players on your server:

# Show player list (with SteamID)
listplayers

# Kick a player
kick <SteamID>

# Permanently ban a player
banplayer <SteamID>

# Remove a ban
unbanplayer <SteamID>

# Teleport a player to you
admincheat teleportplayernametome <PlayerName>

# Teleport yourself to a player
admincheat teleporttoplayernameid <PlayerName>

Server Management

These commands affect the server as a whole:

# Save the game world
saveworld

# Send a server message to all players
broadcast <Your message>

# Shut down the server gracefully (after 10 seconds)
admincheat DoExit

# Destroy all player structures in range
admincheat destroystructures

# Change weather (on supported maps only)
admincheat setweather <WeatherType>

GameUserSettings.ini — Key Settings

This file controls all server parameters. Find it in the panel under Configuration:

[ServerSettings]
ServerAdminPassword=YourSecurePassword
MaxPlayers=20
DifficultyOffset=1.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=5.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=10.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=10.0
AllowFlyerCarryPvE=True
PreventDownloadSurvivors=False
PreventDownloadItems=False

Tip: Change settings while the server is running using the SetHarvesting command, or save the .ini and restart the server.

FAQ

What is the difference between cheat and admincheat?

cheat only works in singleplayer. On a multiplayer server you must use admincheat as a prefix (after running enablecheats). Many commands also accept both variants.

How do I set the admin password?

In GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings] → ServerAdminPassword=YourPassword. Restart the server afterwards.

Why does enablecheats not work?

Check that you are entering the correct password — it is case-sensitive. Make sure ServerAdminPassword is set in the .ini and that the server was restarted after the change.

Can I grant admin rights to other players?

Yes, use cheat AllowPlayerToJoinNoCheck <SteamID> or add the SteamID to the AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt file.