Objective

The OVHcloud Game Panel lets you deploy a Project Zomboid server with automated installation and port configuration.

This guide explains how to deploy and connect to a Project Zomboid server on the OVHcloud Game Panel.

Requirements

• A VPS or a dedicated server in your OVHcloud account with the Game Panel feature enabled.
• Access to the Game Panel. Refer to Log in to the Game Panel.

Instructions

Step 1 — Access the Game Panel

Log in to your OVHcloud Game Panel. From the left-hand menu, go to the Game Servers section and click Add Game Server.

Step 2 — Create a Project Zomboid server

Select Project Zomboid from the game list. A configuration window opens.

Step 3 — Configure the Project Zomboid server

In this section, you can set a name for your server and pick the Branch — the Steam branch of the game to install, from a list that is updated automatically. Choose it carefully: changing the branch later can corrupt an existing world, so this is an install-time choice.

An administrator password is also generated automatically. It is the password of the in-game administrator account, used to grant yourself administrator rights and run the privileged console commands — it is not the password players use to join the server.

You can expand Advanced Settings to adjust options such as ports binding and resource limits. The defaults are suitable for most game servers.

Step 4 — Launch the installation

Click Install to start the deployment.

Step 5 — Monitor the installation

Click Log/Console to follow the installation progress in real time. As soon as the installation starts, the Game Panel also offers an Open Logs / Console button that opens the same view.

While the server is installing, the status displays Installing. The logs panel shows detailed progress.

Step 6 — Confirm installation is complete

Once the installation is finished, the server status changes to Running.

Step 7 — Verify the server is running

Confirm that CPU and RAM activity is visible. You can use the Log/Console and Settings controls to manage the server.

Step 8 — Retrieve connection information

Copy the IP address and port from the Connection column of the Game Servers list.

Step 9 — Join your server in Project Zomboid

To join your server from the Project Zomboid client:

1. Open Project Zomboid and click Multiplayer, then Add server.
2. Enter a name for the server, then the IP address and port from the Connection column of the Game Panel. Also enter the server password, if the server has one — this is the password players use to join, not the administrator password.
3. Click SAVE.
4. Click Add new account to create a game account for this server, then set a name and a password.

Connect as an administrator

Once you have added the server to the Multiplayer menu, create a new character for it, choosing a username and entering the server's administrator password.

To retrieve this password, click Settings in the Game Panel, open the Game Config section, then the Server Settings tab: Admin Password sits at the bottom of the page. The value is masked — click the eye icon to reveal it.

Once you are logged in with this character, an Admin icon appears on the left-hand side of the screen. Click it to access the administration tools, run commands and moderate your server.

Update the server to a new game version

By default, the server does not update automatically when a new version is available, to avoid compatibility issues or interrupted games.

To enable automatic updates, click Settings, open the Game Config section, then enable the Update on start option at the bottom of the page (disabled by default). Click Save & Restart to apply the changes. The server then applies each new update automatically.

Go further

• Install mods on your Project Zomboid server
• Getting started with the Game Panel
• Manage users on the Game Panel
• How to create and restore backups on the Game Panel

Join our community of users.