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Sons of the Forest Whitelist & Owner Access Guide

Sons of the Forest Guide • Updated Aug 29, 2026

Sons of the Forest Whitelist and Owner Access

Sons of the Forest has two different access concepts that are often mixed together: the JSON join Password and the ownerswhitelist.txt file. The owner file is not a normal player whitelist. Use a password for a private group, and add only trusted Steam IDs to the owner file.

Private player access: use Password

In dedicatedserver.cfg, set a non-empty JSON string:

"Password": "use-a-unique-password"

Share it privately and change it if it leaks. This is the documented simple way to keep a small server out of an open join flow. It is separate from owner privileges.

Owner access: ownerswhitelist.txt

The official configuration guide places ownerswhitelist.txt in the SOTF user-data directory. Put one Steam ID per line:

76561198000000000
76561198000000001

Use the Steam ID of a person you trust with server-owner access. Keep this file private, stop or restart the server according to the current guide after editing, and test with the intended account.

Do not confuse the names: ownerswhitelist.txt identifies owners; it does not provide a per-player allow-list for ordinary guests. Do not promise a native player whitelist, hot reload, or RCON from this file.

Safe access workflow

  1. Set the JSON Password before sharing the address.
  2. Get a player's Steam ID from a source you trust; do not paste an unverified ID into the owner file.
  3. Back up the whole SonsOfTheForestDS data directory.
  4. Edit one line at a time, restart as required, and test access.
  5. Remove an owner immediately when their administrative access is no longer needed.

What the dedicated server does not document

  • No ServerSettings.ini whitelist format.
  • No documented RconPassword or generic RCON administration path.
  • No documented per-player allow-list syntax in ownerswhitelist.txt.

For the real file layout and JSON keys, use the server configuration reference. For installation, see the dedicated-server setup guide.

Official reference

Check the official Sons of the Forest dedicated-server guide when the server build changes.

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