How to Add Mods to Your Project Zomboid Server
Project Zomboid's Steam Workshop is one of the deepest mod ecosystems of any survival game. Here's how to get a mod — or a whole collection of them — onto your server without touching a config file directly.
Step 1: Find the Mod on Steam Workshop
Browse the Project Zomboid Steam Workshop for the mod you want. Check the mod's page for a note on which build it supports — Build 42 or Build 41 — before you add it. A mod without an explicit B42 note should be assumed unsupported until you've confirmed otherwise.
Popular examples include Brita's Weapons and Hydrocraft, but the Workshop has thousands of mods covering everything from new weapons to full overhaul packs.
Step 2: Note the Workshop ID (and Mod ID, if adding one at a time)
Project Zomboid tracks two separate values per mod: the numeric Workshop ID (the number at the end of the Workshop page's URL after ?id=) and a text Mod ID, usually listed on the mod's own page under its description as "Mod ID: xxx". If you're adding several mods, building a Steam Workshop Collection and using that instead is faster — see the next step.
Some Workshop items bundle more than one mod and list more than one Mod ID — add a separate entry for each one, reusing the same Workshop ID.
Step 3: Open Workshop Mods in Your Panel
Log into your server panel and open the Workshop Mods section. This is where mod management happens for Project Zomboid servers — no FTP client, no manually editing servertest.ini by hand.
Step 4: Add Your Mod, or Resolve a Collection
For a single mod, enter the Workshop ID and Mod ID under Add Mod — the panel makes a best-effort attempt to auto-fill the Mod ID from the item's description, worth double-checking against the mod's own page before saving. For several mods at once, paste a Collection ID or its Steam Community URL instead: the panel resolves every mod inside it, Workshop ID and Mod ID both, without you looking each one up by hand. Either way, click Save Changes when you're done — nothing is written to your server's config until you do.
Save Changes is a separate, required step from adding a mod to the list on screen — closing the page before clicking it means your changes were never actually written.
Step 5: Restart the Server
Mods take effect on the next server restart, not instantly. Restart from the panel and the server downloads and applies every mod you added before coming back online.
Step 6: Confirm the Mod Loaded
Once the server is back up, check the console output for the mod's name appearing in the load list, or check in-game that the mod's content (items, recipes, map changes) is actually present. If it isn't there, the most likely cause is a build mismatch — the mod wasn't built for the version your server is running.
Install Workshop mods without touching a config file
Paste a mod ID or a Collection URL, restart, done. Try the full panel free for 24-hour, no credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a mod need two IDs instead of one?
Project Zomboid itself tracks two separate values per mod: a numeric Workshop ID (which Steam item to download) and a text Mod ID (which mod inside that item to actually load — some Workshop items bundle more than one). The panel does its best to auto-detect the Mod ID from the mod's own description, but it's worth checking the value it finds against the mod's Workshop page before saving, especially for less common mods.
Can I install a whole modpack at once instead of one mod at a time?
Yes, if the modpack is published as a Steam Workshop Collection. Paste the Collection's ID or URL into the panel and it resolves every mod inside it — both the Workshop ID and Mod ID for each one — automatically, rather than you looking up and entering each pair by hand.
I added a mod but it is not showing up in-game. Why?
Mods only take effect after a restart — check you restarted the server from the panel after adding it. If it still isn't there, the most common cause is the mod not being built for the build you're running (Build 42 mods and Build 41 mods use different folder layouts and are not interchangeable) — see our Build 42 mod compatibility guide.
Do players need to install mods themselves?
For most Workshop mods, no — Project Zomboid handles client-side downloads automatically through Steam when a player joins a modded server, similar to how the mod reached your server. Some mods with unusual distribution methods are the exception; check the mod page if in doubt.
Can I remove a mod without losing my world save?
Yes, removing a mod does not delete your world. Depending on what the mod added (custom items, buildings, recipes), removing it mid-save can sometimes leave orphaned references in the world, but the base save itself is unaffected and playable.