Adding mods to your ARK server

Firstly, you’re going to need to make a list of the ID’s of the mods you want to install on your server. If you’re unsure on how you can find the ID of the mod you’ll want to copy the URL of the mod, for example Structures Plus - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=731604991 which has an ID of 731604991.

Once you’ve got your list of mod ID’s you’ll then want to go to configuration files in the control panel and edit the Game.ini file using the text editor and proceed to add the following to the bottom of the file.

[ModInstaller]
ModIDS=1stmodID
ModIDS=2ndmodID
ModIDS=3rdmodID

And so on with 1 mod per line, like so..


After you’ve done this, you’ll then want to save the file and head on over to the command line manager. Select custom command lines, new and continue to configure your new command line like so..


Description – Set a name for your command line here. This can be anything you want, but in this instance, I’m going to use Custom 1.

You’ll then at a minimum want to enable the Startup map, SessionName, ServerAdminPassword, Auto manage mods and ? options by checking the checkbox found on the left side (for the auto manage mods option you’ll need to check both boxes on the same line).

For the startup map by default you have the following options – TheIsland, TheCenter, ScorchedEarth_P, Aberration_P, Ragnarok, Extinction and Valguero_P.

The session name is the name of your server as it appears on the public server list.

ServerAdminPassword being self-explanatory, this is the password you use for admin / cheat access to the server.

Auto manage mods is the option which takes what you’ve added to your Game.ini file and puts it into action. Enabling this will make the server download / update the mods listed in your Game.ini file when the server is started.

And finally for the ? option, this is for any additional arguments we don’t have an option for. In the text box for this option you want to put in –

GameModIds=1stModID,2ndModID,3rdModID?ActiveMods=1stModID,2ndModID,3rdModID

You’ll want to replace the placeholders with your actual mod ID’s, separated by a comma between each one. The GameModIds and ActiveMods options are responsible for telling the server which mods you wish to load and enable upon starting the server.

Anytime you wish to add another start-up option to this chain be sure to start it with a ? like we have at the start of ActiveMods after listing the GameModIds. The only exception to this rule is if the option is at the start of the chain.

After you’re done, simply click save at the bottom, and then click on select found to the right of your newly created command line, this should then change to selected.

And that’s it! Now anytime you start up your ARK server it should automatically download or update the mods you’ve added to your Game.ini file.