[GH-ISSUE #4256] [Bug]: Project Zomboid ip setting is incorrect, is ignored by server #2678

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opened 2026-02-27 03:04:39 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-27 03:04:39 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @ddan39 on GitHub (Jul 4, 2023).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/GameServerManagers/LinuxGSM/issues/4256

User story

The ip setting in pzserver.cfg has 2 dashes in it, which is incorrect. The setting also defaults to 0.0.0.0 which is incorrect.

Game

Project Zomboid

Linux distro

Debian 12

Command

command: start

Further information

The ip setting in pzserver.cfg has 2 dashes in it, which is incorrect. The setting also defaults to 0.0.0.0 which is incorrect. The value "0.0.0.0" is indeed often used by linux programs to mean "listen/bind to all interfaces", but it seems Project Zomboid breaks for some unknown reason when you specify that. If you just don't specify the -ip option at all, it does that by default though.

Also kind of a duplicate of bug #3710 which was locked and converted to discussion #3711 https://github.com/GameServerManagers/LinuxGSM/discussions/3711 and the info below I posted there also:

hi, the fix mentioned above is not actually a fix. if you check the console log, you will see that the problem "goes away" because now the "--ip" option is an unknown option(since the correct option has only 1 dash, not 2) and the "0.0.0.0" option is then not an argument to that option, so is also recognized as an unknown option, causing the ip setting to just be ignored completed.

The problem is 0.0.0.0 is not an allowed value by the -ip option. The point of the -ip option is to allow binding to a specific ip/interface, instead of all. The default when the -ip option is not provided is to bind to all. I think the real fix here is to just comment out the ip setting and advise the person reading the config to add it only if need be, in which case it would not be 0.0.0.0.

We could probably further prove that it doesn't work by specifying a valid IP other than 0.0.0.0 and looking at netstat/ss that it doesn't bind to the IP, but I don't feel like wasting my time doing that... err, scratch that, let me just do it....

with default --ip and me setting ip= to my actual public ip, we see it still binds to 0.0.0.0 :

$ netstat -lpn46 | grep ProjectZom
(Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info
 will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.)
tcp6       0      0 :::27015                :::*                    LISTEN      72118/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:16261           0.0.0.0:*                           72118/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:16262           0.0.0.0:*                           72118/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:53576           0.0.0.0:*                           72118/./ProjectZomb

and now if i change it from --ip to -ip (i obviously changed part of my public IP, i guess you'll have to trust me here :P )

$ netstat -lpn46 | grep ProjectZom
(Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info
 will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.)
tcp6       0      0 158.69.XXX.XX:27015     :::*                    LISTEN      73757/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 0.0.0.0:42109           0.0.0.0:*                           73757/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 158.69.XXX.XX:16261     0.0.0.0:*                           73757/./ProjectZomb 
udp        0      0 158.69.XXX.XX:16262     0.0.0.0:*                           73757/./ProjectZomb

Thanks again!

Relevant log output

$ cat logs_03-07/03-07-23_23-01-24_DebugLog-server.txt
[03-07-23 23:01:24.466] LOG  : General     , 1688425284466> 199,310,297> cachedir set to "/home/pzserver/Zomboid".
[03-07-23 23:01:24.544] LOG  : General     , 1688425284544> 199,310,374> version=41.78.16 demo=false.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.544] LOG  : General     , 1688425284544> 199,310,375> revision= date= time=.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG  : General     , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "--ip".
[03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG  : General     , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "0.0.0.0".
[03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG  : General     , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "-Xmx20480M".
[03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG  : General     , 1688425284545> 199,310,376> server name is "pzserver".
[03-07-23 23:01:24.546] LOG  : General     , 1688425284546> 199,310,376> checking server WorldVersion in map_t.bin.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.547] LOG  : General     , 1688425284547> 199,310,377> Loading networking libraries....
[03-07-23 23:01:24.547] LOG  : General     , 1688425284547> 199,310,378> Loading steam_api....
[03-07-23 23:01:24.548] LOG  : General     , 1688425284547> 199,310,378> Loading RakNet64....
[03-07-23 23:01:24.548] LOG  : General     , 1688425284548> 199,310,379> Loading ZNetJNI64....
[03-07-23 23:01:24.550] LOG  : Network     , 1688425284550> 199,310,380> [03-07-23 23:01:24.549] > ZNet: SetLogLevel 2.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.551] LOG  : Network     , 1688425284551> 199,310,381> [03-07-23 23:01:24.550] > ZNet: SteamAPI initialised successfully.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.551] LOG  : General     , 1688425284551> 199,310,381> SteamUtils initialised successfully.
[03-07-23 23:01:24.936] LOG  : General     , 1688425284936> 199,310,767> translator: language is EN.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.113] LOG  : General     , 1688425285113> 199,310,943> LightingFPS set to 15.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.127] LOG  : General     , 1688425285127> 199,310,957> reading /home/pzserver/Zomboid/Server/pzserver.ini.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.128] LOG  : General     , 1688425285128> 199,310,958> writing /home/pzserver/Zomboid/Server/pzserver.ini.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.137] LOG  : Network     , 1688425285137> 199,310,967> [03-07-23 23:01:25.137] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SZombienet: Init.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.185] LOG  : Network     , 1688425285185> 199,311,015> [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] > ZNet: SteamGameServer seems to be initialized.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.185] LOG  : Network     , 1688425285185> 199,311,016> [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SSteamSDK: SetMaxPlayerCount.
[03-07-23 23:01:25.187] LOG  : General     , 1688425285187> 199,311,017> Waiting for response from Steam servers.
[03-07-23 23:01:26.890] LOG  : Network     , 1688425286890> 199,312,720> [03-07-23 23:01:26.890] > ZNet: SSteamSDK -> SZombienet: OnSteamServersConnected.
[03-07-23 23:01:26.891] LOG  : Network     , 1688425286891> 199,312,721> [03-07-23 23:01:26.890] > ZNet: OnSteamServersConnected.
[03-07-23 23:01:26.891] LOG  : Network     , 1688425286891> 199,312,722> [03-07-23 23:01:26.891] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SSteamSDK: SetMaxPlayerCount.
[03-07-23 23:01:26.892] LOG  : Network     , 1688425286892> 199,312,722> [03-07-23 23:01:26.892] > ZNet: Public IP: XXXXXXXXXXX
[03-07-23 23:01:26.896] LOG  : General     , 1688425286895> 199,312,726> Start making backup to: /home/pzserver/Zomboid/backups/startup.
[03-07-23 23:01:27.578] LOG  : General     , 1688425287578> 199,313,408> compressionElapsed=314ms, mergingElapsed=360ms.
[03-07-23 23:01:27.661] LOG  : General     , 1688425287661> 199,313,492> Backup made in 764 ms.
[03-07-23 23:01:27.664] LOG  : General     , 1688425287664> 199,313,494> user database "/home/pzserver/Zomboid/db/pzserver.db".
[03-07-23 23:01:27.746] LOG  : Network     , 1688425287746> 199,313,576> Initialising Server Systems....
[03-07-23 23:01:28.308] LOG  : Lua         , 1688425288308> 199,314,139> Loading: media/lua/shared/Sandbox/Apocalypse.lua.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.282] LOG  : General     , 1688425289282> 199,315,112> scriptChecksum: 65f5e46ef1be089d5adca89001729e9c.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.288] WARN : Recipe      , 1688425289288> 199,315,118> RecipeManager.resolveItemModuleDotType> WARNING: module "Base" may have forgot to import module Base.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.292] WARN : Script      , 1688425289292> 199,315,123> ModelScript.check> no such model "null" for Base.BareHands.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.293] WARN : Script      , 1688425289293> 199,315,123> ModelScript.check> no such model "???.DisposableRazor" for Base.Razor.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.299] WARN : Script      , 1688425289299> 199,315,129> ModelScript.check> no such model "Chainsaw" for Base.Chainsaw.
[03-07-23 23:01:29.706] LOG  : General     , 1688425289706> 199,315,536> LOADING ASSETS: START.
[03-07-23 23:01:36.411] LOG  : General     , 1688425296410> 199,322,241> LOADING ASSETS: FINISH.

Steps to reproduce

start pzserver
observe log that says the "--ip" and "0.0.0.0" options are unknown

Originally created by @ddan39 on GitHub (Jul 4, 2023). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/GameServerManagers/LinuxGSM/issues/4256 ### User story The ip setting in pzserver.cfg has 2 dashes in it, which is incorrect. The setting also defaults to 0.0.0.0 which is incorrect. ### Game Project Zomboid ### Linux distro Debian 12 ### Command command: start ### Further information The ip setting in pzserver.cfg has 2 dashes in it, which is incorrect. The setting also defaults to 0.0.0.0 which is incorrect. The value "0.0.0.0" is indeed often used by linux programs to mean "listen/bind to all interfaces", but it seems Project Zomboid breaks for some unknown reason when you specify that. If you just don't specify the -ip option at all, it does that by default though. Also kind of a duplicate of bug #3710 which was locked and converted to discussion #3711 https://github.com/GameServerManagers/LinuxGSM/discussions/3711 and the info below I posted there also: hi, the fix mentioned above is not actually a fix. if you check the console log, you will see that the problem "goes away" because now the "--ip" option is an unknown option(since the correct option has only 1 dash, not 2) and the "0.0.0.0" option is then not an argument to that option, so is also recognized as an unknown option, causing the ip setting to just be ignored completed. The problem is 0.0.0.0 is not an allowed value by the -ip option. The point of the -ip option is to allow binding to a specific ip/interface, instead of all. The default when the -ip option is not provided is to bind to all. I think the real fix here is to just comment out the ip setting and advise the person reading the config to add it only if need be, in which case it would not be 0.0.0.0. We could probably further prove that it doesn't work by specifying a valid IP other than 0.0.0.0 and looking at netstat/ss that it doesn't bind to the IP, but I don't feel like wasting my time doing that... err, scratch that, let me just do it.... with default --ip and me setting ip= to my actual public ip, we see it still binds to 0.0.0.0 : ``` $ netstat -lpn46 | grep ProjectZom (Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.) tcp6 0 0 :::27015 :::* LISTEN 72118/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:16261 0.0.0.0:* 72118/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:16262 0.0.0.0:* 72118/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:53576 0.0.0.0:* 72118/./ProjectZomb ``` and now if i change it from --ip to -ip (i obviously changed part of my public IP, i guess you'll have to trust me here :P ) ``` $ netstat -lpn46 | grep ProjectZom (Not all processes could be identified, non-owned process info will not be shown, you would have to be root to see it all.) tcp6 0 0 158.69.XXX.XX:27015 :::* LISTEN 73757/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:42109 0.0.0.0:* 73757/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 158.69.XXX.XX:16261 0.0.0.0:* 73757/./ProjectZomb udp 0 0 158.69.XXX.XX:16262 0.0.0.0:* 73757/./ProjectZomb ``` Thanks again! ### Relevant log output ```shell $ cat logs_03-07/03-07-23_23-01-24_DebugLog-server.txt [03-07-23 23:01:24.466] LOG : General , 1688425284466> 199,310,297> cachedir set to "/home/pzserver/Zomboid". [03-07-23 23:01:24.544] LOG : General , 1688425284544> 199,310,374> version=41.78.16 demo=false. [03-07-23 23:01:24.544] LOG : General , 1688425284544> 199,310,375> revision= date= time=. [03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG : General , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "--ip". [03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG : General , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "0.0.0.0". [03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG : General , 1688425284545> 199,310,375> unknown option "-Xmx20480M". [03-07-23 23:01:24.545] LOG : General , 1688425284545> 199,310,376> server name is "pzserver". [03-07-23 23:01:24.546] LOG : General , 1688425284546> 199,310,376> checking server WorldVersion in map_t.bin. [03-07-23 23:01:24.547] LOG : General , 1688425284547> 199,310,377> Loading networking libraries.... [03-07-23 23:01:24.547] LOG : General , 1688425284547> 199,310,378> Loading steam_api.... [03-07-23 23:01:24.548] LOG : General , 1688425284547> 199,310,378> Loading RakNet64.... [03-07-23 23:01:24.548] LOG : General , 1688425284548> 199,310,379> Loading ZNetJNI64.... [03-07-23 23:01:24.550] LOG : Network , 1688425284550> 199,310,380> [03-07-23 23:01:24.549] > ZNet: SetLogLevel 2. [03-07-23 23:01:24.551] LOG : Network , 1688425284551> 199,310,381> [03-07-23 23:01:24.550] > ZNet: SteamAPI initialised successfully. [03-07-23 23:01:24.551] LOG : General , 1688425284551> 199,310,381> SteamUtils initialised successfully. [03-07-23 23:01:24.936] LOG : General , 1688425284936> 199,310,767> translator: language is EN. [03-07-23 23:01:25.113] LOG : General , 1688425285113> 199,310,943> LightingFPS set to 15. [03-07-23 23:01:25.127] LOG : General , 1688425285127> 199,310,957> reading /home/pzserver/Zomboid/Server/pzserver.ini. [03-07-23 23:01:25.128] LOG : General , 1688425285128> 199,310,958> writing /home/pzserver/Zomboid/Server/pzserver.ini. [03-07-23 23:01:25.137] LOG : Network , 1688425285137> 199,310,967> [03-07-23 23:01:25.137] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SZombienet: Init. [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] LOG : Network , 1688425285185> 199,311,015> [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] > ZNet: SteamGameServer seems to be initialized. [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] LOG : Network , 1688425285185> 199,311,016> [03-07-23 23:01:25.185] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SSteamSDK: SetMaxPlayerCount. [03-07-23 23:01:25.187] LOG : General , 1688425285187> 199,311,017> Waiting for response from Steam servers. [03-07-23 23:01:26.890] LOG : Network , 1688425286890> 199,312,720> [03-07-23 23:01:26.890] > ZNet: SSteamSDK -> SZombienet: OnSteamServersConnected. [03-07-23 23:01:26.891] LOG : Network , 1688425286891> 199,312,721> [03-07-23 23:01:26.890] > ZNet: OnSteamServersConnected. [03-07-23 23:01:26.891] LOG : Network , 1688425286891> 199,312,722> [03-07-23 23:01:26.891] > ZNet: SZombienet -> SSteamSDK: SetMaxPlayerCount. [03-07-23 23:01:26.892] LOG : Network , 1688425286892> 199,312,722> [03-07-23 23:01:26.892] > ZNet: Public IP: XXXXXXXXXXX [03-07-23 23:01:26.896] LOG : General , 1688425286895> 199,312,726> Start making backup to: /home/pzserver/Zomboid/backups/startup. [03-07-23 23:01:27.578] LOG : General , 1688425287578> 199,313,408> compressionElapsed=314ms, mergingElapsed=360ms. [03-07-23 23:01:27.661] LOG : General , 1688425287661> 199,313,492> Backup made in 764 ms. [03-07-23 23:01:27.664] LOG : General , 1688425287664> 199,313,494> user database "/home/pzserver/Zomboid/db/pzserver.db". [03-07-23 23:01:27.746] LOG : Network , 1688425287746> 199,313,576> Initialising Server Systems.... [03-07-23 23:01:28.308] LOG : Lua , 1688425288308> 199,314,139> Loading: media/lua/shared/Sandbox/Apocalypse.lua. [03-07-23 23:01:29.282] LOG : General , 1688425289282> 199,315,112> scriptChecksum: 65f5e46ef1be089d5adca89001729e9c. [03-07-23 23:01:29.288] WARN : Recipe , 1688425289288> 199,315,118> RecipeManager.resolveItemModuleDotType> WARNING: module "Base" may have forgot to import module Base. [03-07-23 23:01:29.292] WARN : Script , 1688425289292> 199,315,123> ModelScript.check> no such model "null" for Base.BareHands. [03-07-23 23:01:29.293] WARN : Script , 1688425289293> 199,315,123> ModelScript.check> no such model "???.DisposableRazor" for Base.Razor. [03-07-23 23:01:29.299] WARN : Script , 1688425289299> 199,315,129> ModelScript.check> no such model "Chainsaw" for Base.Chainsaw. [03-07-23 23:01:29.706] LOG : General , 1688425289706> 199,315,536> LOADING ASSETS: START. [03-07-23 23:01:36.411] LOG : General , 1688425296410> 199,322,241> LOADING ASSETS: FINISH. ``` ### Steps to reproduce 1. start pzserver 2. observe log that says the "--ip" and "0.0.0.0" options are unknown

kerem

2026-02-27 03:04:39 +03:00

closed this issue
added the
type: bug

command: backup

command: console

distro: Debian

game: Rust

game: Project Zomboid

command: start
labels

kerem commented

2026-02-27 03:04:40 +03:00

Author

Owner

@dgibbs64 commented on GitHub (Sep 4, 2023):

I have removed the --ip setting as looks like its no longer required

@dgibbs64 commented on GitHub (Sep 4, 2023): I have removed the --ip setting as looks like its no longer required

kerem commented

2026-02-27 03:04:40 +03:00

Author

Owner

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2024):

This issue has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. Please open a new issue for related bugs.

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Sep 16, 2024): This issue has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. Please open a new issue for related bugs.