Installing Mods on Your 7 Days to Die Server
Why a mod locks console players out, where mods go, how to install them from the Mods tab or by hand, and the EAC setting you have to change first.
Read This First: Mods Lock Out Console Players
PlayStation and Xbox players cannot join a modded server. Console players reach a 7 Days to Die server only through crossplay, and crossplay needs a server with no mods and Easy Anti-Cheat on. A mod that changes the game - anything that needs EAC off, or content players have to install too - makes your server Steam PC only.
If any of your players are on console, do not install mods. That holds however the mod gets onto the server: the Mods tab, the Files tab or FTP.
To give console players their access back, remove every mod, turn Easy Anti-Cheat back on if you turned it off, and restart. See Crossplay on GameGrid.
How 7 Days to Die Mods Work
A 7 Days to Die mod is a folder containing a ModInfo.xml and the mod's data. Mods go in the Mods/ folder at the root of your server - one folder per mod. There is no other location.
XML-only modlets change the game's data files. The server pushes its own data to clients, so simple modlets often work without players installing anything.
Mods that ship a DLL - which is every Harmony mod and every overhaul pack - patch the game code and generally need the same mod on the client too. Read the mod's own page; it will say.
Turn Easy Anti-Cheat off before installing any mod that ships a DLL. EAC blocks the code patching those mods do, and the server will fail or misbehave with both switched on. Turning EAC off is also what stops console players joining.
Installing from the Mods Tab
Open your server and click the Mods tab. It has two views: "Installed" and "Browse marketplaces".
The marketplace source for 7 Days to Die is Nexus Mods. There is no Steam Workshop for this game - The Fun Pimps never enabled one - so it is not offered.
Search, then click Install. The mod is downloaded and unpacked into your Mods/ folder.
Before the first install on a server, the Mods tab can ask you to tick "I understand that console players will not be able to join this server while a mod is installed". Tick it only if your server is PC-only. What it warns about is true whether or not the box is shown: once a mod is installed, console players cannot join.
Installing a mod does not turn Easy Anti-Cheat off for you. If the mod ships a DLL, turn EAC off yourself in Settings under Basic before you install it.
The Installed view lists what is on the server with its version and where it came from, and has a Remove button that deletes the mod's files.
Restart the server after installing or removing anything. Mods are only read at startup. The Restart button is in the status bar at the top of the page.
Installing by Hand
Uploading a mod yourself skips the Mods tab's console-players confirmation, not its effect. A mod you upload through the Files tab or FTP locks PlayStation and Xbox players out exactly as one from the Mods tab does.
1. Stop the server.
2. Download the mod. It usually arrives as a .zip.
3. Open the Files tab and go to the Mods/ folder at the server root. Create it if it is not there.
4. Upload the mod folder so the structure is Mods/<ModName>/ModInfo.xml. If the zip extracts with an extra wrapper folder, move the inner folder up a level.
5. Start the server and watch the Console tab. A mod that fails to load names itself in the error.
For a large overhaul pack, FTP or SFTP is far quicker than the browser. Credentials are on the Overview tab, in the File Access (FTP/SFTP) card.
The folder name itself does not matter - the ModInfo.xml inside is what the game reads - but keep it recognisable so you can remove the right one later.
Compatibility
Match the mod to your game build. The build your server is on is shown on the Admin tab, in the Game Updates card. A mod for an older release will not work and often will not let the server start.
Overhauls are mutually exclusive. Do not install two - Darkness Falls and Undead Legacy cannot coexist.
Overhauls usually want a fresh world. Read the mod page; several say so explicitly. Wipe from the Admin tab or start a new save by changing Savegame Name in Settings.
Two mods patching the same part of the game can crash the server. If a crash starts after you added something, remove that mod first - it is right most of the time.
The 0_TFP_Harmony folder ships with the game. Leave it alone.
Test on a second server before putting an overhaul on a community people are playing on. Take a backup either way.
Common Mod Issues
Missing ModInfo.xml - the folder is ignored and nothing is logged as an error. Check the structure is Mods/<ModName>/ModInfo.xml.
Malformed ModInfo.xml (a typo such as an unclosed tag) - the server still starts, but without that mod. The Console tab shows "Failed parsing XML" naming the file, then "Failed loading mod from folder" naming the mod's folder. Fix the XML and restart.
XML syntax errors - one typo in a mod's XML can stop the whole game data load. The Console tab names the file.
Version mismatch - a mod built for an older build. Check the mod page against the build on the Admin tab.
EAC still on - a DLL mod with Easy Anti-Cheat enabled. Turn EAC off in Settings under Basic; that setting is restart-required, so saving it on a running server restarts the server for you. With EAC off, console players cannot join.
Nothing happens after upload - the server was running when you uploaded, or you did not restart. Stop, upload, start.
Players cannot join after a mod is added - the mod changes the client too. Everyone needs it, at the same version. PlayStation and Xbox players cannot join a modded server at all.