Every Server Manager release.

Safer Rust test copies, a steadier service update, and a firmer PIN lock

A test copy of a Rust server no longer takes the live server's Highwatch key or its world, a service update can no longer leave the service stopped, and the PIN lock takes one try at a time. Also carries 0.21.1 and 0.21.3, which were never released on their own. If you made a Rust test copy on 0.21.0 or earlier, read the first item. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Improved

• New Steam accounts: VPN protection's exemption list and support bundles now take any Steam64 a person can have, ahead of Steam running out of ids that start 7656119 in about a year.
• Not yet proven: a Rust test copy started on a real Rust server, and the upgrade script on a dedicated host with the real service.

Fixed

• Rust test copies: up to 0.21.0 a copy of a Rust server took the live server's Highwatch plugin config with its key, its whole world folder (saves, player databases, Rust+ pairing) and its name. A copy that was started posted into the live server's feed. If you have one: stop it, then delete it and make it again. DayZ copies were never affected, and a copy that was never started did nothing.
• Rust copies now: the plugin's config stays behind, so it posts nothing until linked to its own feed. Only server/<identity>/cfg is copied, so the copy starts with a fresh world on the same seed and size, and server.cfg gets the copy's own name. The preview shows Rust's four ports, and warns that other plugins' configs are copied as they are.
• Service update: a progress note that could not be written between stopping and starting the service could leave it stopped on the new version. Writing the note can no longer stop the update.
• Host without the desk: agent/upgrade-service.ps1 now readies the new agent beside the running one, stops the service only to swap them, and puts the old agent back if the new one does not answer within a minute.
• PIN lock: tries that arrived together all read "no wait" before any was counted, so five wrong tries and the right PIN sent at once opened the window. Tries are now checked one at a time. It took a script inside the locked window; the lock screen never did this.

VPN protection, on your host

Players who connect through a VPN or a proxy are recorded, and kicked once you choose that, with no CFTools and no mod. It is on each server's Automation tab, off until you turn it on, and starts in Record only. After the Server Manager updates, open the Toolbox and choose Update the service to get it. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• VPN protection: the service reads who is connected from the server's own RCon every twenty seconds and checks each new connection once. One switch per server, on the Automation tab.
• Record only first: turned on, it records and kicks nobody, and the record shows who would be kicked. Leave it a day, read the record, then choose Kicked. If it names nearly every player, your server is behind a proxy that hides addresses: do not choose Kicked.
• The list: a public list of address ranges, downloaded to your host once a day and matched there. Choose VPN and hosting ranges (the wide net, which also catches cloud gaming players) or VPN providers only, with fewer wrong kicks.
• Also ask a lookup service: off unless you turn it on. proxycheck.io with your own key (1,000 free lookups a day). Only you and your operators can turn it on, and the key can only be saved on the host's own PC, never through Control.
• Never kick: up to 200 Steam64 IDs you trust. A kick message you write, and a 30-day record of who was found, by what, and what was done.
• Rust too: it works on Rust servers over their own RCon.

Improved

• Player addresses stay on your host: read from RCon, checked there and forgotten, never written to a file, log or the record, never sent to Highwatch. With the list alone nothing leaves your host; with the lookup service on, a new player's address goes to proxycheck.io, and the card says so under What leaves this host.
• Nobody is kicked on a check that could not run: a missing or stale list, a failed lookup, or RCon not answering, and the player stays while the card says why. One kick per connection at most. A test copy starts with VPN protection off.
• Tested: 494 unit tests (28 new), and on a real DayZ 1.30 server with BattlEye both lists downloaded and RCon answered at four times the rate protection uses.
• Not yet proven: a kick on a live server with a real VPN player, the lookup service with a real key, and Rust on a live server. Record only is how you see the first real ones.

Updating the service can no longer remove its files

A fix for the update of the background service. On 0.20.0, Update the service could remove the service's own program files and leave it unable to start. If you are on 0.20.0, let the Server Manager update itself to 0.20.1 before you choose Update the service. If your service will not start now, update the Server Manager, then choose Start the service: it puts the files back from the app. Your servers, worlds and settings were never part of those files, and your game servers kept running.

New

• Start the service repairs first: a service folder that is not complete is put back from a whole copy beside it, or from the app. Update the service does the same before it starts.
• The window says when the files are missing: in the banner and on the Toolbox card. Before, it only said the service was not running.

Improved

• The message says which version runs after an update that did not go through.
• Tested with a real file held open and real folder moves, and with the real window checked against a real service folder. Not yet proven on a real Windows service with the Windows permission prompt, or on the host where this happened.

Fixed

• Update the service could remove the service's files: the window itself kept one of the service's files open, the swap then moved half the folder, and the clean-up removed the only whole copy. All three are fixed.
• The window keeps nothing of the service open: it reads the service's version as a plain file and closes it.
• A folder is moved whole or not at all: with a file held open the update changes nothing, the service keeps running on the version it had, and the message names the file.
• Nothing is removed until the service answers: what an update leaves beside the service's folder goes only once the service runs from a complete set of files.

Mod downloads many times faster, and a safe service update

Mod downloads with Highwatch's own downloader are many times faster: nine mods that took seven minutes should take well under one on most hosts. This release also carries the safe service update from 0.19.1. Update the service after updating the app: Toolbox, Update the service. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• Faster unpacking: a new unpacker for Steam's older packing format, which most mods use, about four times faster on one core.
• Several cores: up to eight helper processes unpack in parallel (one fewer than your CPU cores), below normal priority so your game servers come first. Measured on real mod data: 5.4 MiB/s before, 55 MiB/s on 4 cores, 133 MiB/s on 9 or more.
• A stopped service is started, not set up again: a PC with servers whose service is not running shows a banner and a Start the service button. The first-run setup is no longer offered for it.

Improved

• Responsive during downloads: the longest pause of the background service went from about five seconds to a fiftieth of a second.
• The log explains a download: per mod, how much, how long, how fast, and which format.
• Safe by design: every piece is still checked as before. If the new unpacker refuses a piece, the old one takes it; if helpers cannot start, the service does the work itself.
• SteamCMD hosts are unchanged. Please tell us what the download log says after your first update.

Fixed

• Service updates could leave it stopped: the new files are now copied beside the old ones while the service runs, it is stopped only for the swap, and it is always started again, on the new version or the one it had. An update counts as done only when the service answers.
• Toolbox stuck on Checking: the cards load on their own and report a closed service at once.
• If your service is stopped now: update the Server Manager, choose Start the service in the banner (Windows asks once), then Update the service on the Toolbox page.

Restarts skip the update pass when Steam has nothing new

A scheduled restart with automatic updates now asks Steam first, before any player is warned. With nothing new, the restart is warn, stop, back up, start, with no download and no staging copy. If your service stopped after updating to this version, see 0.20.0. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Improved

• Ask Steam first: the game and mods are checked while the server is still up. Activity says when nothing needs updating.
• Only what changed: a new game build downloads the game and not the mods, and the other way round.
• Unknown is not current: anything Steam cannot confirm is downloaded as before.
• Less downtime and disk wear: the skipped pass took about 25 seconds and wrote a full 5.2 GiB copy at every restart on our test install.
• Update game, Install mods and Deploy still run the full pass, because you asked for it.

Hosts managed through Control open again

A host managed through Highwatch Control could no longer be opened once it had run for a while: the page read the whole host every refresh, more than Control carries. The page now asks only for what it shows. Update the Server Manager on both the host and the PC you manage it from. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Improved

• A row per server: lists and fleet actions read a light row. The open server arrives in full, console included.
• Much smaller answers: 4 servers went from 539 KB (refused) to 35 KB; 40 servers with one open fit in 197 KB.
• Past the limit: the page falls back to rows alone and says so in a banner.

Fixed

• "Too large" on Control hosts: choosing a host, rolling maintenance and linking a server failed on a busy host. Update both ends; a 0.18.0 window tells you when the host needs updating.

Importing a DayZ server brings it across as it ran

Importing an existing DayZ server now reads its real launch line, so it keeps its ports, mods with their sides and order, mission, configuration and profile folder. The dialog shows everything before anything is copied, and the original folder is never changed. Rust imports are unchanged.

Improved

• Reads the launch line: from the last start log, else a start script beside the executable, else a line you paste.
• Ports kept when free: the inspection says before the copy if they cannot be, and why.
• Mods as they loaded: client or server only, in the same order. A folder whose meta.cpp names a Workshop item becomes a Workshop mod the gallery can update.
• Mission, configuration and profile keep their names and settings; a -limitFPS becomes the Server FPS limit.
• Folders from another machine are read by what is in them. Nothing outside the folder you gave is read or copied.

Fixed

• Imported servers failed their start check, lost named mods such as @CF, loaded server-only mods for players, ran a custom mission as Chernarus, or ignored a renamed config or profile folder.

A server FPS limit

Set a Server FPS limit for DayZ on the Automation tab, under Process: 30 to 200, or 0 for none. A managed server used to run uncapped, burning a full core even when empty. Also a measured answer on third person view in DayZ 1.30. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• Server FPS limit: takes effect at the next start. Servers keep no limit until you set one, and templates and test copies keep it. DayZ only. An empty server with no limit ran at about 10,000 FPS in our test; with 60 it held 59.

Improved

• Third person on DayZ 1.30, measured: thirdPersonView = 0 turns third person off and wins over disable3rdPerson. The no3rd browser tag is advertised the wrong way round on 1.30, so a missing tag does not mean third person is on.

Updates and restart schedules carry on after an update

After every update a server waited for Acknowledge host review, and until someone pressed it the next update and update-at-restart were refused. A wizard-made server lost its restart schedule six hours after setup. A start that passes its check is now the review. Nothing needs pressing on servers already affected. Control, the desk, the ingest, the mod and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Improved

• A refused scheduled restart moves to its next time and raises a new maintenance alert, Scheduled restart that could not run.
• The Backups tab shows one of three panels, and messages that pointed at Operations, Recovery now name the Backups tab.

Fixed

• Restart schedules lost after an update: a start that answers query and RCon records the update as good, and the schedule and later updates carry on. The replaced install stays as the rollback copy.
• Already affected servers: an update that had passed its start check is acknowledged when the service starts, and a stopped schedule comes back, counted from now.
• A restore, a rollback and an interrupted update still wait for Acknowledge host review, as before.

Writes the priority queue the shop sells

The Server Manager now delivers priority queue places sold through the Highwatch shop. Pairs with Server Desk 0.46.0 and ingest 0.27.0, which add the shop; the mod, Control and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• Priority for the shop: DayZ does not let a mod write priority.txt, so every minute the Server Manager asks your ingest which players hold a priority place the shop sold, using the server's own key from profiles/Highwatch/config.json, and adds or removes them.
• Landed: it tells the ingest what it wrote, which is how the shop knows a purchase landed.

Improved

• Your lines are safe: lines you wrote yourself are never touched, and a player you had already listed is never removed.
• The file is written only when a line changes. A server that never sold priority is left alone; Rust servers are skipped. A test copy keeps the file but treats every line as yours.
• Install: update the Server Manager on each machine running a DayZ server you sell priority on. Nothing else to set up.

Knows the Highwatch add-ons for CJ's mods

The Metrics diagnosis knows the five Highwatch add-ons for CJ's mods and tells you before a start whether each one has the CJ mod it needs. Pairs with Server Desk 0.43.0, ingest 0.24.0 and mod 0.19.0; Control and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• CJ add-on check: when @Highwatch-CJ-Heli, -APC, -Crate, -Keycard or -Base is added as a local server mod, the diagnosis checks that a selected mod ships what it needs (BS_Event, BTR_82A, BS_HackedCrate, CJ_KeycardSystem or BS_BaseBuilding) and says which mod, or why the server would not start.
• Client flag: an add-on set to load on clients is flagged; they are server-only.
• After start: the diagnosis reads each add-on's own line from the script log, so one that did not load is named rather than silent.

Improved

• Install: the add-ons are on the Steam Workshop (Highwatch CJ Heli, APC, Crate, Keycard, Base) and in the server files Add your server prepares. Add them on the server only, beside the CJ mod each one needs.

State survives a power cut

Every file the Server Manager replaces is now flushed to disk first, the last good state is kept as a backup, and if the state is ever lost the servers are rebuilt from their own folders. Pairs with Control 0.7.5. The desk, the ingest and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• Adopt server folders: the Servers page lists server folders no profile owns, with an Adopt button. Ports are kept, and a clash with another profile is flagged rather than moved. Nothing is adopted without you asking.

Fixed

• Power cut: after a power loss, a PC's state file was left as zeros and the Host Agent service stopped at every start (exit 1067). Every replaced file is now flushed to disk before it takes the old one's place.
• Last good copy: state.json.bak is kept each time the state changes, and the service falls back to it, saying so in Activity.
• Rebuild: when neither copy is usable, profiles are rebuilt from the game's own files with the ports players know. Link each rebuilt server to Highwatch again from its page; a rebuilt Rust server gets a new RCon password.
• Other files: monitoring.json, commands.json, workshop-cache.json and activation journals are handled the same way, so a damaged one never stops the service.

Rust updates over Oxide finish

A Rust update on a server with Oxide now completes. Control, the desk, the ingest and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Fixed

• Rust over Oxide: updates still stopped with SteamCMD exit 8, because Oxide replaces some of Rust's own files. The Server Manager now runs SteamCMD a second time, which verifies every file, downloads the ones that differ and finishes. Oxide is installed again afterwards; plugins, configs and the world are not touched.
• Fallback: when SteamCMD stops for another reason, it runs once more as a fresh install of the staging copy, keeping the files that match. It downloads more, which is why it is the fallback. The live install is never touched.
• Proven on a copy of a live Oxide server moving between two Rust builds, by both routes.

Fixes for Rust updates and update reviews

Fixes for Rust updates over Oxide and for servers blocked after the Server Manager restarted. Control, the desk, the ingest and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

Fixed

• Update reviews: restarting the Server Manager, which happens on every app update, treated a finished game update as an interrupted one, so the server showed as not installed and could not start. A finished update now stays installed and only waits for your acknowledgement.
• Already blocked: a server blocked this way clears with Acknowledge host review on the Backups tab.
• Rust over Oxide: a first fix for updates stopping with SteamCMD exit 8. 0.14.2 completes it.
• Maintenance history: no more double full stops, and a Rust server's note names the Highwatch plugin.

New folders and uploads in Files

The Files tab can make folders and take uploads from your computer, here or through Highwatch Control. Pairs with Control 0.7.3; Server Desk, the ingest and the Rust plugin are unchanged.

New

• New folder: beside Refresh, makes a folder in the folder on screen.
• Upload: sends files from your computer into the folder on screen, or drop files on the file list. Up to 12 MB a file; configs, plugins, keys, maps and the like, but not programs or scripts.

Improved

• Safe replace: an existing file is replaced only after you confirm, and its previous content is kept as .backup, like a save in the editor.
• Running servers: a running server can take a new file; stop it before replacing one. Both wait while an update or deploy runs.
• Remote hosts: uploads work through Highwatch Control. A delegate needs the same access as for saving files.

Rust plugin catalog and Rust Metrics

Browse every Rust plugin on uMod and Codefling and install a batch in one click, Metrics that read the Highwatch Rust plugin, and Highwatch plugin updates from Highwatch Control. Pairs with Control 0.7.2; Server Desk 0.38.0, ingest 0.20.1 and the Rust plugin 0.2.0 are unchanged.

New

• Plugin catalog: the Plugins tab lists every Rust plugin on uMod (about 1,400) and Codefling (about 2,900). Search by name, author or tag, filter by uMod category or Codefling price, and sort by name, downloads or last update.
• Staged installs: Add as many uMod plugins as you like, then install them all in one click. Each is checked before it lands and loads at once on a running server; one failure does not stop the rest.
• Rust Metrics: server FPS, frame time, players with sleepers and slots, entities, garbage collections a minute and the plugin's own work.
• Highwatch plugin updates: the Plugins tab compares the server's Highwatch plugin with the one Highwatch Control publishes. Update installs the newer one, keeps the previous file for rollback and reloads it on a running server.

Improved

• Readings check on Rust: checks Oxide or Carbon, Highwatch.cs, its config's server key and Oxide's log for a clean load, instead of the DayZ mod. Link Highwatch is on the Metrics tab of an unlinked server.
• First catalog read: uMod hands out ten plugins a request at 30 requests a minute, so the first read takes about seven minutes and fills in as it goes. After that it is kept for a day and refreshes in the background.
• Codefling: plugins open on Codefling. Most are paid and need your own account, so Highwatch never downloads them; copy a file into the plugins folder and it shows with the others.

Rust fixes from the first live run

A real Rust server was deployed, started and linked on a Windows host through Server Manager's own jobs. These are the fixes it found. Pairs with Server Desk 0.38.0, ingest 0.20.1 and the Rust plugin 0.2.0.

Improved

• Rust installs without setup: with no SteamCMD or DepotDownloader set, the first Rust download installs Valve's SteamCMD into the Manager's own folder and remembers it on Host settings. The first-run setup no longer waits on a download tool for Rust. DayZ downloads keep what you chose.
• Automation on Rust: the Automation tab shows a Rust updates notice and one Restart for Rust updates switch, with no DayZ mod updates or join lock. Log rotation starts with Rust's and Oxide's logs, and the server card says Automatic updates on.

Fixed

• Countdowns, restarts and shutdowns: after a handful of commands a Rust server stopped answering ("Rust WebRCON is not answering on its port yet"). The Manager now keeps one RCon connection per server and sends every command over it.
• Unpacking: zip archives (SteamCMD, Oxide, Carbon) unpack with Windows' own tar. With Git for Windows installed, installs failed with "Cannot connect to D: resolve failed".
• uMod: searching and installing plugins failed on a real host because uMod turned the Manager's requests away. They now go through.
• A Rust profile saved with the DayZ defaults picks up the Rust ones. Anything you changed yourself stays.
• Ingest 0.20.1: a command result no longer keeps the server key, so staff with read access can no longer see it in the command history. DayZ and Rust alike.

Rust servers

Server Manager runs Rust servers beside your DayZ ones. Make a new one or import one you have, and it installs Rust with Oxide or Carbon, starts it, restarts it with a countdown, keeps it updated, installs uMod plugins, wipes it on your schedule and links it to Highwatch. Windows hosts. Comes with Control 0.7.1 and pairs with Server Desk 0.38.0, ingest 0.20.0 and the Rust plugin 0.2.0.

New

• Create a Rust server: New server asks DayZ or Rust. Pick a map (Procedural Map, Barren, Hapis Island, Craggy Island or Savas Island) or a custom map link, a world size from 1000 to 6000, a seed, a player limit up to 500 and Oxide or Carbon.
• Import: Import an existing installation reads a Rust folder: launch script, server.cfg, identity, map, ports, framework and plugins. It shows what it found before anything changes, and keeps the world and identity.
• Ports: each Rust server gets its own block from 28015 in steps of 10. Game, query and Rust+ are opened in the firewall and on your router; RCon stays on the host and is never opened.
• Install and update: RustDedicated downloads without a Steam account through SteamCMD or DepotDownloader. Oxide or Carbon is reinstalled after every Rust download, and your world, configs, plugins and data stay. Choose the public, staging or aux01 branch.
• Update hold: on by default. A Rust update that Oxide or Carbon has not caught up with waits, so your plugins keep working, and Activity says why. Update anyway installs it straight away.
• Plugins: a Rust server has a Plugins tab in place of Mods. Search uMod and install in one click, loaded without a restart. Edit configs with a JSON check and a backup, review or auto-install updates every six hours, and roll back in one click. Oxide shows hook time and memory per plugin.
• Wipes: map, blueprint or both, by hand, on your own schedule or With the forced wipe (first Thursday, 19:00 London). Pick the next map per wipe (keep, seed list, random or custom link) and which plugins' data resets.
• Server settings: a form for server.cfg (name, description, player limit, images, browser tags, PvE, radiation, decay, save interval, tick rate, idle kick). Only the lines you change are rewritten, with a backup.
• Owners and moderators: edit by SteamID64. A running server gets the change straight away; a stopped one gets users.cfg with your bans kept.
• First-run setup: offers Rust as well as DayZ, and ends with the client.connect line for your players.

Improved

• Start, restart, stop: a start is complete when the query port and RCon answer (10 minutes, 30 when generating a new map), and a failed start quotes the last line of the Rust log. Countdowns and kicks work as on DayZ; a stop gives Rust up to four minutes to save.
• Highwatch: linking a Rust server installs the Highwatch plugin and reloads it without a restart. Restarts, wipes and planned events reach Highwatch's timeline and Community events.
• Control 0.7.1: forwards the new owner, moderator and plugin methods, so remote hosts can use them.

Look after many servers safely

Restart a whole fleet one server at a time, try changes on a test copy first, know a restore will work before you need it, see when a server drifts from how you left it, and give a staff member one server without giving them the host. Comes with Server Desk 0.36.0, ingest 0.18.0 and Control 0.6.0, and includes the mod install fixes from 0.10.6, which was never published on its own.

New

• Rolling maintenance: Overview, Rolling maintenance restarts or updates a list of servers one at a time, here or on hosts linked through Control. A server is done only when the operation finished and its readiness answers again. A plan can wait for few players, up to a deadline.
• Test copies: Maintenance, Test copy makes a new server from this one to try mods and configuration away from players, with fresh ports and passwords. The world comes only from a backup you pick; feed keys, RCon config, hooks and logs never come along, and automation starts off.
• Templates: save a server's settings, schedule and mods as a template from its Maintenance tab. Make new servers from it on any host, or apply its mods to a stopped server.
• Recovery readiness: before a restore, the Backups tab shows exactly what it will change, and refuses if the server changed since. A recovery drill unpacks a backup to a separate folder and tests it without touching the server.
• Readiness: a card on the server's Overview lists each setup step with its own state and when it was checked, from the game files to the first reading in Highwatch.
• Drift: Configuration, Drift compares the server with a baseline you approve and lists every watched file that changed, including changes made outside Server Manager. Drift is reported, never reverted.
• Delegated access: give a staff desk chosen servers on a host and what it may do there, usually with a single-use invite code. Passwords, keys, raw files and Steam sign-in are never delegated. Host settings, Highwatch Control lists who has what.
• Disk forecast: Host settings, Downloads and storage forecasts when the drive reaches the low disk mark and when it is full. A Disk filling up incident opens three days ahead, and What to clean first ranks what takes space. Nothing is removed for you.
• Support bundles: Support bundle… on an incident gathers versions, setup, what the host did, readings and the last game log lines from that time, redacted. You review every section and save the file yourself. Nothing is sent.
• Escalation: a new webhook category. An incident nobody acknowledged after the delay you set (15 minutes by default) goes once to the channels that take it. Acknowledge on History and incidents stops it.

Improved

• Mod install progress: an install says which step it is on, with a progress bar: copying to staging, then "Mod 12 of 62" with its name, then activating.
• Faster installs: Workshop mods are linked into staging instead of copied, and a mod Steam has not changed is checked by size, not read in full.
• Timeline for Highwatch: restarts, updates, configuration and mod changes, restores, rollbacks, wipes and crashes go to Highwatch with startup time and script errors. Activity shows whether each was delivered. Planned restarts and wipes for the next fourteen days go too, so staff see clashes with events.
• Operations keep their record: restores, backups and rollbacks run as background operations and keep their result if the desk disconnects or Server Manager restarts.

Fixed

• Hung installs: every request to Steam has a time limit and is tried once more on a new connection. A stuck install fails with what Steam did not answer, instead of waiting forever.
• Held-back alerts: when the fifteen-minute cooldown holds back an incident alert, the next alert of that kind counts it, and the held-back incident's resolution is not sent.

Fixes from the security review

Security and reliability fixes from a review of Server Manager and Highwatch Control. Comes with Control 0.5.4 and Server Desk 0.35.1.

Improved

• Long jobs from the desk: a restore or game update started from Server Desk that runs past five minutes now reports its result. Before, Control gave up at five minutes, even when the job later succeeded.
• Responsive host: while a long job runs, the host keeps answering other requests and stays online on the desk.
• Large results: a file or search result too large to send through Control (over 256 KB) now fails at once and says so, instead of waiting five minutes.

Fixed

• Import and export: an export file now protects its server and alert settings, including addresses, as well as the tokens and webhook URLs. Any change after export makes the import fail. A file from an older version still imports its settings, but its tokens and webhook URLs stay out; export again to bring them.
• Viewer role: staff with the viewer role can no longer read files, search them, or preview configs on a host through Control, since those can show passwords and keys. Owners and operators still can, and the host checks the role too.
• Control token: the token that links this PC to Control is no longer passed to PowerShell on its command line or shown in errors and logs. If it cannot be saved during enrollment, Server Manager tells Control to revoke it at once.

Empty census panels say why

The Metrics tab says why the world count panels are still empty after a start, and how far the mod's first map scan has got.

Improved

• World count panels: Infected and animals, Entities and items, Bases and storage, and Vehicles come from the mod's scan of the whole map, sent only after its first full scan (35 minutes or more after a start). Those panels now say the counts arrive when the scan finishes, and how far it has got, for example "now 42% done".
• Missing scan: if the mod has sent nothing about its scan, the panels say to check that trackStorage is on in the mod config.

The Metrics tab shows a real server's readings

The Metrics tab shows the readings from your server again. Nothing changes on the server or the ingest, and readings already stored show up as soon as you update.

Fixed

• Empty charts: the mod reports which map the server runs and the ingest stores each reading under that map, but the Metrics tab only kept readings with no map at all, so on a real server every chart was empty. It now keeps readings stored under a map, and a server that changes map gets one line in time order.
• Per-mod breakdowns: readings broken down by something else, such as RPCs per mod, still stay off the whole-server charts.

Setup installs the Windows runtimes DayZ needs, and server-only mods can be removed

A server on a fresh Windows install now starts without a manual step: setup installs the two Microsoft runtimes DayZ needs. Server-only Workshop mods get a Remove button. Existing PCs get the runtimes with the service update after installing 0.10.2.

New

• Windows runtimes: setting up or updating the background service checks for the DirectX End-User Runtime (June 2010) and the Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64), and downloads and installs each missing one silently from Microsoft, under the same Windows permission prompt as the service. A PC that already has them downloads nothing.
• Remove for server-only mods: on a server's Mods tab, Remove takes a server-only Workshop mod off the load list and leaves its files on disk. The server must be stopped first, and hosts linked to Highwatch Control can do it remotely.

Improved

• An installer runs only when Windows confirms it is signed by Microsoft. The files are fetched into a folder only administrators can write, and removed afterwards.
• Setup shows the runtimes as their own step. If one cannot be installed, for example with no internet, setup still finishes and names which to install by hand, with Microsoft's link.
• A mod another server-only mod still needs stays, and the message names the mod that needs it. A client mod that was there only for the removed mod becomes a mod of its own, so you can remove it too.

A fresh Windows install no longer hangs on its first start

DayZ needs two Microsoft runtimes a clean Windows does not have. Without them the server hung on a hidden Windows error box. Now setup's checks and every start look for them first and say what to install.

New

• Runtime check: setup's checks and every start look for the DirectX End-User Runtime (June 2010) and the Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64). When one is missing, the start stops at once and names what to install, with Microsoft's download link.

Improved

• The first start of a new world waits up to ten minutes for the server to answer, not three. Activity says when this longer wait applies.
• When a start is still not ready, the message names the cause from the server's own logs: a script error if there is one, otherwise the last line DayZ wrote to its RPT, or that it wrote no log at all.
• After that the server is left running and checked every 15 seconds for 20 more minutes. If it comes up, Activity says so, the server shows as ready, and the startup incident closes.

Fixed

• A server downloaded by the Server Manager on a clean Windows waited on a Windows error box nobody could see, and the start failed after three minutes with no answer from the query port or RCon.

The desk sees what the Server Manager is doing

The Highwatch desk can now see what the Server Manager is doing with your servers: running or stopped, the job under way, the next restart and waiting updates. Pairs with Server Desk 0.35.0.

New

• The heartbeat to Highwatch Control lists each server linked to Highwatch: running or stopped, the job under way, the next restart, and waiting DayZ or mod updates. Only servers with a Highwatch link are listed, and never a key or a path.
• Server Desk 0.35.0 shows that on the server's card and in its Performance check, so a stopped server is not mistaken for a broken mod.

Improved

• The desk's Check on button runs the same readings check as the Metrics tab, finding the server by its Highwatch server id.

When Metrics has no recent readings, it says why

The Metrics tab checks each step from the Highwatch mod to the page and shows where the chain breaks, with what to do next.

New

• No recent readings: the Metrics tab checks that the Highwatch mod is selected server side, its files are installed, its config posts with a server key and not an early-access key, the newest script log shows it loaded and the ingest accepted its posts, the Server Manager holds a read link, and the ingest has readings and how long ago the last one arrived.
• Each step says what to do next. The check runs by itself when the tab has nothing recent, and Check again runs it on demand. The server key and the read token are never shown.

Automation rebuilt, scheduled wipes, DayZ 1.30 third person and a Danger zone

The Automation tab is rebuilt: player notices, update behaviour, backups, log rotation, health, process priority and scheduled wipes. Plus DayZ 1.30's third person setting, many new serverDZ.cfg settings and a Danger zone. Checked on a real DayZ 1.30.164200 server.

New

• Player notices: one for each kind of stop (restarts and shutdowns, DayZ updates, mod updates), each with its own countdown, interval from 5 seconds and text, with {{countdown}}, {{seconds}} and {{mod}} placeholders. Lock the server during the countdown and kick everyone at zero. A preview shows how many messages go out.
• Update behaviour: restart for DayZ updates and for mod updates as soon as Steam has them, ignore server-only mod updates until the next scheduled restart, and install chained updates before the server starts. Automatic updates turns it all off in one switch.
• Backups before every start and, while running, every N minutes (15 at the least).
• Log rotation: old logs are deleted by pattern, such as profiles/*.RPT, after the days you choose. A log in use is left alone, and a pattern can never reach outside the server folder.
• Health: restart when frozen. A server that stops answering the Steam query for the minutes you set is ended so crash recovery starts it again.
• Process priority and CPU cores, applied at every start and at once to a running server.
• Storage wipe schedule: wipe the world, the characters or everything, once or on a cron schedule with the next three runs shown. Stop with the restart notice and take a pinned backup first, then start again.
• Danger zone at the bottom of Maintenance: wipe the world now (with a pinned backup) or delete the server, both needing the server stopped and its name typed out.
• serverDZ.cfg: DayZ 1.30's third person view (Off, On or Vehicles only), plus new Security, Gameplay, admin log and Network and performance settings. New servers get them with DayZ's defaults.

Improved

• The kick at zero goes over one RCon login, because BattlEye stops answering after about ten quick logins. If a kick still fails, the stop goes ahead, since players were already warned.

Updates without the scare, Activity you can filter, and a cleaner economy grid

No more "Agent connection lost" after a service update, Activity filters by event type with problems marked, and the mission documents grid reads like a spreadsheet.

Improved

• When the background service restarts after an update, the app waits and asks again for up to 30 seconds under a Reconnecting banner while your servers keep running. Requests are sent again under the same id, so nothing runs twice.
• Activity: an icon for each kind of event, failures in red and things that need a look in yellow, and a row of event types with counts to filter by, on the Activity page and each server's Activity tab.
• Mission documents: open ready, show only columns an item uses, categories as chips with counts, Spawning only, sort by any heading, changed cells highlighted with the old value on hover, lifetime and restock in hours, and the item column and headings stay in place while you scroll.
• Scrollbars and the browser's own controls follow the dark theme everywhere in the app.

The Configuration tab and the webhook form, redone

Server settings are grouped and explained with real controls, search and one save bar, and the webhook form uses switches and chips.

Improved

• Configuration opens ready, grouped into Identity and access, Time of day, Gameplay, Voice, Login queue, and Logging and upkeep, each setting with a line on what it does, using switches, a voice quality slider and units beside numbers.
• Search the settings by name or meaning, and one save bar lists each change (for example Player slots: 60 → 40) and saves with a backup of the previous file. While the server runs, the settings are read only.
• New on the form: the launcher description, the admin password (hidden until Show) and No personal light. Economy and Diagnostics are one click away at the top of the tab.
• Webhooks: each category is a row with a switch, its events and the servers are chips, and every checkbox uses the Highwatch colours.

Deeper metrics, a Network page, real webhooks, a PIN lock, and mods on the server only

A big one: Metrics from the Highwatch mod over up to 30 days, a Network page for your ports and Steam's content servers, webhooks you can filter, sign and replay, a PIN lock, Report an issue, import and export, and mods that load on the server only. Most of it runs in the background service: after the app restarts on 0.8.0, open the Toolbox and choose Update the service.

New

• Server-only mods: every Workshop mod on the Mods tab has a switch. Server only loads it with -serverMod, so players never download it. A mod another client mod needs stays on the client, and the tab says why.
• Mods added by hand: add a mod folder that is not from the Workshop, one already in the server folder or any folder on the PC, which is copied in. Its .bikey keys go to the keys folder, and removing it leaves the folder on disk.
• Metrics from the Highwatch mod over the last hour, 6 hours, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days: server FPS with its slowest and fastest second, frame time, players against slots, infected and animals, entities and items, bases, vehicles, deaths and spawns, RPCs, the mod's own work and the weather. Hover for values or switch a panel to a table.
• Network page: for each server, whether the Windows Firewall rule is really there with the right ports, whether the router forwards them, and whether players can reach the server from outside, each with the button that fixes it. Plus Steam's content servers for this PC with their load, response times and a two-day history.
• Webhooks: pick the events (a crash, a failed backup, an update on Steam and more) for every server or only some. Plain webhooks are signed so your receiver can check a message came from you. Deliveries lists every message with its result and timing; open its payload or send it again. Failures retry after a minute, ten minutes and an hour.
• Toolbox: the Server Manager and the background service side by side, the version each runs, what is newer, and the button for the next step.
• PIN lock: set a six-digit PIN under Host settings, Security. The app opens locked, locks after the minutes you choose and whenever Windows locks. Your servers keep running while it is locked, and your Highwatch access key removes a forgotten PIN.
• Report an issue, at the bottom of the sidebar: it goes to the Highwatch team with the app's version and your servers' names and states, never passwords, tokens, players or IP addresses.
• Import and export: your server profiles, templates, webhooks and settings in one file, to move to another PC or keep a copy. Secrets are locked with a passphrase or left out. Importing shows what will be added first and never changes a server you already have.

Fixed

• Saving settings is safer: a slower save can no longer write over a newer one.
• Two servers starting at the same moment no longer see each other's port check as a port in use.

The Server Manager: your DayZ server on your own Windows PC, from an empty PC to players joining

The first Server Manager release, for Early Access. It is a separate app from the Server Desk: it installs DayZ on your own Windows PC, runs it as a background service, keeps it updated and backed up, and checks that players can reach it. It opens with your Highwatch access key. Hosting needs Windows; on a Mac it edits server profiles only. Before release it passed a full scripted run on Windows with DayZ 1.30: deploy, start, health, broadcast, restart, crash recovery, stop and restore.

New

• A guided first server: name and map (Nasdara included), Highwatch set up with the mod from the Workshop, DayZ installed with a progress bar, the first start with its health check and Highwatch's first report, the firewall rule and a check from outside, then the join address to copy. Reopening the wizard resumes where you left off.
• A background service: one administrator prompt installs the Highwatch agent as a Windows service. Your servers keep running with the app closed and through a service restart or update. Update, Repair and Remove are on Host settings.
• Steam sign-in with a QR code, drawn in the app and scanned with the Steam mobile app. The manager never sees your Steam password. SteamCMD stays available.
• Open to players: Highwatch Control queries your server from the internet the way a player's game does, and when it cannot reach it the step lists the exact UDP ports to forward.
• Starts that prove themselves: a start finishes only when the server answers the Steam query and BattlEye RCon within three minutes; otherwise it says which one is missing. A crash restarts the server after 10, 30 and 90 seconds, at most three times an hour, then opens a crash-loop incident.
• Backups and rollback: a compressed, verified snapshot before every update, retention by recent, daily, weekly and pinned, an optional offsite copy, restore with a review, and a roll back to the previous installation.
• Mod Gallery: search the Workshop by name with artwork, browse Trending, Most subscribed, Recently updated and Newest, with required items resolved, load order, mod-only installs and automatic updates per server.
• Configuration: a serverDZ.cfg form with a preview, an economy grid for types, events and globals that applies up to twenty files as one change set with a backup of each, mission diagnostics that only flag real errors, and a file editor with search.
• A restart calendar in your own time zone with player warnings; daylight saving is handled, and restarts missed while the PC was off are reported, never replayed.
• Alerts to Discord or any webhook for crashes, failed starts, low disk and failed backups, with a cooldown and a test button.
• Templates, fleet actions across servers, import of an existing server by copy (the original is never touched), and lifecycle hooks: your own scripts before a start and after a start, stop or crash.
• Remote hosts through Highwatch Control: enroll a game PC with a single-use code and manage it from another computer, with owner, operator and viewer roles.

Fixed

• RCon passwords BattlEye accepts: BattlEye silently ignores passwords over 32 characters, so new profiles get 32 and existing ones work without a change.
• Preparing an update no longer deletes the BattlEye server library.
• Long operations such as a restore report their real outcome; a dropped connection is reported as unknown, never as failed.
• A missing mod stops the start with a sentence that says which one, and the port block reserves the extra port a DayZ 1.30 server binds.