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Setting Up Administrator Access

Once your server is running, you’ll want to make yourself an Administrator to manage it effectively.
1

Register an Account

Before becoming an Administrator, you need a registered account:
  1. Connect to your server
  2. Click the settings icon (gear) in the upper-right
  3. Click the “Register” button
  4. Choose a password for your account
2

Create usergroups.csv

Create the file config/usergroups.csv with your username and admin rank:
config/usergroups.csv
USERNAME,~
Replace USERNAME with your registered username (no spaces between comma and tilde).
The username is case-sensitive and must match your registered account exactly.
3

Restart or Reload

Restart your server or reload the configuration to apply changes. Your account should now have Administrator (~) rank.

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User Ranks and Permissions

Pokemon Showdown uses a hierarchical permission system with different user groups.

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Global Ranks

Administrator (~)

Full server control, console access, all permissions

Moderator (@)

Global bans, force rename, IP/alt checking, game management

Driver (%)

Mute, lock, kick, warn users, battle moderation

Bot (*)

Automated account with custom permissions

Voice (+)

Basic trusted user privileges

Regular User ( )

Standard user permissions

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Room Ranks

Room Owner (#)

Full control over specific room

Host (★)

Room management and tournament hosting

Player (☆)

Battle-specific permissions

Prize Winner (^)

Cosmetic rank for tournament winners

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Promoting and Demoting Users

As an Administrator, you can manage user ranks with chat commands.

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Global Rank Commands

/globaladmin USERNAME - Promote to Administrator (~)
/globalmod USERNAME - Promote to Moderator (@)
/globaldriver USERNAME - Promote to Driver (%)
/globalbot USERNAME - Promote to Bot (*)
/globalvoice USERNAME - Promote to Voice (+)
/globaldeauth USERNAME - Remove global rank

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Room Rank Commands

/roomowner USERNAME - Promote to Room Owner (#)
/roommod USERNAME - Promote to Room Moderator (@)
/roomdriver USERNAME - Promote to Room Driver (%)
/roomvoice USERNAME - Promote to Room Voice (+)
/roomdeauth USERNAME - Remove room rank
You can only promote users to ranks that are within your jurisdiction. Check the Permission System section for details.

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Permission System

Permissions are defined in config/config.js under exports.grouplist. Each group has specific capabilities:

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Core Permissions

Administrator (~)
  • console - Access to developer console (>> and >>>)
  • lockdown - Use /lockdown and /endlockdown
  • bypassall - Bypass all restrictions
  • promote - Promote/demote users
  • makeroom - Create and delete chat rooms
  • rangeban - Ban IP ranges
  • potd - Set Pokemon of the Day
  • gdeclare - Global declarations
Moderator (@)
  • globalban - Ban users from entire server
  • ban - Ban from rooms
  • forcerename - Force user to change name
  • ip - Check user IP addresses
  • alts - Check user alternate accounts
  • game - Create games
Driver (%)
  • mute - Mute users in chat
  • lock - Lock users (IP mute)
  • kick - Kick users from rooms
  • warn - Issue warnings
  • modlog - View moderation logs
  • timer - Control battle timers
  • gamemoderation - Moderate tournaments
  • minigame - Create minigames
Voice (+)
  • show - Show command output to users
  • showmedia - Display images/videos
  • altsself - Check own alts
  • makegroupchat - Create group chats

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Jurisdiction

Each rank has a jurisdiction that determines which users they can affect:
  • 's' - Self only
  • 'u' - All ranks below current rank
  • '~u' - Up to Administrator
  • '%u' - Up to Driver
  • '@u' - Up to Moderator
Example from config:
config/config.js
{
  symbol: '@',
  id: "mod",
  name: "Moderator",
  inherit: '%',
  jurisdiction: 'u',
  
  globalban: true,
  ban: true,
  forcerename: true,
  ip: true,
  alts: '@u',
  // ...
}

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Moderation Commands

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Punishments

/warn USERNAME, reason - Warn a user
/minorwarn USERNAME, reason - Minor warning
Punishment durations are configured in the server code:
  • Lock: 48 hours
  • Global ban: 7 days
  • Room ban: 48 hours
  • Blacklist: 1 year

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User Management

/forcerename USERNAME, reason - Force name change
/namelock USERNAME, reason - Lock from using a name
/unnamelock USERNAME - Remove namelock
/redirect USERNAME, room - Redirect user to room
/hidealts USERNAME - Hide user's alts from public

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Information Commands

/ip USERNAME - View user's IP address
/alts USERNAME - View user's alternate accounts
/checkpunishment USERNAME - Check active punishments
/modlog USERNAME - View moderation history
/punishlog USERNAME - View punishment log
IP and alt checking commands require appropriate permissions. Use responsibly and respect user privacy.

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Room Management

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Creating Rooms

/makechatroom ROOMNAME - Create permanent chat room
/makegroupchat USERS - Create group chat
/deleteroom ROOMID - Delete a room

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Room Settings

/roomdesc DESCRIPTION - Set room description
/roompromote USERNAME, RANK - Promote in room
/roomdeauth USERNAME - Remove room rank
/roomintro TEXT - Set room introduction
/roomavatar URL - Set room avatar

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Room Moderation

/modchat RANK - Set minimum rank to chat
/modjoin RANK - Set minimum rank to join
/roommod USERNAME - Make room moderator
/roomowner USERNAME - Make room owner

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Privacy Settings

/hideroom - Hide battle from searches
/showroom - Make battle public
/private - Make room private (invite only)
/public - Make room public

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Battle Management

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Battle Control

/forcewin USERNAME - Force player to win
/forcetie - Force battle to tie
/forfeit - Forfeit your own battle
/savereplay - Save battle replay

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Battle Moderation

/timer on - Enable battle timer
/timer off - Disable battle timer
/modjoin + - Restrict battle spectators
/invite USERNAME - Invite user to private battle

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Tournament Management

Drivers and above can manage tournaments:

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Starting Tournaments

/tour new FORMAT, TYPE, MAXPLAYERS - Create tournament
/tour start - Start tournament
/tour end - End tournament
/tour autostart MINUTES - Auto-start timer
/tour autodq MINUTES - Auto-DQ timer

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Tournament Moderation

/tour dq USERNAME - Disqualify player
/tour sub USERNAME, REPLACEMENT - Substitute player
/tour autostart - Set auto-start timer
/tour settype TYPE - Change tournament type

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Tournament Types

  • elimination - Single elimination bracket
  • roundrobin - Everyone plays everyone

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Server Administration

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Server Control

Administrators can control the server: 
/lockdown - Lock server (no battles start)
/endlockdown - End lockdown
/kill - Shut down server
/updateserver - Pull latest code from Git
/hotpatch all - Reload all server code
/kill immediately shuts down the server. Use /lockdown first to let battles finish gracefully.

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Code Management

/hotpatch chat - Reload chat commands
/hotpatch battles - Reload battle engine
/hotpatch formats - Reload format definitions
/savelearnsets - Save learnset changes

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Developer Console

Administrators with console permission can execute arbitrary code: 
>> JavaScript.expression - Evaluate expression
>>> JavaScript.code - Execute code
Extreme security risk! The console allows full system access. Only give console permission to the server owner. Configure allowed IPs in config/config.js:
exports.consoleips = ['127.0.0.1'];

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Monitoring and Logs

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Moderation Logs

View and search moderation logs: 
/modlog - View recent mod actions
/modlog USERNAME - View logs for user
/modlog, DAYS - View logs from last N days
/punishlog USERNAME - Punishment-specific log

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Punishment Monitor

The server can automatically monitor users with multiple punishments:
config/config.js
exports.monitorminpunishments = 3;
exports.punishmentautolock = false;
When punishmentautolock is enabled, users with 3+ room bans are automatically locked.

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User Groups Configuration

Customize ranks by editing exports.grouplist in config/config.js:
config/config.js
exports.grouplist = [
  {
    symbol: '~',
    id: "admin",
    name: "Administrator",
    inherit: '@',
    jurisdiction: 'u',
    globalonly: true,
    
    console: true,
    bypassall: true,
    lockdown: true,
    promote: '~u',
    makeroom: true,
    // ... more permissions
  },
  // ... more ranks
];

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Custom Ranks

You can add custom ranks by adding new entries to the grouplist. Each rank needs:
  • symbol - Character displayed before username
  • id - Internal identifier
  • name - Human-readable name
  • inherit - Parent rank to inherit permissions from
  • jurisdiction - Who this rank can affect
  • Permission flags for specific capabilities

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Best Practices

Minimal Admins

Only promote trustworthy users. Administrators have full server control.

Clear Guidelines

Establish and document clear moderation rules for your staff.

Log Everything

Enable chat and modlog logging to track issues and disputes.

Regular Audits

Periodically review staff actions and adjust permissions as needed.

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Next Steps

Security

Learn how to secure your production server

Configuration

Review and optimize server settings

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