Developer Tools Alpha 18 (or 17 or 16)

This guide tells you how to turn on the admin tools included by default with the game. No mods required, no downloading of files. These are the tools created by the developers as admin tools.

EDIT: Since the release of Alpha 17 the admin tools are now much simpler to access. I've added just two quick sections on how to access the new developer tools in a17/18 along with an overview of the main tools.

Updated again to mention Alpha 18 has not changed the process for access, it's the same as 17 but now with even more tools to use.

The rest of the guide remains just in case anyone is still using a16 as it was a much more involved process to turn them on.

ALPHA 17 / 18 Finding the Dev Tools

Alphas 17 and 18 no longer require any file editing to use the Dev Tools.

• F1 To open the console
  
• Enter "cm" to turn on the creative menu (f1 again to close console)

• Open the creative menu by pressing U or by using the lightbulb icon from the menu bar
  
• Activate the developer blocks option
  
• Navigate (or use search) to find the tools you want. The fastest way to find most of them is to type "dev" into the search box

That's it, you are done.

Updated Alpha 18 Dev Tool image:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2138988431Screenshot from Alpha 18.4(b4) confirmed still working June 22, 2020

Since the game now also includes descriptions for these tools when you click on them in game I don't see any need to explain the new ones. Simply type "dev" into the search box and you can see and read each of them in game as shown in the image.

ALPHA 17 Dev Tool Highlights

Super Digger
Allows for high speed digging by simply shooting at blocks.

Instant Death Pistol
Allows for instant 1 shot kills of zombies at range


Super Wrench
Melee/Block destruction and repair tool


Hammer of God
Melee Weapon and Destruction tool


Pimp Poncho
100 rating resistance to cold and heat


Ring of Fire
Lights all zombies and animals on fire within a radius around you (provides XP as if from nearby party members killing an enemy but does not count towards your own zombie kill count)


Rocket Boots
Provides a super jump (instead of normal jump height)


Jetpack*
Increased run speed on the ground or in the air (hold run to activate)


*H to activate flying ~ creative mode must be active to use flight, the jetpack only improves speed and does not provide flight by itself.

ALPHA 16 Video Guide

With the release of a16 I've gone ahead and recorded my first exploration of the admin tools in the new build:

So, watch the video or read the guide; whichever method is more interesting for you.

EDIT: Supplement video for red and blue pills:

ALPHA 16 Instructions to edit the items.xml file

1. Navigate to your items.xml file for the game.

Default location folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\7 Days To Die\Data\Config

2. Right click on items.xml and select "edit", not open. If asked to choose a program, use notepad or any simple text editor.

3. As you scroll through the file you will notice that each item in the game is listed here with an item id number and a name. Example:
<item id="21" name="huntingKnife">

Following this line is all of the properties of the item and ending with the line:
</item>

4. Scroll all the way to the bottom, the final four items you will find in the list are:
<item id="1501" name="Super Wrench">

<item id="1502" name="gunSuperDigger">

<item id="1503" name="gunJustDie">

<item id="1504" name="hammerOfGod">

5. These items have been "commented out" and are currently not loaded by the game. To enable them you are simply going to remove the comment tags. The comment tags are:

<!--

-->

6. You will find <!-- on a line just above <item id="1501" name="Super Wrench">

7. You will find --> on a line just under the </item> line, following the property lines beneath <item id="1504" name="hammerOfGod">

8. It's as simple as that. You are only deleting two lines:

<!--

-->

From before and after these items.

9. If you only want to add the functional admin tools, save and close the file, you are done OR:

10. If you wish to activate the Red and Blue pills, the process is the same but they are in a different part of the same items file. Scroll up and find item id 669, or use the find command to look for:
<item id="669" name="redPill">

11. You will probably very quickly recognize that there is a comment out tag above it, along with an actual comment:
<!--This is a dev item to test buff variables

Delete the entire line, you don't need the tag or the comment any longer.

12. Scroll down past <item id="670" name="bluePill"> and you may recognize the close comment tag:
-->

In my file it was sitting on the same line as the </item> tag like this:
</item>-->

ONLY REMOVE THIS PART: -->

DO NOT REMOVE THIS PART: </item>

13. Save the file and close it, you're done.

ALPHA 16 Activating the tools in game

To use the tools in game, simply pull them from the creative menu with the dev blocks option turned on. To do this:

1. F1 to open the console

2. Enter "cm" to turn on the creative menu (f1 again to close console)


3. Open the creative menu by pressing U or by using the lightbulb icon from the menu bar

4. Activate the developer blocks option


5. Navigate (or use search) to find the tools you want. The new tools you have unlocked are:
Admin: Super Wrench, Admin: Super Digger, Admin: Just Die and Hammer of God.

6. If you also decided to turn on the pills you can also search for Red Pill and Blue Pill

7. Items appear in the list based on item number order, so admin tools are at the end of the item's list. Red and blue pills are somehwere in the middle at 669 and 670.

Side Note for reference: A complete list of (F1) console commands can be found here:
7 Days to Die Console Commands[7daystodie.gamepedia.com]

ALPHA 16 Using the tools

This is pretty straight forward, they do exactly what they are named for:

Super Wrench acts like a wrench or hammer for upgrading blocks or dismantling objects and workstations. Nearly any action you would perform with a wrench or hammer is done with one or two clicks of the super wrench.


Super Digger performs like a machine gun with pin point accuracy and no recoil to shoot and destroy blocks. Each shot will either downgrade or destroy whatever it is aimed at, it shoots in full auto with unlimited ammo. It does minimal damage to zombies, animals or other players.


Just Die does maximum damage per shot to zombies, animals and other players with no recoil and unlimited ammo. Note that the damage is still applied to exactly the location you shoot, so shooting a zombie in the legs will only remove the legs without killing it on the first shot. It does minimal damage to blocks.


Hammer of God does not appear to be very useful, it does damage to blocks and zombies the same as the Super Wrench but does not currently have the ability to repair anything. (right click was non functional when tested). It does swing faster than the wrench, so I suppose for smashing and zombie killing it's just a fun little toy.


Red Pill and Blue Pill now exist for testing functions. Blue Pill gives maximum wellness, fills hunger and thirst and gives a buff that prevents hunger and thirst while it remains active. Red Pill gives smaller amounts of wellness, causes hunger and thirst and removes the "Blue Pill Buff".


Super Digger in particular is a tool that can be used to speed up large area projects. In this example it has been used to flatten the town of Diersville on Navezgane, the puddle of water you see is the only thing left of the hospital that used to be in that corner:


To use efficiently remember that Supper Digger shoots in an absolute straight line. To shoot in parallel to the ground at one block height you will need to crouch. (player height standing is 2 blocks). Flattening a town like Diersville can be done by crouching, aiming straight forward and strafing your way accross the town while the buildings fall. Then strafing back the other way to remove the fallen debris.

Flattening Diersville as a test took approximately 1 hour. If you hit the ground simply fill it back in with the appropriate material (from the creative menu). Small bumps and irregularities can be smoothed out by dropping wood frames on natural bumps and than picking them back up.

Smaller projects such as just digging your way down to bedrock can be completed in seconds:

Note: Some images are from a15 but their functions have not changed in a16. Compared to a15 the Supah Diggah has been renamed to Super Digger and the Blue Pill has been added to contrast with the Red Pill.

ALPHA 16 Why these tools?

These are the admin tools created by The Fun Pimps.

Many other tool sets have been created by modders, but for those who wish to play "vanilla" and use only the files created by the developers of the game, these tools have been included. It's just up to you to activate them by uncommenting them in the xml file and than selecting them from the dev blocks in the creative menu.

These tools can also be added to a server without players needing to mod their own games. It must be added to the servers items.xml file and than the server rebooted (you do not need to restart the days or any other aspect of the game, it's litteraly just turning it off and back on again)

Many mods require both the server and the players connecting to the server to have the mod installed, these do not require your players to change or mod anything before connecting.

Only the admin with access to the creative tools and dev blocks will have access to pulling out the tools. The admin can give them to anyone else on the server for use at their discretion.

EDIT: With recent patch changes, turning on the admin tools (or making any edit at all to the item xml) may now result in your server being listed in the modded list of servers. However, your players still do not require any seperate downloads for you to use these tools.

Also, for those wondering about the Unit_resources they were shut off by default now as well. Each of the Unit_resources (such as Unit_Iron) has a line in their property list:

<property name="CreativeMode" value="None" />

If you wish to use them in your game you either delete this line, or I recommend changing it to:

<property name="CreativeMode" value="Dev" />

And the unit_resources will show up in dev blocks again.

Debug Mode (Not Required)

As a side note the process for turning on the Debug Mode is the same as Turning on the Creative Mode, just with DM instead of CM:

• F1 To open the console
  
• Enter "dm" to turn on the Debug Mode (f1 again to close console)

The Debug Mode includes controls that can drastically change the game and very easily alter or break aspects of the game that you can not repair. Do not use these on a save file that you care about, make a back up copy before changing anything. If you wish to use them I suggest reading about the controls on the wki: 7 Days To Die Wiki ~ Debug Mode[7daystodie.gamepedia.com]

Debug Mode is not needed at all to use the Admin Tools discussed in the rest of the guide, so I will not go into any details on how you would use Debug Mode as it is beyond the purpose of this guide. The information is provided purely as a side note for those interested in exploring more of the controls the developers have provided for tweaking the game. Debug Mode is intended for players who wish to actually debug and test aspects of the game, they are useful for modders or for bug reporting, but should not be used for regular game play as some of the changes can not be reversed.

[le goob]

It appears I am quite stupid.

[Kunovega]

Then either you are not the administrator for where you are playing, or you didn't bother to follow the steps correctly. Likely you didn't bother to turn on dev blocks, look at the screenshot with the big red numbered arrows.

I literally just tested this again yesterday and added the additional screenshot with the new alpha 18 tools. So yes, not only does this still work in the current version, but there's even more tools.

[le goob]

I have alpha 18.4, they don't show up in the creative menu

[Kunovega]

I have no idea what Alpha build you are using, but the instructions to access these are identical for Alpha 18 and 17, they haven't been complicated since Alpha 16. There's clear instructions for either.

[le goob]

They no longer show up. Can we still get these weapons?

[Kunovega]

Only while it's on, you can just type it again to turn it off and it won't change the save files ability to get achievements.

[slapacheek]

will typing "cm" disable achievements?

[GamerM602]

Capp00 did a vid on these in 16.4

[Kunovega]

Updated for a17, though most of you probably had no problem finding the new tools since it no longer requires any file editing

[Kunovega]

That's just a desktop background since the video starts with editing files