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For a self-hosted Assetto Corsa Competizione dedicated server, change the adminPassword value in settings.json, save the file as UTF-16LE, and restart the server. Players can then enter that password to unlock the server’s in-game administration functions.
If a hosting company or management panel runs the server for you, do not edit a local file unless that provider tells you to. Use the panel’s server settings instead; the exact menu names vary by provider and by the tool managing the instance.
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Confirm that you are changing an Assetto Corsa Competizione server
“ACC” is used by several unrelated products. This guide is for Assetto Corsa Competizione (the racing simulator) and its dedicated server. It does not apply to Avigilon Control Center, Thales administrator-password documentation, or another product that happens to use the ACC abbreviation.
The correct procedure depends on how the dedicated server is hosted. Identify the setup before changing anything:
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| Server setup | Where the password is normally changed | Who needs access |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted Windows/Linux installation | The server’s settings.json file |
Someone who can stop the process and edit the installation files |
| Provider-managed game server | The provider’s configuration or Settings page | An account with server-management permissions |
| Containerized installation | The environment variable exposed by the container image, or its mounted configuration file | Access to the container definition and its configuration |
A product called “ACC Server Manager” is not identified here as one verified, universal application. A menu path that is correct for one host or tool can be wrong for another, so use the procedure matching your installation method.
What the ACC admin password does
The adminPassword setting is the secret a player enters to elevate to server administrator and use the server’s in-game admin commands. It is not the same credential as the password used to join a private server, and it is not an operating-system, Steam, web-panel, or database password.
| Setting | Purpose | What changing it affects |
|---|---|---|
adminPassword |
Elevates an already connected player to server administrator | Who can use the server’s administrator commands |
password |
Controls entry to a password-protected server | Who can join the session |
spectatorPassword |
Controls spectator access where that option is configured | Who can connect as a spectator |
Changing adminPassword does not change the join password or spectator password. If you want to rotate all three credentials, edit each setting deliberately and test them separately.
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Use this path when you installed and control the dedicated server files yourself. Keep a copy of the original file before editing so you can restore it if the server fails to load the configuration.
1. Schedule a short maintenance window
Stop the dedicated-server process before editing its configuration. Editing while the process is running can leave you unsure which value the process loaded, and a later shutdown may overwrite your change. Tell connected drivers when the server will be unavailable.
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2. Locate the active settings.json
Find the configuration directory used by the ACC dedicated-server installation, then open settings.json. The current handbook and multiple ACC server guides place adminPassword in this file alongside serverName, password, and spectatorPassword.
Do not assume that every JSON file in the installation is active. If more than one server instance exists, verify that you are editing the instance whose name, ports, and session settings match the server you operate. Editing a template or an unused copy will not change the live server.
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3. Make a backup before changing the value
Copy the original settings.json to a separate backup location and retain the original filename and extension. A backup gives you a quick recovery path if a typo, encoding change, or accidental deletion prevents the server from starting.
4. Replace only the adminPassword value
Open the file in a text editor that can preserve UTF-16LE encoding. Locate the existing adminPassword property and replace only the text between its quotation marks. Keep the property name, quotation marks, braces, commas, and other settings intact.
"adminPassword": "RacingAdmin-2026!"The value above is an example. Choose a unique, high-entropy secret for your own server and do not reuse a password from another service. If the property is near the other password settings, check that you have not accidentally changed password or spectatorPassword instead.
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- Assetto Corsa Competizione is designed to faithfully recreate the performance and the driving experience of real Blancpain GT Series cars through a sophisticated mathematical model that accurately replicates tyre grip, aerodynamic impact, engine parameters, suspensions and electronics systems that determine vehicle balance, as well as the influence of mechanical damage on the car's drivability.
- Unreal Engine 4 guarantees photorealistic rendering and an accurate representation of scenarios, car materials and weather conditions. Thanks to the multi-channel audio sampling of real GT cars, the game conveys captivating and immersive acoustic surroundings and realistic environmental effects.
- Even the secondary details are faithfully reproduced to make you feel the thrill of being in the cockpit of a real racing car. Doors, windshield wipers, headlights, racing lights, racing equipment and control devices such as ABS, traction control, engine ignition and ECU mapping, are all under the driver’s management to assure the best performance and offer the player total control of the car.
- Thanks to Laserscan technology, every official circuit is recreated with the utmost accuracy: all curbs and details perfectly fit their real counterparts to grant a gaming experience as faithful to reality as possible.
- A well-structured ranking system will evaluate individual performance and driving behaviour to reward the most virtuous drivers and promote fair play in online competitions. The matchmaking function makes sure that you can compete with opponents of similar skill level and easily find online races to join, while the leaderboards will allow you to compare single-lap performance with virtual pilots from around the world with the same car, circuit and weather conditions.
5. Preserve valid JSON syntax
JSON is strict. Keep the property inside the correct object, use a colon between the name and value, and separate it from the next property with a comma when required. Do not add comments, smart quotation marks, or an extra comma before a closing brace. If your editor has JSON validation, use it before saving; validation catches syntax errors but cannot tell you whether you edited the correct server instance.
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The ACC 1.10.2 handbook copy specifies UTF-16LE encoding for the server configuration files. Use your editor’s encoding or “Save As” control to select UTF-16 Little Endian, then confirm that the file remains named settings.json rather than gaining a second extension such as .txt.
Changing the encoding unintentionally can make an otherwise correct file unreadable to the server. If the server later behaves as though the setting was never changed, encoding is one of the first things to check.
7. Start the server and verify the change
Save the file, close the editor, and start the dedicated-server process again. A restart is the practical point at which the new value must be loaded; treat the change as unconfirmed until a controlled test succeeds.
Join the server with a test player account, use the game’s administrator-elevation mechanism, and enter the new admin password. Confirm that an authorized administrator can perform an appropriate, low-risk admin action. Then verify that the old password no longer elevates a player. Do not test by disrupting a live race or by granting administrative access to an untrusted account.
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Hosted servers: use the provider’s settings page
When a hosting provider operates the ACC process, the provider may keep the configuration outside your visible file system. In that case, changing a downloaded or locally cached settings.json will not update the live instance.
Sign in to the provider’s control panel, select the specific ACC server, and look for a configuration area labelled Settings, Server Management, Options, or Admin Password. Those labels have appeared in guides for different providers, but they are not a universal menu path. The provider and tool name are required for exact click-by-click instructions.
- Open the panel for the correct ACC instance, not a general account or billing page.
- Locate the server configuration or options screen.
- Change the field explicitly labelled for the administrator password. Do not substitute the field for the server join password.
- Save or apply the setting using the panel’s control.
- Follow the panel’s restart or redeploy instruction, then test elevation with a player account.
If the field is hidden, read-only, or absent, contact the provider rather than editing files that the panel manages. Some hosts expose only a subset of ACC settings, and the provider may need to rotate the credential on its side.
If you would rather not manage the server files yourself, Godlike.Host offers game servers with its own Pterodactyl-based game panel, a config editor, SFTP access and up to three free backups a day. Check its Assetto Corsa page to confirm that the Assetto Corsa Competizione server is offered before you order.
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Some containerized ACC dedicated-server projects expose server configuration through environment variables with defaults. For those installations, the administrator password may be supplied in the container definition instead of being typed directly into a generated settings.json.
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Open the documentation for the exact container image and identify the variable it exposes for the admin password. Variable names are image-specific, so do not guess a name from another project. Change the value in the compose file, deployment manifest, or environment configuration used to create the container, then restart the container according to that image’s instructions.
After the container starts, verify which configuration source is authoritative. A generated JSON file can be overwritten whenever the container is recreated; changing that generated file alone may therefore be temporary. Keep the secret out of public repositories and restrict access to the deployment configuration.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How a player becomes an ACC server administrator
The admin password is useful only when a player uses the game’s administrator-elevation function. The normal sequence is:
- Connect to the intended ACC server with the correct join credentials.
- Open the in-game administration interface or command entry provided by the dedicated server.
- Submit the current
adminPassword. - Run only the administrative command needed for the task.
If elevation fails, first confirm that the player is connected to the right server and that the server has been restarted after the password change. Then check that the value entered is the admin password, not the join password or spectator password. A player who is only observing may also have different permissions from a normal connected driver.
Troubleshooting an unchanged or rejected password
The old password still works
- Confirm that the server process was stopped before the edit and restarted afterward.
- Check that you edited the active instance’s
settings.json, not a backup, template, or second installation. - Search the file for duplicate
adminPasswordproperties and retain only the property expected by the current configuration format. - Verify that the new value was saved as UTF-16LE and that the filename is exactly
settings.json. - For a hosted server, make sure the panel’s Save or Apply action completed; local file edits may have no effect.
The server will not start after editing
- Restore the backup and start the server to separate a configuration error from another outage.
- Check quotation marks, commas, braces, and the spelling of
adminPassword. - Remove comments or formatting characters that are not valid JSON.
- Confirm that the editor did not save UTF-8, UTF-16BE, or a text-file extension when UTF-16LE was required.
The new password does not elevate a player
- Use the exact current value, including capitalization and punctuation.
- Check that the test player is connected to the same server instance whose file or panel setting you changed.
- Make sure the password was entered through the server’s administrator-elevation function rather than a join-password prompt.
- Repeat the test after a clean restart and, for a provider-managed server, ask the host whether a redeploy is required.
You no longer know the password
For a self-hosted server, stop the process, back up the current configuration, set a new adminPassword, preserve UTF-16LE encoding, and restart. For a hosted server, use the provider’s reset or settings workflow. Avoid deleting configuration files as a first response: an older 1.6.0 handbook copy described deleting JSON files and starting the server once to regenerate defaults, but that is an older recovery behavior and can discard custom settings. Use it only after preserving backups and confirming that it applies to your installed build.
Security practices for the administrator credential
- Use a password that is different from the server join password and from every personal account password.
- Share it only with people who need administrative access.
- Rotate it when staff, league officials, or hosting access changes.
- Keep backups and deployment files private because they may contain the credential in plain text.
- After rotation, test the new value and confirm that the previous value no longer grants elevation.
File-name and version caveats
An older 1.6.0 handbook copy showed an adminPassword example under a configuration.json heading. Newer handbook material and other ACC server guides place the property in settings.json, making the older layout likely outdated for current installations. Before changing a production server, compare the file names and property list with the handbook version that matches your installed build.
Handbook editions have changed over time, so exact field names, defaults, and encoding requirements should be checked against the current documentation for that build. The reliable distinction remains the same: adminPassword grants in-game server administration, while password controls entry to the server.
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Quick Recap
Quick decision checklist
- Self-hosted files: edit
adminPasswordin the activesettings.json, save as UTF-16LE, restart, and test. - Provider panel: change the administrator-password field in that provider’s server settings and use its restart or apply workflow.
- Container: change the image-specific environment variable or source configuration, then restart the container.
- Any setup: keep the admin credential separate from the join and spectator passwords, and verify the old value no longer works.
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