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🛡️ ssAntiCheat

ssAntiCheat is a server-side anti-cheat for ARK: Survival Evolved. It runs entirely inside your server as an ArkApi plugin — players install nothing, and there is no client to bypass. Detections are alerted to your Discord and to in-game admins, and offenders are queued into a ban wave so cheaters don't learn which check caught them.

Alongside detection, ssAntiCheat also blocks a large number of known exploits outright, and ships fixes for several long-standing server issues — including crash exploits and item duplication.

Features

  • Detection modules. Dozens of individually toggleable detectors, grouped into four categories: Combat, Misc, Mod, and Exploits. A few examples: aimbot and silent-aim detection, auto-flak, auto-medbrew, no-overheat, auto-loot and auto-craft. Each one can be enabled, disabled, and tuned on its own.
  • Exploit blocking, not just reporting. Most exploit modules can prevent the action as well as flag it, so the exploit fails instead of merely being logged after the fact.
  • Crash & duplication protection. Known server-crash vectors are blocked, and the duplication fixes stop the common item-dupe routes (transfer dupes, bag/ transmitter tricks, and more).
  • Glitch & lag fixes. A separate Fixes section covers well-known server glitches (scout glitch, handcuff glitch, "player already connected", the pull glitch, lag protection, and the dupe fix).
  • Integrated ban system. Bans are persisted to MySQL and enforced at login, with optional IP association and HWID bans. Ban waves are batched so several cheaters are removed at once. See Bans & Detections.
  • Discord alerting. Detections, bans, join logs, IP-association bans, and admin action logs each go to a webhook you configure — or all to one.
  • Admin tooling. Spectate a flagged player in one command, toggle player and structure ESP for yourself, and a set of chat commands for handling suspects in-game. Every admin action is logged.
  • Connection gate. Optional Steam Web API checks on join: minimum playtime, minimum account age, and recent VAC bans — each can log only, or block.
  • Dashboard (optional). Opt-in telemetry to the ssAnticheat dashboard for a live detection feed, server health, and an optional live player map. Off by default.

How a detection becomes a ban

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detector fires
   └─> detection recorded  ──> in-game admin alert
                            ──> Discord webhook
                            ──> dashboard (if enabled)
   └─> module's ban threshold reached?
          └─> player queued for the next ban wave
                 └─> ban wave runs: on a save cycle, when the player
                     disconnects, on an instant-ban module, or manually

Thresholds, blocking, and instant-ban behaviour are per module. The full flow — and every knob that changes it — is on the Bans & Detections page.

Requirements

Requirement Notes
ArkApi 3.51 or newer The plugin will not load on older API versions.
MySQL / MariaDB Required. Bans are persisted there. See Common Configuration.
A Bytemart license key Nothing activates until the key authenticates.
Outbound HTTPS Needed for licensing, Discord webhooks, and (if used) the Steam Web API and dashboard.

Installation

  1. Make sure you have ArkApi 3.51+ installed on your server.
  2. Set up a MySQL/MariaDB database — see Common Configuration. The database must already exist; the plugin creates its own tables inside it.
  3. Download ssAntiCheat.zip from your Bytemart Dashboard.
  4. Stop the server (run saveworld first), or unload any previous version with plugins.unload ssAntiCheat.
  5. Extract the archive into an ssAntiCheat folder inside ShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/ArkApi/Plugins/.
  6. Open config.json and fill in your LicenseKey and Database credentials (see Configuration).
  7. Start the server and confirm there are no errors during startup.
  8. Run ssac.status from the console or RCON to confirm the license authenticated.

⚠️ Set your webhooks before you go live. Every webhook field ships empty. Until you fill in at least DefaultWebhookUrl, detections are only visible to in-game admins and in the server log.

Updating

  • Manual: plugins.unload ssAntiCheat, replace the files, then plugins.load ssAntiCheat.
  • Automatic (hot-reload): rename the new ssAntiCheat.dll to ssAntiCheat.dll.arkapi and drop it into the plugin folder — ArkApi loads the new version and unloads the old one automatically.

Always check the changelog for config changes when updating. ssAntiCheat auto-repairs its own config (missing keys are added with their defaults and the original is backed up to config.json.bak), but a tool like Diffchecker still helps you spot new keys worth tuning.

Troubleshooting

  • Plugin doesn't load, error code 1114 — a JSON syntax error in config.json. Run it through JSONLint.
  • "License key is missing" — LicenseKey is still the placeholder value.
  • Nothing reaches Discord — check that Use Discord is true and that the relevant webhook URL is filled in. Webhooks are per-purpose; see Configuration.
  • Anything else — set LogToFile to true and reproduce; the plugin writes its own rotating ssAntiCheat.log next to config.json, so you don't have to dig through the shared server log. Then ask in the Bytemart Discord.

Next steps: