DayZ launch parameters for the game client

Where to put them

Two places. In Steam: right-click DayZ, Properties, Launch Options, one line, parameters separated by spaces. In the DayZ Launcher: the Parameters tab, where the common ones have checkboxes. The launcher wins if both are set, so pick one place and stay there.

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-nolauncher` obsolete	-	-	Supposed to start the game without the launcher window. Repeated in guides, but we found no source confirming DayZ honours it. Treat it as unconfirmed.
`-noSplash`	-	-	Skips the intro videos. Saves a few seconds on every start and is the one parameter almost everyone actually wants.
`-skipIntro`	-	-	Meant to skip the menu intro scene. Disputed: a Steam moderator has said it does nothing, while the DZSA launcher still offers a checkbox for it. Harmless either way.

Connecting to a server

Useful when you always play on one server and want a desktop shortcut that goes straight in.

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-connect`	`IP or address`	-	Server address to join on start. Written as `-connect=192.0.2.10`.
`-port`	`number`	`2302`	Server game port. Goes with `-connect`. This is the game port, not the Steam query port, and mixing them up is why the shortcut fails.
`-password`	`string`	-	Password for a private server. It sits in plain text in your shortcut, so do not use it on a shared computer.
`-name`	`string`	-	Which profile to use. Lets you keep separate settings and keybinds for different servers.
`-mission`	`mission path`	-	Loads a mission directly, which is how the game is started offline for testing.
`-profiles`	`folder path`	-	Where profile and settings files are kept. Handy for keeping several independent setups side by side.

Mods

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-mod`	`paths separated by semicolons`	-	Which mods to load. Order matters when mods depend on each other: frameworks go first. Example: `-mod=@CF;@Something`. The launcher builds this line for you, which is why most players never touch it.
`-filePatching`	-	-	Loads loose unpacked files instead of packed ones. Only useful if you are building a mod, and only works if the server has `allowFilePatching = 1`. Most servers do not, and will refuse the connection.
`-newErrorsAreWarnings`	`1`	-	Downgrades some script errors to warnings so the game keeps running. A mod development tool, not a fix for a broken install.

Window and display

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-window`	-	-	Starts windowed. The reliable way out when a bad resolution leaves you with a black screen you cannot click out of.
`-adapter` obsolete	`index`	-	Meant to pick a graphics adapter. Comes from Arma; no source confirms it works in DayZ.

Logs and diagnostics

Turn these on when something is wrong, and off again afterwards. They cost performance and fill your disk.

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-doLogs`	-	-	Writes client logs. What support will ask you for when a mod misbehaves.
`-noLogs`	-	-	Stops writing logs at all.
`-noPause`	-	-	Keeps the game running when the window loses focus. Useful with two monitors, and the reason you can get shot while reading a wiki.

Parameters that do nothing

These come from the Arma engine and get copy-pasted into DayZ guides year after year. The current game either ignores them or handles the same thing automatically. Adding them will not speed anything up; at best nothing happens.

Parameter	Values	Default	What it does
`-maxMem` obsolete	`MB`	-	Memory limit. The engine manages its own memory; guides still recommend a number, and it changes nothing.
`-maxVRAM` obsolete	`MB`	-	Video memory limit. Same story.
`-cpuCount` obsolete	`number`	-	Core count. Meaningful on the server, pointless on the client: the game already uses what it needs. Setting it lower than your core count only takes performance away.
`-exThreads` obsolete	`0–7`	-	Extra file-loading threads. An Arma 2 era knob.
`-enableHT` obsolete	-	-	Use logical cores. The scheduler decides this now.
`-scriptDebug` obsolete	-	-	A leftover from old launchers. The DZSA launcher itself labels it as having no effect on the retail client.
`-noBenchmark` obsolete	-	-	Another launcher leftover with no effect.
`-malloc` obsolete	`library name`	-	Picks a memory allocator. An Arma thing: DayZ does not ship those libraries at all, so the parameter has nothing to point at.
`-winxp` obsolete	-	-	Windows XP compatibility mode. Not merely useless: it is reported to crash the 64-bit client on alt-tab or when a video setting changes. Guides still recommend it for a frame boost.
`-world=empty` obsolete	-	-	Skips loading the world at the main menu. Made sense in Arma, does nothing measurable in DayZ.