Most of the settings that shape how a Minecraft server behaves live in a file called server.properties. In the panel you don't have to edit that file by hand: the Settings tab shows the most used settings as switches and fields, each with a short description next to it. This guide walks through those settings in groups and tells you what to pick in which situation. Most changes take effect when the server restarts.

Your server's first impression

The MOTD is the description players see under your server's name in the server list. You can use two lines and colour them with codes that start with §. Since this is where players first meet your server, keep it short and clear: the type of server, the version if relevant, and where to read the rules.

Game rules

  • Difficulty: on Peaceful no hostile mobs spawn and hunger doesn't drop; on Easy, Normal and Hard mobs and hunger get progressively tougher. Most servers use Normal.
  • Game mode: the mode new players start in. Survival is the normal game; Creative gives unlimited blocks and flight; Adventure restricts block breaking; Spectator is an invisible free camera.
  • Force game mode: when on, every player who joins is put back into the default mode, whatever mode they left in. Use it to stop someone staying in Creative.
  • Hardcore: locks the difficulty to Hard; a player who dies becomes a spectator and can't play again. It's hard to undo, so turn it on deliberately.
  • PvP: whether players can damage each other. It's on for combat servers and usually off on relaxed servers among friends.

Player count and performance

  • Max players: how many players can be connected at the same time. The panel shows a suggestion based on your package's memory; you can go above it, but more players can hurt performance.
  • View distance: the radius of terrain (in chunks) the server sends to players. Higher values show further but put heavy load on memory and the processor; there is an upper limit based on your package.
  • Simulation distance: the radius around a player in which mobs, crops and redstone actually run. It is independent of view distance, and keeping it low takes a lot of load off the server. A pair such as view 10 and simulation 6 is a good balance on most servers.
  • Entity broadcast range: how far away mobs are shown to players, as a percentage (default 100). Lowering it reduces network load on busy servers.
  • Player inactivity timeout: removes players who haven't moved for the number of minutes you set; 0 switches it off. Handy for making room on full servers.

If you're seeing lag, our TPS and lag guide covers what else to look at alongside these settings.

The world

  • Nether: allows travel to the Nether. When it's off, Nether portals don't work; it's usually left on.
  • Spawn protection: the radius (in blocks) around spawn where non-operators can't break or place blocks. 0 turns protection off. It stops newcomers from wrecking the starting area.
  • Monster, animal and villager spawning: three separate switches. Turning monsters off makes the server free of hostile mobs regardless of difficulty; turning villagers off affects villager trading.
  • Command blocks: lets the command blocks used in custom maps and automation run. Leave it off if you don't need it.

Access and security

  • Whitelist: when on, only players on the list can join. It's the simplest and most effective protection for a server among friends; you manage the list from the Players tab.
  • Enforce whitelist: when on, a player you remove from the list is kicked immediately if they're online; when off, the change applies at their next login.
  • Allow unverified logins (offline mode): when on, players whose Java accounts aren't verified with Microsoft can join too; it's on by default for newly created servers. Because names aren't verified, someone can join under another person's name. Turn it off and every Java account is verified, and players' Mojang skins come through as well. When you change the switch, items, position, progress, permissions and ban records move to the new identity.
  • Enforce secure profile: when on, signed chat is required and unsigned clients can't join. If some players can't get in, check this setting first.
  • Operator permission level: the permission level of operators (1 to 4). Level 4 is full control, including command blocks and stopping the server. Rather than making someone you don't fully trust an operator, a permissions plugin is the better tool.
  • Hide online players: when on, the server list shows the player count but hides the names.

Resource pack

If you want to offer your own texture or sound pack, put its link in the resource pack field. The link must be HTTPS and point directly to a .zip file; links to sharing pages don't work. The resource pack prompt is the short message players see in the download window. With require resource pack on, a player who declines the pack can't join, so only turn it on for maps where the custom textures are essential.

Advanced settings

The defaults in the advanced section are right for most servers. For example, writing terrain to disk synchronously reduces data loss in a crash and should stay on, and accelerated network transport should almost always stay on too. Read the description next to a setting before you change it, then restart the server and check the console. Taking a manual backup from the panel before a change you're unsure about takes seconds.