server.properties

"whitelist" redirects here. For the command, see Commands/whitelist.

The default server.properties file for Java.

server.properties is the file which stores all the settings for a multiplayer (Minecraft or Minecraft Classic) server.

If you are going to edit server.properties it is important that you use the same structure as the original uses, although the order of the lines is arbitrary. The text before the equal sign is the key, which you shouldn't change. The text after the equal sign is the property's value, which you can edit. Lines that begin with # are comments - altering or removing these lines has no effect on the game.

After changes are made to the server.properties file, the server must be restarted for them to take effect.

If the server.properties file does not list all properties (such as if a new version of the server adds new properties, or if the file does not exist), then on startup the server will rewrite the server.properties file with the new properties listed and set them to their default values.

File Location

Java Edition

This file is automatically generated upon first start of the server (if it doesn't exist).

OS	File Location	Notes
Windows	Same directory as minecraft_server.exe
Linux Unix Unix/Mac	Path of Working Directory (pwd)	If you start it from your home directory (/home/yourname) the server files will be created in /home/yourname. Follow these guidelines for ensuring that the server files are generated where you would expect them. Set aside an entire directory for all of the server files. (Things could get messy if you don't). Place your minecraft_server.jar here. Use the this script as a guideline for setting up a startup script for your Minecraft server. Make sure it's in your executable $PATH Be sure to add the execution permission to the startup script (chmod +x file_name, or use a folder manager) minecraft_server.sh

Bedrock Edition

This file is downloaded with bedrock_server.exe.

OS	File Location
Windows	Same directory as bedrock_server.exe
Linux	Same directory as bedrock_server

Server.properties

These are the default settings for a newly installed Minecraft server:

Java Edition

#Minecraft server properties
#(File Modification Datestamp)
generator-settings=
op-permission-level=4
allow-nether=true
enforce-whitelist=false
level-name=world
enable-query=false
allow-flight=false
prevent-proxy-connections=false
server-port=25565
max-world-size=29999984
level-type=DEFAULT
enable-rcon=false
level-seed=
force-gamemode=false
server-ip=
network-compression-threshold=256
max-build-height=256
spawn-npcs=true
white-list=false
spawn-animals=true
hardcore=false
snooper-enabled=true
resource-pack-sha1=
online-mode=true
resource-pack=
pvp=true
difficulty=1
enable-command-block=false
gamemode=0
player-idle-timeout=0
max-players=20
max-tick-time=60000
spawn-monsters=true
view-distance=10
generate-structures=true
motd=A Minecraft Server

Bedrock Edition

server-name=Dedicated Server
gamemode=survival
difficulty=easy
allow-cheats=false
max-players=10
online-mode=true
white-list=false
server-port=19132
server-portv6=19133
view-distance=10
tick-distance=4
player-idle-timeout=30
max-threads=8 

Minecraft server properties

Java Edition

Key	Type	Default Value	Description
allow-flight	boolean	false	Allows users to use flight on your server while in Survival mode, if they have a mod that provides flight installed. With allow-flight enabled, griefers will possibly be more common, because it will make their work easier. In Creative mode this has no effect. false - Flight is not allowed (players in air for at least 5 seconds will be kicked). true - Flight is allowed, and used if the player has a fly mod installed.
allow-nether	boolean	true	Allows players to travel to the Nether. false - Nether portals will not work. true - The server will allow portals to send players to the Nether.
difficulty	integer (0-3)	1	Defines the difficulty (such as damage dealt by mobs and the way hunger and poison affects players) of the server. 0 - Peaceful 1 - Easy 2 - Normal 3 - Hard
enable-query	boolean	false	Enables GameSpy4 protocol server listener. Used to get information about server.
enable-rcon	boolean	false	Enables remote access to the server console.
enable-command-block	boolean	false	Enables command blocks
force-gamemode	boolean	false	Force players to join in the default game mode. false - Players will join in the gamemode they left in. true - Players will always join in the default gamemode.
gamemode	integer (0-3)	0	Defines the mode of gameplay. 0 - Survival 1 - Creative 2 - Adventure 3 - Spectator
generate-structures	boolean	true	Defines whether structures (such as villages) will be generated. false - Structures will not be generated in new chunks. true - Structures will be generated in new chunks. Note: Dungeons will still generate if this is set to false.
generator-settings	string	blank	The settings used to customize world generation. See Superflat and Customized for possible settings and examples.
hardcore	boolean	false	If set to true, players will be set to spectator mode if they die.
level-name	string	world	The "level-name" value will be used as the world name and its folder name. You may also copy your saved game folder here, and change the name to the same as that folder's to load it instead. Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.
level-seed	string	blank	Add a seed for your world, as in Singleplayer. Some examples are: minecraft, 404, 1a2b3c.
level-type	string	DEFAULT	Determines the type of map that is generated. DEFAULT - Standard world with hills, valleys, water, etc. FLAT - A flat world with no features, can be modified with generator-settings. LARGEBIOMES - Same as default but all biomes are larger. AMPLIFIED - Same as default but world-generation height limit is increased. BUFFET - Same as default unless generator-settings is set to a preset.
max-build-height	integer	256	The maximum height in which building is allowed. Terrain may still naturally generate above a low height limit.
max-players	integer (0-2147483647)	20	The maximum number of players that can play on the server at the same time. Note that if more players are on the server it will use more resources. Note also, op player connections are not supposed to count against the max players, but ops currently cannot join a full server. However, this can be changed by going to the file called ops.json in your server directory, opening it, finding the op you want the change, and changing the setting called bypassesPlayerLimit to true (the default is false). This means that that op will not have to wait for a player to leave in order to join. Extremely large values for this field result in the client-side user list being broken.
max-tick-time	integer (0–(2^63 - 1))	60000	The maximum number of milliseconds a single tick may take before the server watchdog stops the server with the message, A single server tick took 60.00 seconds (should be max 0.05); Considering it to be crashed, server will forcibly shutdown. Once this criterion is met, it calls System.exit(1). -1 - disable watchdog entirely (this disable option was added in 14w32a)
max-world-size	integer (1-29999984)	29999984	This sets the maximum possible size in blocks, expressed as a radius, that the world border can obtain. Setting the world border bigger causes the commands to complete successfully but the actual border will not move past this block limit. Setting the max-world-size higher than the default doesn't appear to do anything. Examples: Setting max-world-size to 1000 will allow you to have a 2000x2000 world border. Setting max-world-size to 4000 will give you an 8000 x 8000 world border.
motd	string	A Minecraft Server	This is the message that is displayed in the server list of the client, below the name. The MOTD supports color and formatting codes. The MOTD supports special characters, such as "♥". However, such characters must be converted to escaped Unicode form. An online converter can be found here. If the MOTD is over 59 characters, the server list will likely report a communication error.
network-compression-threshold	integer	256	By default it allows packets that are n-1 bytes big to go normally, but a packet that n bytes or more will be compressed down. So, lower number means more compression but compressing small amounts of bytes might actually end up with a larger result than what went in. -1 - disable compression entirely 0 - compress everything Note: The Ethernet spec requires that packets less than 64 bytes become padded to 64 bytes. Thus, setting a value lower than 64 may not be beneficial. It is also not recommended to exceed the MTU, typically 1500 bytes.
online-mode	boolean	true	Server checks connecting players against Minecraft account database. Only set this to false if your server is not connected to the Internet. Hackers with fake accounts can connect if this is set to false! If minecraft.net is down or inaccessible, no players will be able to connect if this is set to true. Setting this variable to off purposely is called "cracking" a server, and servers that are presently with online mode off are called "cracked" servers, allowing players with unlicensed copies of Minecraft to join. true - Enabled. The server will assume it has an Internet connection and check every connecting player. false - Disabled. The server will not attempt to check connecting players.
op-permission-level	integer (1-4)	4	Sets the default permission level for ops when using /op. All levels inherit abilities and commands from levels before them. 1 - Ops can bypass spawn protection. 2 - Ops can use all singleplayer cheats commands (except /publish, as it is not on servers; along with /debug and /reload) and use command blocks. Command blocks, along with Realms owners/operators, have the same permissions as this level. 3 - Ops can use most multiplayer-exclusive commands, including /debug and commands that manage players (/ban, /op, etc). 4 - Ops can use all commands including /stop, /save-all, /save-on, /save-off, and /reload.
player-idle-timeout	integer	0	If non-zero, players are kicked from the server if they are idle for more than that many minutes. Note: Idle time is reset when the server receives one of the following packets: Click Window Enchant Item Update Sign Player Digging Player Block Placement Held Item Change Animation (swing arm) Entity Action Client Status Chat Message Use Entity
prevent-proxy-connections	boolean	false	If the ISP/AS sent from the server is different from the one from Mojang's authentication server, the player is kicked true - Enabled. Server prevents users from using vpns or proxies. false - Disabled. The server doesn't prevent users from using vpns or proxies.
pvp	boolean	true	Enable PvP on the server. Players shooting themselves with arrows will only receive damage if PvP is enabled. true - Players will be able to kill each other. false - Players cannot kill other players (also known as Player versus Environment (PvE)). Note: Indirect damage sources spawned by players (such as lava, fire, TNT and to some extent water, sand and gravel) will still deal damage to other players.
query.port	integer (1-65534)	25565	Sets the port for the query server (see enable-query).
rcon.password	string	blank	Sets the password to rcon.
rcon.port	integer (1-65534)	25575	Sets the port to rcon.
resource-pack	string	blank	Optional URI to a resource pack. The player may choose to use it. Note that the ":" and "=" characters need to be escaped with backslash (\), e.g. http\://somedomain.com/somepack.zip?someparam\=somevalue Note download success/failure is logged by the client, not by the server.
resource-pack-sha1	string	blank	Optional SHA-1 digest of the resource pack, in lowercase hexadecimal. It's recommended to specify this. This is not yet used to verify the integrity of the resource pack, but improves the effectiveness and reliability of caching.
server-ip	string	blank	Set this if you want the server to bind to a particular IP. It is strongly recommended that you leave server-ip blank! Set to blank, or the IP you want your server to run (listen) on.
server-port	integer (1-65534)	25565	Changes the port the server is hosting (listening) on. This port must be forwarded if the server is hosted in a network using NAT (If you have a home router/firewall).
snooper-enabled	boolean	true	Sets whether the server sends snoop data regularly to http://snoop.minecraft.net. false - disable snooping. true - enable snooping.
spawn-animals	boolean	true	Determines if animals will be able to spawn. true - Animals spawn as normal. false - Animals will immediately vanish. Tip: if you have major lag, turn this off/set to false.
spawn-monsters	boolean	true	Determines if monsters will be spawned. true - Enabled. Monsters will appear at night and in the dark. false - Disabled. No monsters. This setting has no effect if difficulty = 0 (peaceful). If difficulty is not = 0, a monster can still spawn from a Monster Spawner. Tip: if you have major lag, turn this off/set to false.
spawn-npcs	boolean	true	Determines whether villagers will be spawned. true - Enabled. Villagers will spawn. false - Disabled. No villagers.
spawn-protection	integer	16	Determines the radius of the spawn protection as (x*2)+1. Setting this to 0 will not disable spawn protection. 0 will protect the single block at the spawn point. 1 will protect a 3x3 area centered on the spawn point. 2 will protect 5x5, 3 will protect 7x7, etc. This option is not generated on the first server start and appears when the first player joins. If there are no ops set on the server, the spawn protection will be disabled automatically.
use-native-transport	boolean	true	Linux server performance improvements: optimized packet sending/receiving on Linux true - Enabled. Enable Linux packet sending/receiving optimization false - Disabled. Disable Linux packet sending/receiving optimization
view-distance	integer (2-32)	10	Sets the amount of world data the server sends the client, measured in chunks in each direction of the player (radius, not diameter). It determines the server-side viewing distance. (see Render distance) 10 is the default/recommended. If you have major lag, reduce this value. Note: A value less than 9 will have big impacts on the mobs' spawn of your server as it mentionned by the bug MC-2536.
white-list	boolean	false	Enables a whitelist on the server. With a whitelist enabled, users not on the whitelist will be unable to connect. Intended for private servers, such as those for real-life friends or strangers carefully selected via an application process, for example. false - No white list is used. true - The file whitelist.json is used to generate the white list. Note: Ops are automatically white listed, and there is no need to add them to the whitelist.
enforce-whitelist	boolean	false	Enforces the whitelist on the server. When this option is enabled, users who are not present on the whitelist (if it's enabled) will be kicked from the server after the server reloads the whitelist file. false - No user will be kicked if not on the whitelist. true - Online users not on the whitelist will be kicked.

In versions prior to 1.12, the announce-player-achievements boolean property (default true) was used to toggle whether achievements were broadcasted to all players. This property no longer exists, but if it is set, the announceAdvancements gamerule will automatically be updated to match and the property will be removed.

Bedrock Edition

Option name	Possible values	Default value	When is it used	Use	Notes
gamemode	survival (0), creative (1), adventure (2)	survival	Always or only for new players	Sets the game mode for new players.
difficulty	peaceful (0), easy (1), normal (2), hard (3)	easy	Always	Sets the difficulty of the world.
level-type	FLAT, LEGACY, DEFAULT	DEFAULT	World creation	Determines the type of map that is generated.
server-name	Any string	Dedicated Server	Always	Used as the server name	This is the server name shown in the in-game server list.
max-players	Positive integer	10	Always	The maximum number of players that can play on the server.	The maximum numbers of players that should be able to play on the server. Higher values have performance impact.
server-port	Any integer	19132	Always	Which IPv4 port the server should listen to.
server-portv6	Any integer	19133	Always	Which IPv6 port the server should listen to.
level-name	Any string	level	Always	The "level-name" value will be used as the world name and its folder name. You may also copy your saved game folder here, and change the name to the same as that folder's to load it instead.	The name of level to be used/generated. Each level has its own folder in /worlds.
level-seed	Any string	Defaults to empty (th34f1ju34facjn5f871df312h)	World creation	Use to randomize the world	The seed to be used for randomizing the world. If left empty a seed will be chosen at random.
online-mode	true, false	true	Always	If true then all connected players must be authenticated to Xbox Live.	If true then all connected players must be authenticated to Xbox Live.
white-list	true, false	false	Always	If true then all connected players must be listed in the separate whitelist.json file.	If true then all connected players must be listed in the separate whitelist.json file.
allow-cheats	true, false	false	Always	If true then cheats like commands can be used.
view-distance	Any integer	10	Always	The maximum allowed view distance in number of chunks.	The maximum allowed view distance. Higher values have performance impact.
player-idle-timeout	Any integer	30	Always	After a player has idled for this many minutes they will be kicked.	After a player has idled for this many minutes they will be kicked.
max-threads	Any integer	8	Always	Maximum number of threads the server will try to use. If set to 0 or removed then it will use as many as possible.	Maximum number of threads the server will try to use.
tick-distance	An integer in the range [4, 12]	4	Always	The world will be ticked this many chunks away from any player.	The world will be ticked this many chunks away from any player. Higher values have performance impact.
default-player-permission-level	visitor, member, operator	member	Always	Permission level for new players joining for the first time.	Which permission level new players will have when they join for the first time.
texturepack-required	true, false	false	Always	Force clients to use texture packs in the current world	If the world uses any specific texture packs then this setting will force the client to use it.

Minecraft Classic server properties

Key	Type	Default Value	Description
verify-names	boolean	true	If enabled the server will make sure that the client is logged in with the same IP on Minecraft.net. This has caused problems for people trying to play on the same computer they are hosting the server on as the server will see the local IP (127.0.0.1) while Minecraft.net will see the external IP. It is recommended that this is enabled unless you want to play on your server from the same computer you are hosting it on true - Enabled. The server will check all names with Minecraft.net false - Disabled. The server will make sure the IP matches
admin-slot	boolean	false	Allow ops to join even if the server is full.
public	boolean		Whether the server should be displayed in the server list, or not. true - The server will be displayed in the server list - anyone can see it. false - Only people with the URL which can be found in externalurl.txt and people who know the IP and port can join the server
server-name	string		The name of the server. This is displayed in the server list and when someone is joining the server A single line of text. Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.
max-players	integer (0-256)		The max numbers of players that can play on the server at the same time. Note that if more players are on the server it will use more resources. Note also, admin connections are not counted against the max players.
max-connections	integer (1-3)		The max number of connections the server will accept from the same IP. Note: If you try to set it higher than 3 it will be changed back to 3.
motd	string		MOTD is short for Message of the day, though you do not need to change it every day. The MOTD is displayed when people join the server.
grow-trees	boolean		Whether or not the server will allow planted saplings to grow into trees. true - the server will allow saplings to grow into trees. false - the server will not allow saplings to grow into trees.