Server properties explained

Server properties control the basic rules of your Minecraft server. You can change every one of them in the control panel, without editing any files.

Change a setting

1. Open Properties in the menu on the left.
2. Every setting is on this page. The quickest way to find one is the search box at the top.
3. When you're done, click Save.
4. Restart your server, so your new settings are loaded.

The settings people change most

• motd: the message players see under your server's name in their server list. See Server icon and MOTD.
• max-players: how many people can be online at the same time. See Change your max players.
• gamemode: the mode new players start in: survival, creative, adventure or spectator.
• difficulty: works just like in single player, from peaceful to hard.
• white-list: when it's on, only players you've added can join. It's a great way to keep your server private. You add players with whitelist add in the console. See Turn on the whitelist.
• allow-flight: if your server has mods or plugins that let players fly, turn this on so they don't get kicked for flying.
• view-distance: how far players can see, in chunks. A lower number uses less memory and can help with lag.
• level-seed: the seed for your world. It's only used when a brand new world is created. See Use a world seed on a Java server.

Bedrock server?

On Bedrock servers, gamemode, difficulty and cheats are set in Startup, not in Properties. See Change gamemode and difficulty on a Bedrock server.