Minecraft 1.21.9 to 1.21.11 on Your Server: PvP as a Game Rule, No Spawn Chunks and a Code of Conduct

pvp and allow-nether are no longer in server.properties

1.21.9 took four options out of server.properties and turned them into game rules, which you change with the server running: pvp, spawn-monsters, allow-nether and enable-command-block. It added a fifth, to switch off monster spawners.

With today's names (since 1.21.11) they're pvp, spawn_monsters, allow_entering_nether_using_portals, command_blocks_work and spawner_blocks_work. You type them in the console: gamerule pvp false turns PvP off immediately (on Paper, in the main world; the Nether and the End have their own, as the gamerules guide explains).

Paper warned that, when you update, whatever you had in server.properties is carried over to the rules automatically. If you then write pvp=false in the file, that line does nothing.

Careful with the Nether: allow_entering_nether_using_portals false only closes the portals; the Nether still exists. To remove it completely, Paper added the enable-nether option in 1.21.9 (under misc, in config/paper-global.yml).

Goodbye spawn chunks: farms that stop

Up to 1.21.8, the chunks around the world spawn point were always loaded, whether anyone was there or not. Many automatic farms were built there so they'd work with nobody nearby. 1.21.9 removed those fixed spawn chunks (and the spawnChunkRadius rule that adjusted them).

Now an area keeps working without players only if something else keeps it loaded, such as a /forceload or a portal in use. If a farm on your server stopped after updating, this is why. What /forceload doesn't fix, and the empty-server pause, in the /forceload guide.

1. Find the farm's corners

   With F3, note the X and Z coordinates of two opposite corners of the area that needs to keep working.

2. Force it to stay loaded

   In the console, forceload add X1 Z1 X2 Z2 with those coordinates. forceload query tells you which chunks are forced.

3. Only what's needed

   Every forced chunk is always working, whether anyone is there or not: force only the farm. To undo it, forceload remove X1 Z1 X2 Z2 (or forceload remove all).

How to add a code of conduct on join

Since 1.21.9, a server can show some rules on join that players have to accept to play. Anyone who accepts can tick a box so they're not shown again; if you change the text, they appear again. Anyone who doesn't accept can't join (the game tells them the server requires accepting the code of conduct).

1. Turn it on

   enable-code-of-conduct=true in server.properties. In the NapNodes panel, under “Settings”, the “Code of conduct” setting.

2. Write the rules

   In “Files”, create a codeofconduct folder next to server.properties and inside it a file, en_us.txt (in UTF-8), with the text.

3. Add other languages

   Each player sees the one in their language (es_es.txt for Spanish, for example). If there isn't one for theirs, the game uses en_us.txt, and if that doesn't exist either, any of the ones there are.

4. Restart

   Press “Restart” and join to see it the way your friends will.

Gamerules get new names in 1.21.11

1.21.11 switched all rules to lowercase with underscores and renamed many: keepInventory is keep_inventory, doDaylightCycle is advance_time and doFireTick disappeared (it's now fire_spread_radius_around_player). Three now mean the opposite of before: disableRaids is raids.

If a command from an old guide does nothing, that's almost always why. The full table of old and new names is in the gamerules guide.

Other changes for admins

1.21.10 is a quick fix for 1.21.9 and speaks the same language: someone on 1.21.10 can join a 1.21.9 server without trouble, and vice versa.

1.21.9 also brought a management protocol (Minecraft Server Management Protocol): a separate connection so external programs can read and change players, the whitelist, operators and rules. It's off by default. On NapNodes it can't be turned on, because it needs its own port; the basics (players, whitelist, admins and rules) are in the panel's “Settings”.

If your server is still on 1.21.11

It's the last version with Java 21 and the usual world folders (world_nether and world_the_end). From 26.1 both change, and some plugins fell by the wayside: the guide to Minecraft 26.1 on your server covers it.

According to the Paper API, 1.21.11 lost support on 15 June 2026. If you're staying for a plugin or a mod, let people playing on newer versions join with ViaBackwards rather than expecting everyone to stay behind.

Frequently asked questions