Minecraft Server Admin Commands: op, whitelist, gamemode and More
Commands are typed in the panel console (without the slash) or in the in-game chat (with the slash) if you're an operator.
Make yourself an operator
In the panel console, type op YourName. From then on you can use every command in the in-game chat. To take it away from someone, deop Name.
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Only your friends can join: the whitelist
On NapNodes you can also do it without commands: “Settings” → “Players” has the “Whitelist”, the “Operators” and the “Banned” lists, and further up there's the “Whitelist” setting to turn it on. With commands, it goes like this:
Turn it on
whitelist on. From then on only people on the list can join, plus operators (op), who get in even if they aren't on it.
Add each player
whitelist add Name. To remove them, whitelist remove Name; to see the list, whitelist list.
If someone can't join
Check the name is spelled correctly. Bedrock players (with Floodgate) are added with fwhitelist add Name: the normal whitelist looks up Java accounts and can't find them (Java and Bedrock together). Every other case is in the whitelist guide.
The ones you'll use most
gamemode creative Name / gamemode survival Name (game mode), difficulty normal (difficulty), time set day (make it day), weather clear (stop the rain), tp Name1 Name2 (teleport), kick Name and ban Name (kick out and ban), gamerule keep_inventory true (keep your inventory when you die; in versions before 1.21.11, keepInventory: the other rules are in the gamerules guide), save-all (save the world now). Potion effects, like endless night vision, are given with effect give: see the /effect guide (in Spanish).
To give each player fine-grained permissions (some can use /home and others can't), on Paper you use the LuckPerms plugin.
Giving items: give
give Name diamond 64 gives 64 diamonds. For an item with enchantments or a custom name, the syntax changes between versions (in 1.20.5 and again in 1.21.5), and a command copied from an old video throws an error: the /give command generator writes it for your version. With EssentialsX, use minecraft:give instead of give.
Frequently asked questions
How do I op myself on my Minecraft server?
Type op YourName in the panel console. After that you can use commands in the in-game chat.
How do I turn on the whitelist on my server?
whitelist on in the console, and whitelist add Name for each player you want to let in.
How do I keep my inventory when I die?
gamerule keep_inventory true in the console. In versions before 1.21.11 it's written keepInventory.
Shall we set it up for you?
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Your server doesn't show up in the game? Check it in a second with “Is my Minecraft server online?”: players, version and MOTD, free. Need a player's UUID for the whitelist or permissions? Look it up here. Handing out enchanted items? Build the command with the /give generator.
Rather not edit the file by hand? Use the server.properties editor: every option explained, with a warning on the ones that no longer work.
Linking portals? Convert coordinates to the Nether and back with the Nether calculator: paste what F3 shows and you get where to build the other one.
Free tool: Minecraft color codes. Minecraft's colours and styles in “&”, “§”, hex and MiniMessage, and a converter to move your text from one to another.
Free tool: Minecraft time calculator. How long a Minecraft day (and 100 days) lasts in real life, what time each tick is and the /time set for every hour, ready to copy.
Free tool: Minecraft UUID lookup. Type a Minecraft Java username and get its UUID, the offline one and the lines for whitelist.json and ops.json.
Free tool: Villager trade generator. A still villager that buys and sells whatever you say, at a fixed price and never running out: the /summon written right for your version.
Free tool: /particle command generator. Coloured dust, hearts or flames at spawn or above every player: the /particle command written right for your version.
Free tool: Target selector generator. @a, @p, @e or @s with type, distance, name or tag: the selector written right, what it picks in plain English and a warning if it catches too much.
Free tool: Firework generator. Rockets with shape, colours, trail and twinkle, with a drawing of the burst: the /give or /summon for your server's events.
Free tool: /effect command generator. Effects with the level as the game shows it, forever or for minutes, without particles and for everyone: the /effect ready to copy.
Free tool: Player head generator. The command for a player's head, a custom texture head or a mob head, written right for your Minecraft version.
Free tool: /summon command generator. Mobs with a coloured name, more health, another size, gear or standing still: the /summon command written right for your version.
Free tool: Minecraft enchantment order calculator. Your item and your enchanted books: the order to combine them in the anvil for the fewest levels, without hitting “Too Expensive!”.
Free tool: Gamerules generator. Pick the rules and copy the commands, or paste old ones (keepInventory, doFireTick…) and convert them to the 1.21.11 names.
Free tool: /tellraw and /title generator. Messages with colours, bold and click actions in chat or across the screen: the /tellraw or /title command ready to copy.
Free tool: /playsound generator. Pick from almost 2000 Minecraft sounds, choose who hears it and how, and copy the /playsound for your version (and the /stopsound).
Free tool: Written book generator. A Minecraft book with colours and several pages (rules, welcome, clues) and its /give written for your version.
Free tool: /bossbar generator. Your own boss bar at the top of the screen, with your text, its colours and as full as you say: the /bossbar commands ready to copy.
Free tool: LuckPerms commands generator. Choose your ranks (vip, moderator, admin), their prefix and permissions and get the LuckPerms commands in order, ready for the console.
Free tool: Minecraft XP calculator. How many experience points from one level to another, what you lose when you die and the /xp command to give levels on your server.
Free tool: Minecraft potion recipes. Pick a potion and see its ingredients in order, how long it lasts as drinkable, splash, lingering or tipped arrow, and its /give.
Free tool: /fill and /clone generator. Two corners and a block, and out comes the /fill or /clone. Over 32768 blocks, it splits it into commands that fit and do the same.
Free tool: Leather armor dye calculator. Pick dyes and see your leather armour's colour, or enter a colour and get the dyes and the exact /give command.
Free tool: Minecraft banner generator. Design a Minecraft banner or shield layer by layer, see it as you go and get the /give command and the loom steps.
Free tool: Minecraft item IDs. Search any block or item by its in-game name and copy its ID or the /give. Every one from the latest version.
Keep reading
- How to Put Your Minecraft Server in Creative (and Change the Difficulty)
Put your Minecraft server in creative, survival or adventure for everyone or one player, lock it with force-gamemode and change the difficulty so it sticks.
- Minecraft Gamerules: keep_inventory and the Rules Servers Ask for Most
Why gamerule keepInventory no longer works, the new name of every rule and how to set the popular ones on your server: inventory, sleeping, PvP and fire.
- Free Minecraft Server: the Real Options and Their Drawbacks
How to get a free Minecraft server: on your PC, over LAN, with Aternos or with a host's free plan. The limits of each option and when paying is worth it.