Minecraft server.properties Explained: the Settings That Matter

Where it is and how to edit it

On NapNodes you have every option in “Settings”, explained, grouped by topic and with a search box: they save themselves and apply on restart. To prepare it on your PC, the server.properties editor does it in your browser. If you'd rather use the file:

1. Open it

   In the panel, “Files” and the server.properties file, in the server's main folder. It's created the first time the server starts.

2. Change only the value

   Each line is option=value, with no spaces. Don't delete lines or change the option's name.

3. Save and restart

   The server reads the file when it starts: changes don't apply until you restart it. If the server is online when you save, some versions overwrite the file when shutting down, so the safest thing is to stop it, edit and start it.

The options people change most

motd: the text shown under the name in the server list. It accepts colour codes; if you go over about 59 characters, the list can show a communication error.

max-players: how many players fit at once. More players use more RAM and CPU: raise it sensibly.

difficulty: peaceful, easy, normal or hard. gamemode: survival, creative, adventure or spectator for people joining for the first time.

pvp: since Minecraft 1.21.9 it's no longer here, and neither are allow-nether, spawn-monsters and enable-command-block. They're game rules: with the server online, gamerule pvp false in the console turns PvP off. If your file still has pvp=false, it does nothing.

white-list and enforce-whitelist: so only people on your list can join (the commands are in the admin commands guide). enforce-whitelist=true kicks anyone not on the list when you turn it on. Note: since 26.3, a new server starts with white-list=true (what changed).

level-seed: the world seed. It only counts when creating a new world; in one that's already generated it changes nothing.

spawn-protection: radius, in blocks, around the spawn point where only operators can build. Setting it to 0 turns it off (spawn and its protection, step by step).

The ones that affect performance

view-distance: how many chunks are sent to each player. It's the option that weighs most: lowering it from 10 to 8 is usually more noticeable than adding 2 GB of RAM. simulation-distance: how far mobs and crops are simulated; lowering it to 6 lightens the server a lot without looking bad.

If you have lag, those two options are the first thing to change; the rest is in the lag guide.

online-mode: the one you shouldn't touch

online-mode=true makes the server check every account with Mojang. With false, anyone can join with any name, including yours (and therefore with your op permissions). Only turn it off behind a properly configured proxy, such as Velocity, which already checks accounts on its side. You don't need to touch it to let Bedrock players in: that's done with Geyser and Floodgate (Java and Bedrock together guide). What breaks when you turn it off, in cracked server.

Frequently asked questions