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Minecraft server.properties generator

Change the settings you care about and get a server.properties file for a Java Edition server. It starts from the vanilla defaults of Minecraft 26.3, checks every value against its allowed range, and warns you about the settings that most often lock players out.

All 69 settings of a Java Edition 26.3 server, each starting at its vanilla default. A ticked box writes true, an empty box writes false.

Start from a file you already have Optional. Paste your current server.properties to load its values into the form.
The text stays in your browser. Settings the vanilla server knows are loaded into the form, and every setting the file does not mention goes back to its default.
    World Which world loads and how a new one is generated. 8 settings
    World name and folder. An existing world at this path is loaded; otherwise a new one is generated there. Default: world
    Seed for a newly generated world. Blank picks a random seed.
    World preset for a newly generated world. The minecraft: prefix is optional. Default: minecraft:normal
    Extra world generation settings. What it accepts depends on level-type; flat worlds use it. Default: {}
    Largest distance, in blocks from the world center, that the world border can reach. Default 29999984, allowed 1 to 29999984.
    Protects a square around spawn with sides of 2x+1 blocks: 16 protects 33 by 33. 0 turns it off, and it is off while the server has no ops. Default 16.
    Players and access Who can join, and what keeps them in line. 12 settings
    Most players that can be online at the same time. Default 20, allowed 0 to 2147483647.
    Permission level a player gets from the op command. 4 allows every command. Default 4, allowed 0 to 4.
    Minutes a player can stand idle before being kicked. 0 never kicks. Default 0.
    Tunes the automatic kick for sending chat messages too fast. 0 turns the kick off. Default 10.
    Tunes the automatic kick for sending commands too fast. 0 turns the kick off. Default 10.
    Gameplay Game mode, difficulty and the resource pack. 10 settings
    The default game mode. Default survival.
    Difficulty of the server, which sets things like mob damage and how hunger and poison affect players. Default easy.
    Download URL of a resource pack offered to players as they join. The pack can be at most 250 MiB.
    Optional SHA-1 hash of the pack as 40 lowercase hex characters. It lets the download be verified.
    Optional UUID that identifies the resource pack to clients.
    Custom message on the resource pack prompt, written as a text component. Blank shows the standard message.
    Permission level that data pack functions run with. Default 2, allowed 1 to 4.
    Network and server list Port, MOTD, query and rcon. 14 settings
    Message shown under the server name in the server list. Supports color and formatting codes. Default: A Minecraft Server
    TCP port the server listens on. On a home network this is the port to forward. Default 25565, allowed 1 to 65534.
    Address the server listens on. Leave it blank to listen on every address.
    UDP port for query. Default 25565, allowed 1 to 65534.
    TCP port for rcon. Default 25575, allowed 1 to 65534.
    Password for rcon. While it is blank, rcon does not start.
    Most packets a player can send before being kicked. 0 turns the limit off. Default 0.
    URL sent to players as the report-a-bug server link. Blank sends no link.
    Performance How much of the world the server sends and simulates. 10 settings
    How much world the server sends each player, as a radius in chunks. Default 10, allowed 3 to 32.
    Radius in chunks around players where mobs and other living entities are updated. Default 10, allowed 3 to 32.
    How near an entity must be before it is sent to a player, as a percentage. 50 halves the distance. Default 100, allowed 10 to 1000.
    Packets of this many bytes or more are compressed. -1 turns compression off, 0 compresses everything. Default 256.
    Seconds with no player online before the server pauses. Default 60.
    Milliseconds one tick may take before the watchdog stops the server. -1 turns the watchdog off. Default 60000, allowed -1 to 9223372036854775807.
    Compression used for chunks in region files. Chunks that are already saved are not recompressed. Default deflate.
    Limit on consecutive neighbor block updates before the rest are skipped. A negative value removes the limit. Default 1000000.
    Advanced Data packs, monitoring and the management server. Most servers leave these alone. 15 settings
    Data packs switched on when the world is created, separated by commas. Default: vanilla
    Data packs that are not switched on automatically when the world is created, separated by commas.
    Host the management server is started on. Default: localhost
    Port of the management server. 0 picks a random port at startup. Default 0, allowed 0 to 65535.
    Secret that management clients must send: 40 letters and digits. Leave it blank and the server generates one.
    Path to the keystore file used for TLS.
    Password of the keystore.
    Origins allowed to connect to the management server, separated by commas.
    How often the management server sends heartbeat notifications to connected clients. 0 turns them off. Default 0.
    Chat filtering configuration that Realms uses internally. Leave it blank.
    Format version of text-filtering-config: 0 or 1. Default 0, allowed 0 to 1.
    What to write
    Text values

    Your server.properties

    69 settings, all at the Java Edition 26.3 defaults.

    • Note: white-list is true, the default since Java Edition 26.3: only ops and players in whitelist.json can join. Add each friend with "whitelist add" and their name, or set it to false. 
    #Minecraft server properties
#Generated for Java Edition 26.3
accepts-transfers=false
allow-flight=false
broadcast-console-to-ops=true
broadcast-rcon-to-ops=true
bug-report-link=
chat-spam-threshold-seconds=10
command-spam-threshold-seconds=10
difficulty=easy
enable-code-of-conduct=false
enable-jmx-monitoring=false
enable-query=false
enable-rcon=false
enable-status=true
enforce-secure-profile=true
enforce-whitelist=false
entity-broadcast-range-percentage=100
force-gamemode=false
function-permission-level=2
gamemode=survival
generate-structures=true
generator-settings={}
hardcore=false
hide-online-players=false
initial-disabled-packs=
initial-enabled-packs=vanilla
level-name=world
level-seed=
level-type=minecraft\:normal
log-ips=true
management-server-allowed-origins=
management-server-enabled=false
management-server-host=localhost
management-server-port=0
management-server-secret=
management-server-tls-enabled=true
management-server-tls-keystore=
management-server-tls-keystore-password=
max-chained-neighbor-updates=1000000
max-players=20
max-tick-time=60000
max-world-size=29999984
motd=A Minecraft Server
network-compression-threshold=256
online-mode=true
op-permission-level=4
pause-when-empty-seconds=60
player-idle-timeout=0
prevent-proxy-connections=false
query.port=25565
rate-limit=0
rcon.password=
rcon.port=25575
region-file-compression=deflate
require-resource-pack=false
resource-pack=
resource-pack-id=
resource-pack-prompt=
resource-pack-sha1=
server-ip=
server-port=25565
simulation-distance=10
spawn-protection=16
status-heartbeat-interval=0
sync-chunk-writes=true
text-filtering-config=
text-filtering-version=0
use-native-transport=true
view-distance=10
white-list=true

    Lines you changed are shown in bold. The box scrolls when the file is longer than it.

    How to use the server.properties generator

    server.properties is the text file that holds the main settings of a Minecraft: Java Edition server, one key=value pair per line. This generator starts from the file a new 26.3 server writes by itself, so you only touch the settings you want to change.

    1. Open a group, such as World or Players and access, and change what you need. Each group header counts your changes.
    2. Read the notes above the result. Fix means the server would reject the value, so the default is written until you correct it. Check marks a combination that usually causes trouble.
    3. Choose The full file for a new server. Choose Only the lines I changed when your server already has a file with settings you want to keep, including keys added by other server software.
    4. Copy the text or download server.properties, put it in the server folder and restart the server.

    Where the server.properties file is

    The file sits in the folder the server is started from, next to the server jar and the world folder. The server creates it the first time it starts, so run the server once if the file is not there yet. On a hosted server, open the file manager in your control panel and look in the top-level folder. On your own computer, it is the folder that holds your start script.

    Restart the server after every change

    The server reads the file once, when it starts. The Minecraft Wiki puts it plainly: after changes are made to the file, the server must be restarted for them to take effect. Stop the server, save the file, then start it again. On startup the server also writes the file back out: it keeps your values, removes any comments and adds every missing key with its default. That is why a file with only your changed lines works.

    The settings people most often get wrong

    • white-list. Since Java Edition 26.3 a new server starts with white-list=true, so nobody except ops and the players in whitelist.json can join. Type whitelist add PlayerName in the console for each friend, or set it to false.
    • online-mode. Setting it to false stops the account check. Anyone can then join under any name, including the name of one of your ops.
    • server-ip. This is not where your public address goes. Leave it blank and the server listens on every address the machine has. Fill it in only when your host gives you a specific address to bind to.
    • level-name. It is the folder the world is loaded from. Change it and the server generates a new world in a new folder, which looks as if the old world was deleted. Change the name back and the old world loads again.
    • level-seed, level-type and generate-structures. These only shape a world as it is generated. They do nothing to chunks that already exist.
    • view-distance and simulation-distance. Both are a radius in chunks, from 3 to 32, with a default of 10. The area grows with the square of the number, so 16 covers about two and a half times as many chunks per player as 10. Raise them only if the RAM calculator says your server has room.
    • spawn-protection. The value is a radius: 16 protects a square of 33 by 33 blocks where only ops can build. When friends cannot break blocks near spawn, this is the reason. Set it to 0 to turn it off.
    • enable-rcon. Rcon gives console access over the network without encryption, and it does not start while rcon.password is blank. Leave it off unless a tool you use needs it, and then set a long password.
    • motd. Colors and a second line need special codes. Build the message with the MOTD generator, copy its plain § form and paste that into the motd box here. This tool then writes it in the form the file needs.

    Settings that are no longer in the file

    Many guides still tell you to edit lines such as pvp=false. A current server does not read them. Use the /gamerule command for the ones that became game rules. The rule names below are the ones Java Edition has used since 1.21.11; versions 1.21.9 and 1.21.10 used older names such as commandBlocksEnabled.

    Old key Removed in Game rule to use
    allow-nether 1.21.9 allow_entering_nether_using_portals
    enable-command-block 1.21.9 command_blocks_work
    pvp 1.21.9 pvp
    spawn-monsters 1.21.9 spawn_monsters
    spawn-animals 1.21.2 No replacement named by the wiki
    spawn-npcs 1.21.2 No replacement named by the wiki

    Which Minecraft version this list matches

    The 69 settings and their defaults match Java Edition 26.3, released on 15 September 2026. They were checked on 12 October 2026 against the default file on the Minecraft Wiki, and the full file names that version in its second line. As of 12 October 2026, snapshots of 26.4 add 3 more keys, which are left out until that version is released: allowed-connection-ids, enable-legacy-status, status-contact-details.

    A server on an older version does not use keys that were added after it, and it adds back any key of its own that is missing. Paper reads the same file, with a few differences listed in its own reference. Bedrock Dedicated Server also has a file called server.properties, but its keys are different, so do not use this one there.

    Once the server is running with the new file, confirm that others can reach it with the server status checker.

    Sources

    The data and rules in this tool were last checked on against:

    Frequently asked questions

    Where is the server.properties file?

    In the folder the server is started from, next to the server jar and the world folder. The server creates the file the first time it starts, so start it once if the file is not there yet. On a hosted server, open the file manager in your control panel and look in the top-level folder.

    Do I have to restart the server after changing server.properties?

    Yes. The server reads the file when it starts, so a change does nothing until the next start. Stop the server, edit and save the file, then start it again. On startup the server writes the file back out: it keeps your values, drops your comments and fills in any missing key with its default.

    Why can my friends not join my new server?

    Check white-list first. Since Java Edition 26.3, released on 15 September 2026, a new server starts with white-list=true, so only ops and players in whitelist.json can join. Run whitelist add PlayerName in the server console for each friend, or set white-list=false and restart. If the whitelist is not the cause, test the address with the server status checker.

    Where did pvp, allow-nether and enable-command-block go?

    They are game rules now. Java Edition 1.21.9 removed pvp, allow-nether, spawn-monsters and enable-command-block from the file, and 1.21.2 had already removed spawn-animals and spawn-npcs. On 1.21.11 and later, use commands such as /gamerule pvp false or /gamerule command_blocks_work true. A line with one of the old keys is not read by a current server.

    Can I paste only the lines I changed?

    Yes. When the server starts, it sets every missing key to its default and writes the complete file back, so a file that holds only your changed lines works. In a file that already has the key, replace that line instead of adding a second copy.

    Does this work for a Bedrock server?

    No. Bedrock Dedicated Server also has a file called server.properties, but its keys are different and the two files are not compatible. This generator covers Java Edition only.

    Does the same file work on Paper?

    Paper documents the same server.properties file in its own reference, with two differences on that page (last updated in May 2025): Paper ignores sync-chunk-writes unless a matching system property is set, and it adds a gzip choice for region-file-compression. Whatever software you run, a server on an older Minecraft version does not use keys that were added after it.

    Put it to work on a free server

    Create a server, paste in what you just made, and invite your friends.

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