Server.properties



Server.properties is the file which stores all the settings for a multiplayer (Classic or Alpha) server.

If you are going to edit server.properties it is important that you use the same structure as the original uses. The text before the equal sign is the key, which you shouldn't change. The text after the equal sign is the key's value, which you can edit. Lines that begin with  are comments - altering or removing these has no effect on the game.

You need to restart your server if you change the settings file for the new changes to take effect.

Default Settings
As of 11th December 2010, these are the default settings for a newly installed Alpha Minecraft server: level-name=world hellworld=false spawn-monsters=true online-mode=true spawn-animals=true max-players=20 server-ip= pvp=true server-port=25565
 * 1) Minecraft server properties
 * 2) Wed Nov 24 14:40:01 CET 2010

level-name
The folder the server will create the Alpha format Map in. You may also copy your saved game folder here, and change the name to the same as that folder's to load it instead.

Valid values:
 * A single line of text. Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.

hellworld
This option has shown up in the 0.2.2_01 release.

Valid values:
 * true - the server will behave like The Nether; red sky, zombie pigmen and ghasts spawning. The map will stay the same, however, so don't set this flag if you don't want pigmen stomping all over your flower garden.
 * false - default minecraft world-type

spawn-monsters
Set true if you want monsters to be spawned at night, false if you don't.

Valid values:
 * true - Enabled. Monsters will appear at night
 * false - Disabled. No monsters.

monsters
Alongside spawn-monsters there is a monsters key.

online-mode
Server checks connecting players against minecraft's account database. Only set this to false if your server is not connected to the Internet. Hackers with fake accounts can connect if this is set to false!

Valid values:
 * true - Enabled. The server will assume it has an Internet connection and check every player.
 * false - Disabled. The server will not attempt to check connecting players.

spawn-animals
Animals will be able to spawn.

Valid values:
 * true -
 * false - If false, animals will immediately vanish.

no-animals
Alongside spawn-animals there is a no-animals key.

max-players
The max numbers of players that can play on the server at the same time. Note that if more players are on the server it will use more resources. Note also, admin connections are not counted against the max players.

Valid values:
 * A number between 0 and 256.

server-ip
Set this if you want the server to bind to a particular IP. If unset, defaults to binding to wildcard (this is probably the behaviour you want).

Valid values:
 * Blank, or the IP you want your server to run on.

pvp
Enable PvP on the server.


 * true - Players will be able to kill each other.
 * false - Players cannot kill other players (Also called PvE).

server-port
Changes the port the server is hosting on. This port must be forwarded if the server is going through a router. This forum post explains very well how to forward a port easily. The default port number is 25565.

Valid values:
 * A number between 1 and 65535, though it should be greater than or equal to 1024 as lower values are reserved for well-known services.

verify-names
If enabled the server will make sure that the client is logged in with the same IP on Minecraft.net. This has caused problems for people trying to play on the same computer they are hosting the server on as the server will see the local IP 127.0.0.1) while Minecraft.net will see the external IP. It is recommended that this is enabled unless you want to play on your server from the same computer you are hosting it on

Valid values:
 * true - Enabled. The server will check all names with Minecraft.net
 * false - Disabled. The server will make sure the IP matches

admin-slot
Allow op's to join even if the server is full.

Valid values:
 * true or false, defaults to false.

public
Whether the server should be displayed in the server list, or not.

Valid values:
 * true - The server will be displayed in the server list - anyone can see it.
 * false - Only people with the URL which can be found in externalurl.txt and people who know the IP and port can join the server

server-name
The name of the server. This is displayed in the server list and when someone is joining the server

Valid values:
 * A single line of text. Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.

max-players
The max numbers of players that can play on the server at the same time. Note that if more players are on the server it will use more resources. Note also, admin connections are not counted against the max players.

Valid values:
 * A number between 0 and 256.

max-connections
The max number of connections the server will accept from the same IP.

Valid values:
 * A number between 1 and 3. If you try to set it higher than 3 it will be changed back to 3.

motd
MOTD is short for Message of the day, though you do not need to change it every day. The MOTD is displayed when people join the server.

Valid values:
 * Any text

grow-trees
Whether or not the server will allow planted saplings to grow into trees.

Valid values:
 * true - the server will allow saplings to grow into trees.
 * false - the server will not allow saplings to grow into trees.