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Server

A server.properties file opened with Notepad++

Server.properties is the file which stores all the settings for a multiplayer (Classic, Alpha or Beta) 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 server.properties file for the new changes to take effect.

File Location

This file is automatically generated upon first start of the server (if it doesn't exist).

OS File Location Notes
Windows Same directory as Minecraft_Server.exe
Linux

Unix *nix/Mac

Present Working Directory (pwd)

If you start it from your home directory (/home/yourname) the server files will be created in /home/yourname. Follow these guidelines for ensuring that the server files are generated where you would expect them.

  • Set aside an entire directory for all of the server files. (Things could get messy if you don't).
    • Place your minecraft_server.jar here.
  • Use the Media:Minecraft server template.txt script as a guideline for setting up a startup script for your Minecraft server.
    • Make sure it's in your executable $PATH
    • be sure to rename the file to an acceptable executable name
      • minecraft_server(.sh)


Server.properties

As of 14th September 2011 [Beta 1.8], these are the default settings for a newly installed Beta Minecraft server:

#Minecraft server properties
#Wed Sep 14 14:33:18 CEST 2011
level-name=world
allow-nether=true
view-distance=10
spawn-monsters=true
online-mode=true
difficulty=1
gamemode=0
spawn-animals=true
max-players=20
server-ip=
pvp=true
level-seed=
server-port=25565
allow-flight=false
white-list=false
motd=A Minecraft Server

Beta Keys

Option Name Type Default Description
level-name text world The "level-name" value will be used as world name and as folder name. You may also copy your saved game folder here, and change the name to the same as that folder's to load it instead.
Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.
allow-nether boolean true This option is introduced in Beta 1.6. Allows players to travel to the Nether.
false - Nether portals will not work.
true - The server will allow Portals to send players to the Nether. [default]
view-distance number

(3-15)

10 The amount of world data the server sends the client, measured in chunks in each direction of the player. The server-side viewing distance. The "Far" viewing distance is 9 chunks.

10 is the default/recommended. Tip: if you have major lag, reduce this value.

Introduced in Beta 1.6
spawn-monsters boolean true Set true if you want monsters to be spawned at night, false if you don't.

Tip: if you have major lag, turn this off/set to false.

true - Enabled. Monsters will appear at night and in the dark [default]
false - Disabled. No monsters.
online-mode boolean true 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! If minecraft.net is down or inaccessible, no players will be able to connect if this is set to true. Setting this variable to off purposely is called "cracking" a server, and servers that are presently with online mode off are called "cracked" servers.
true - Enabled. The server will assume it has an Internet connection and check every connecting player. [default]
false - Disabled. The server will not attempt to check connecting players.
spawn-animals boolean true Animals will be able to spawn.

Tip: if you have major lag, turn this off/set to false.

true - Animals spawn as normal. [default]
false - Animals will immediately vanish.
max-players number

(0-999)

20 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, op player connections are not supposed to count against the max players, but ops currently cannot join a full server.
server-ip text blank Set this if you want the server to bind to a particular IP. It is strongly recommended that you leave server-ip blank!
Set to blank, or the IP you want your server to run on.
pvp boolean true Enable PvP on the server.
Note: Hitting a player while having PvP set to false and having tamed wolves will still cause the wolves to attack the player who was hit.
true - Players will be able to kill each other. [default]
false - Players cannot kill other players (Also called PvE).
level-seed alphanumeric blank Add a seed for your world. Like in singleplayer.
Some examples are: 'minecraft', '404', '1a2b3c'
server-port numeric

(1-65535)

25565 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.
white-list boolean false Enable a white list on the server.

With a white list enabled, users not on the white list will be unable to connect.

false - No white list is used. [default]
true - The file white-list.txt is used to generate the white list.
allow-flight boolean false Will allow users to use flight on your server while in Survival mode, if they have a mod that provides flight installed.

With allow-flight enabled griefers will possibly be more common, because it will make their work easier. In Creative mode this has no effect. This function was implemented by jeb.

false - Flight is not allowed. [default]
true - Flight is allowed, and used if the player has a fly mod installed.
gamemode number

(0 or 1)

0 Defines the mode of gameplay.
0 - Survival [default]
1 - Creative
difficulty number

(0-3)

1 Defines the difficulty (such as damage dealt by mobs and the way hunger and poison affects players) of the server. Setting spawn-monsters=false overrides this setting and uses difficulty=0.
0 - Peaceful
1 - Easy [default]
2 - Normal
3 - Hard
motd text A Minecraft Server Introduced in Beta 1.8. This is the message that is displayed in the server list of the client, below the name.
  • Note, motd does NOT support color codes.
  • If the MOTD is over 59 characters, the server list will likely report a communication error.

Classic Keys

Option Name Type Default Description
verify-names boolean 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
true - Enabled. The server will check all names with Minecraft.net
false - Disabled. The server will make sure the IP matches
admin-slot boolean false Allow ops to join even if the server is full.
public boolean Whether the server should be displayed in the server list, or not.
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 text The name of the server. This is displayed in the server list and when someone is joining the server
  • A single line of text. Characters such as ' (apostrophe) may need to be escaped by adding a backslash before them.
max-players number

(0-256)

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.
max-connections 1-3 The max number of connections the server will accept from the same IP.
If you try to set it higher than 3 it will be changed back to 3.
motd text 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.
grow-trees boolean Whether or not the server will allow planted saplings to grow into trees.
true - the server will allow saplings to grow into trees.
false - the server will not allow saplings to grow into trees.


Other Features

In 1.8, having spawn-monsters=false & difficulty=1 will allow mobs to spawn from spawners and do not instantly disappear. Mob will not spawn just because it is dark. Unconfirmed bug or feature.

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