A server.properties file open in 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 settings file for the new changes to take effect.
Server.properties
As of 25th May 2011 [Beta 1.6], these are the default settings for a newly installed Beta Minecraft server:
#Minecraft server properties #Thu Mar 31 20:05:08 CDT 2011 level-name=world hellworld=false allow-nether=true view-distance=10 spawn-monsters=true online-mode=true spawn-animals=true max-players=20 server-ip= pvp=true level-seed= server-port=25565 allow-flight=false white-list=false
Beta Keys
level-name
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.
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 generate a Nether for the world, if one doesn't already exist, and players will spawn there instead.
- false - default minecraft world-type
allow-nether
This option is introduced in Beta 1.6
Valid values:
- true - the server will generate a Nether and players will be able to go there just like in Single Player.
- false - the server does not allow travelling to the Nether.
spawn-monsters
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.
Valid values:
- true - Enabled. Monsters will appear at night and in the dark
- false - Disabled. No monsters.
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! If minecraft.net is down or inaccessible, no players will be able to connect if this is set to true.
Valid values:
- true - Enabled. The server will assume it has an Internet connection and check every connecting player.
- false - Disabled. The server will not attempt to check connecting players.
spawn-animals
Animals will be able to spawn.
Valid values:
- true - Animals spawn as normal.
- false - Animals will immediately vanish.
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 255.
server-ip
Set this if you want the server to bind to a particular IP. It is strongly recommended that you leave server-ip blank!
Valid values:
- Blank, or the IP you want your server to run on.
pvp
Enable PvP on the server.
Note: Hitting a player while having PvP set to false and having tamed wolfs will still cause the wolfs attacking the attacked player.
Valid values:
- true - Players will be able to kill each other.
- false - Players cannot kill other players (Also called PvE).
level-seed
Add a seed for your world. Like in singleplayer.
Valid values:
- It can be anything, from letters to numbers or a mixture.
- Some examples are: 'minecraft', '404', '1a2b3c'
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.
white-list
Enable a white list on the server. With a white list enabled, users not on the white list will be unable to connect.
Valid values:
- false - No white list is used.
- true - The file white-list.txt is used to generate the white list.
allow-flight
Will allow users to use flight/no-clip on your server, if they have an mod that provides flight/no-clip installed. With allow-flight enabled griefers will possibly be more common, because it will make their work easier. This function was implemted by jeb_.
Valid values:
- false - Flight/no-clip is not allowed.
- true - Flight/no clip is allowed, and used if the player have a no-clip mod installed.
Classic Keys
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:
- Anything.
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.