Gamerules, World Border and Seeds on Your Minecraft Server

Three settings shape how your world plays: gamerules, the world border and the seed. Here is how to use each one safely.

Gamerules

Gamerules are toggles you change with the /gamerule command from the Console or in-game as an operator. Running /gamerule with a name and no value shows its current setting.

• /gamerule keepInventory true lets players keep items on death.
• Rules for mob griefing, daylight cycle and weather exist as well. Names have been changed across versions, so use tab completion in-game to see the exact spelling for your version.
• Gamerules are saved per world, so they persist across restarts.

World border

The border limits how far players can travel and keeps your world file small.

1. Set the centre with /worldborder center 0 0, or use your spawn coordinates.
2. Set the size with /worldborder set 5000. The number is the full width in blocks, not the radius.
3. Optionally use /worldborder warning distance to warn players as they approach.
4. Use /worldborder get to confirm the current size.

Pre-generating the area inside the border with a plugin such as Chunky reduces lag when players explore. Check that the plugin supports your version.

Seeds

The seed decides terrain generation. It only applies when a world is first created.

• Set it with level-seed in server.properties before the first start.
• To use a new seed on an existing server, you need to generate a new world. Back up the old one first, then delete or rename the world folder from the Files tab and restart.
• Run /seed in-game to see the seed of your current world.
• The same seed can produce different results on Java and Bedrock, and between major versions.

Tips

• Changing level-seed on a world that already exists does nothing.
• Pick a border size that fits your player count. A small active community rarely needs more than a few thousand blocks.
• Announce border changes before applying them so nobody is left outside.