Minecraft server.properties Explained: The Settings That Matter

Every Java Minecraft server has a server.properties file in its main folder. It controls core behaviour such as world name, player limit and difficulty. Stop the server before editing it, then start it again so changes apply.

How to edit

1. Stop the server in the Console tab.
2. Open the Files tab and click server.properties.
3. Change values, save, and start the server.

Key settings

• motd: the message shown in the server list.
• gamemode: survival, creative, adventure or spectator for new players.
• difficulty: peaceful, easy, normal or hard.
• hardcore: true makes difficulty hard and bans a player on death.
• max-players: player limit. Default is 20.
• pvp: whether players can damage each other.
• level-name: world folder name. Default is world.
• level-seed: seed for a new world. It only matters when generating a new world.
• online-mode: true checks accounts with Mojang. Keep it true unless you run behind a proxy.
• white-list: turns the whitelist on. Pair with enforce-whitelist so listed rules apply to players already online.
• view-distance: chunks sent to players. Lower values reduce load.
• simulation-distance: how far from players the world is ticked. Lowering it helps performance.
• spawn-protection: radius around spawn only ops can edit.
• allow-flight: lets players fly in survival without being kicked. Useful with some mods and plugins.
• enable-command-block: allows command blocks.
• server-port: default is 25565. Keep it matching your assigned port.

Performance tips

Lowering view-distance and simulation-distance are usually the quickest ways to reduce lag. Start by dropping them a few chunks and see how it feels.

Settings to be careful with

• Do not change server-ip unless you know why. Leave it blank.
• Do not turn off online-mode on a public server unless behind a proxy that handles authentication, or players can impersonate others.
• Do not change level-name on an existing server unless you also upload a matching world folder.

Not every key is the same across versions

New versions add and remove keys. If a key is missing, start the server once so it regenerates the file, then edit.

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