Minecraft

Minecraft Whitelist and Ban Commands: Control Who Joins Your Server

5 min read · Updated October 2026 · By Tabi Cloud

Java servers have built-in tools to limit who can join and to remove problem players. They work in the Console tab and in game for operators.

Whitelist

Run these commands:

/whitelist on turns it on.
/whitelist add name adds a player.
/whitelist remove name removes a player.
/whitelist list shows everyone listed.
/whitelist reload reloads the file after manual edits.
/whitelist off turns it off.

You can also set white-list=true in server.properties. Add enforce-whitelist=true so players who are not listed are kicked when the whitelist reloads or changes.

Bans

/ban name reason bans a player by account.
/ban-ip address bans an IP, and you can also use a player's name.
/pardon name removes a ban.
/pardon-ip address removes an IP ban.
/banlist shows current bans.
/kick name reason removes someone without banning them.

The files

The data is stored in whitelist.json, banned-players.json, banned-ips.json and ops.json in the server folder. They are JSON, so a missing comma can break them. Edit them only with the server stopped, or use commands where possible.

Offline mode warning

Whitelist entries use UUIDs. Servers with online-mode=false generate different UUIDs from names, so entries can stop working if you change modes or use a proxy. Keep online-mode consistent.

Bedrock

Bedrock uses allowlist commands, such as allowlist add and allowlist remove, with the setting allow-list in server.properties.

Tips

A whitelist is the simplest protection against griefers on a small server.
IP bans are easy to bypass with a VPN, so rely on the whitelist for strict control.
Plugins like EssentialsX or dedicated moderation plugins can add temporary bans, if you need them.