How to change the MOTD of a Minecraft server

The MOTD (message of the day) is the two lines of text under your server's name in the multiplayer list. It is the first thing a visitor reads, so it is worth a minute.

Where it lives

In server.properties:

motd=A friendly survival world

On Saryno, open your server and go to Settings, change the message, and restart the game. Without a restart the list keeps showing the old text.

Two lines

Use \n for a line break:

motd=Welcome to Our World\nJoin us, new players are welcome

Each line has room for around 45 characters before it is cut off.

Colours and formatting

Put § followed by a code in front of text, or \u00a7 inside server.properties:

• §a green, §c red, §6 gold, §b aqua, §f white
• §l bold, §n underline, §o italic
• §r resets everything

Our MOTD generator shows a live preview and writes the escaped text for you, and the colour codes page lists every code.

Tips

• Put the most useful words first. Lists cut long text.
• Say what is special: "Survival, no griefing, Bedrock welcome".
• A different MOTD for a sleeping server is a nice touch: Saryno shows its own "asleep, join to wake" message while a server naps.
• Keep it readable on a phone. Strong colours on a dark list background beat pale ones.

If it does not change

Restart the game, not just the web page. Some plugins (for example a lobby or MOTD plugin) override the file, so check them if the text keeps reverting.