server.properties is the main settings file of a Minecraft server. It has more than fifty lines, and most of them you will never touch. These are the ones worth knowing. Change the file while the server is stopped, or use your host's settings page, and restart afterwards.
The ones people change first
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
motd |
A Minecraft Server |
The message shown under your server's name in the list. |
max-players |
20 |
How many players can be online at once. |
gamemode |
survival |
The mode new players start in. |
difficulty |
easy |
peaceful, easy, normal or hard. |
pvp |
true |
Whether players can hurt each other. |
level-seed |
(random) |
The seed for a new world. Only used when a world is created. |
level-name |
world |
The name of the world folder. |
Who can join
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
online-mode |
true |
Checks players against Mojang's accounts. Leave it true unless you know why you need it off: with it off, anyone can join under any name, including yours. |
white-list |
false |
Only players on the whitelist may join. |
enforce-whitelist |
false |
When the whitelist changes, kick players who are no longer on it. |
For a friends-only server, set white-list=true and add your friends. The protection guide goes further.
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
view-distance |
10 |
Chunks sent around each player. Lower it to 6 to 8 on a small machine. |
simulation-distance |
10 |
How far from a player the game runs mobs and crops. 4 to 6 saves CPU. |
max-tick-time |
60000 |
How long a tick may take before the server's watchdog gives up and stops it. Do not change this unless you are sure. |
network-compression-threshold |
256 |
Packets larger than this are compressed. The default is fine. |
Gameplay details
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
spawn-protection |
16 |
Radius around spawn that only operators can change. Set to 0 to turn it off. |
allow-flight |
false |
Lets players fly without being kicked. Needed for some mods and plugins. |
allow-nether |
true |
Whether the Nether can be used. |
enable-command-block |
false |
Allows command blocks. |
hardcore |
false |
One life: players are banned or put in spectator mode on death. |
spawn-monsters, spawn-animals, spawn-npcs |
true |
Turn off to stop hostile mobs, animals or villagers from spawning. |
Settings to leave alone
server-port (25565). Changing it only makes your address harder to type. A host normally sets it for you.server-ip. Leave it empty. Setting it can stop the server from being reachable.enable-rcon, rcon.password, rcon.port. A remote console for tools. Keep it off unless you need it, and use a long password if you do.enable-query. Rarely needed.
Changing a setting on Saryno
Open the server, go to Settings, change the value, and save. The dashboard shows the common properties with explanations, and some changes apply when the server restarts. You can also edit the file directly in the file manager.