How to change the MOTD and server icon
Set the motd property in the Properties tab (use § colour codes and \n for a second line) and upload a 64×64 server-icon.png to the server's main folder.
- Difficulty:
- Beginner
- Time:
- 5 minutes
On this page
The MOTD (message of the day) is the text shown under your server's name in the Minecraft multiplayer list. The server icon is the small picture next to it. You can change both in a few minutes.
Change the MOTD
Open your server in the Game Panel and go to the Properties tab.
Search for
motdand type your message in its text box (the default isA Minecraft Server).Click SAVE, then Restart the server.
Refresh the server list in Minecraft to see it.
Colours and formatting
Put a § sign and a code before the text you want to colour. The style lasts until the next code.
Code | Result | Code | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black |
| Dark grey |
| Dark blue |
| Blue |
| Dark green |
| Green |
| Dark aqua |
| Aqua |
| Dark red |
| Red |
| Dark purple |
| Light purple |
| Gold |
| Yellow |
| Grey |
| White |
| Bold |
| Italic |
| Underline |
| Strikethrough |
| Scrambled text |
| Reset to normal |
Use \n to start the second line. The list shows two lines, and long lines are cut off, so keep each line short. Example:
§6§lMy SMP §7| §aSurvival\n§eNew season now live!If the § sign shows up as strange characters
Some editors save the § sign in a way Minecraft reads wrongly, and the list shows § or broken text. In that case write § instead of every §, for example §6§lMy SMP. This always works in server.properties.
Don't want to type codes by hand? Design your MOTD with a live preview in the Endercloud MOTD creator and paste the result into Properties.
Plugins such as MiniMOTD can show gradients, random messages or the player count. If a plugin controls the MOTD, the motd property is ignored, so edit the plugin's config instead.
Change the server icon
Make a square PNG image exactly 64 × 64 pixels.
Name it exactly
server-icon.png(all lowercase).Open Files and upload it to the server's main folder, the same folder as
server.properties.Restart the server and refresh your server list.
Have a JPG or a bigger image? The Endercloud server icon converter resizes it to 64 × 64 and gives you a ready server-icon.png.
Frequently asked questions
The icon doesn't show
Check that the file is a real PNG (not a renamed JPG), exactly 64 × 64, named server-icon.png, in the main folder and not inside world or plugins. Restart the server. Your Minecraft client may also cache the old icon until you refresh or restart the game.
Does this work on Bedrock?
No. Bedrock servers show server-name from server.properties in the list and do not support a custom icon. Bedrock players joining through Geyser see Geyser's own MOTD settings.
Can I hide the player count or player names?
Turn on hide-online-players in Properties to hide player names. Hiding the count needs a plugin.
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