server.properties explained
Properties tab → search a setting → flip the switch or type a value → SAVE → restart. Here is what the most useful settings do, and the defaults on a fresh server.
- Difficulty:
- Beginner
- Time:
- 8 minutes
On this page
server.properties is the main settings file of a Minecraft Java server. On Endercloud you do not need to edit it by hand: the Properties tab shows every setting as a switch or a box, with a search bar.
How to change a setting
Open your server in the Game Panel and go to the Properties tab.
Type part of the setting's name in the search box, for example
difficultyorplayers.Change it. On/off settings (like
white-list,online-mode,allow-flight,hardcore) are switches. Others (likedifficulty,max-players,motd,view-distance) are text boxes: type the new value.Click SAVE at the top. (RESET throws away changes you have not saved.)
Restart the server. Changes only apply after SAVE + restart.
The list is empty on a brand-new server until it has been started once, because server.properties is created on the first start.
Do not change server-port, query.port or server-ip. The panel sets them to match your server's allocation. If you change them, players will not be able to connect. To get more ports, use the Network tab.
The most useful settings
Setting | Fresh Endercloud server | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A Minecraft Server | The text under your server name in the multiplayer list. See MOTD and server icon. |
| 20 | How many players can be online at once. Your real limit is your plan's RAM and CPU. |
| easy |
|
| survival | Default game mode for new players: |
| false | If true, players are switched to the default game mode every time they join. |
| false | Hardcore mode for newly created worlds: hard difficulty and players become spectators when they die. |
| true | Checks that every player owns Minecraft. Keep it on. See offline (cracked) mode before changing it. |
| true | Only players on the whitelist can join. It is on for new servers, so add yourself with |
| false | Kicks online players who are not on the whitelist when the whitelist is reloaded. |
| 10 | How many chunks around each player are sent to their game. Lower it (6–8) to reduce lag and RAM use. |
| 10 | How many chunks around each player are active (mobs move, crops grow). Lowering it helps performance a lot. |
| 16 | Radius around world spawn where only ops can build. Set |
| false | If false, players who float in the air too long in Survival are kicked. Set it to true if you use plugins or mods that let players fly, or lag causes false kicks. |
| world | The folder name of the world to load. Change it to load an uploaded world or start a new one. |
| (empty) | The seed used when a new world is generated. Empty means random. |
| minecraft:normal | World type for new worlds, for example |
| true | Whether villages, temples and other structures generate in new chunks. |
| 0 | Kicks players who are idle for this many minutes. 0 means never. |
| (empty) | Sends a resource pack to players. See resource packs and datapacks. |
| false | Hides the list of online player names in the server list. |
| -1 (on our Paper default) | On 1.21.2 and newer, the world pauses after the server has been empty this many seconds. |
Settings that moved to game rules
In Minecraft 1.21.9, Mojang removed some settings from server.properties and turned them into game rules. If your server runs 1.21.9 or newer and you cannot find these in Properties, use the /gamerule command instead:
Old property (1.21.8 and older) | Game rule on 1.21.11 and newer |
|---|---|
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Example in the console: gamerule pvp false. On 1.21.9 and 1.21.10 the names were still written in camelCase (for example allowEnteringNetherUsingPortals). See Game rules, difficulty and game mode.
Frequently asked questions
I saved a change but nothing happened
Restart the server after saving. Also note that level-seed, level-type and hardcore only apply when a new world is created. See How to reset your world or change the seed.
Where are Paper's extra settings?
Paper, Purpur and Spigot have their own config files (for example in the config folder, spigot.yml and purpur.yml). Edit them in Files.
Does this work for Bedrock servers?
Bedrock servers also have a server.properties file, but some names differ, for example allow-list instead of white-list and allow-cheats. See the Bedrock server guide.
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Pick the right plan for your player count, plugins and modpacks — with a plan comparison table and chart.
Open the Game Panel with Auto Login to Panel, press Start and accept the EULA, whitelist yourself (the whitelist is on by default), then join with the address shown in the panel.
Turn off online-mode in the Properties tab, save and restart. Anyone can then join with any name, so add a login plugin to protect accounts.
Put a direct download link in resource-pack (plus its SHA-1) in Properties to send a resource pack. Put datapack zips in world/datapacks and reload or restart.
