Minecraft Bedrock server.properties Reference

Complete reference for every server.properties setting on your Minecraft Bedrock Edition dedicated server, including performance tuning and anti-cheat options.

The server.properties file controls every core setting on your Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS). This guide covers every property, what it does, and recommended values for different server types.

Where to Find server.properties

bedrock_server

server.properties

permissions.json

allowlist.json

The file sits in the root directory of your server.

How to Edit

Stop your server

Go to Console in the XGamingServer Panel sidebar and click the Stop button. Editing while the server is running will cause your changes to be overwritten.

Open the file

Click Files in the sidebar. You will see server.properties in the root directory. Click it to open the built-in editor.

Edit and save

Change the values you need, then click Save Content at the top of the editor. Start your server from Console.

Many of these settings are also available as Startup variables in the sidebar, which is faster for quick changes like server name, port, or max players.

Full Property Reference

Property	Default	Valid Values	Description
`server-name`	`Dedicated Server`	Any text	Name shown in the server browser and friend lists
`server-port`	`19132`	1–65535	Primary UDP port for IPv4 connections
`server-portv6`	`19133`	1–65535	UDP port for IPv6 connections
`max-players`	`10`	1+	Maximum simultaneous players
`online-mode`	`true`	true / false	Require Xbox Live authentication. Never disable on public servers — it removes all identity verification
`enable-lan-visibility`	`true`	true / false	Respond to LAN discovery broadcasts
`emit-server-telemetry`	`false`	true / false	Send anonymous telemetry data to Mojang

Property	Default	Valid Values	Description
`level-name`	`Bedrock level`	Any text	Name of the world folder inside `worlds/`. Changing this loads a different world
`level-seed`	(blank)	Any text or number	Seed for world generation. Only applies when creating a new world — changing it on an existing world has no effect on already-generated chunks
`level-type`	`DEFAULT`	DEFAULT, FLAT	World type. FLAT generates a superflat world
`gamemode`	`survival`	survival, creative, adventure	Default game mode for new players
`force-gamemode`	`false`	true / false	Force all players back to the default game mode every time they log in
`difficulty`	`easy`	peaceful, easy, normal, hard	Server difficulty
`allow-cheats`	`false`	true / false	Allow commands like `/give`, `/tp`, `/gamemode`. Disables achievements for the world

Property	Default	Valid Values	Description
`default-player-permission-level`	`member`	visitor, member, operator	Permission level assigned to players not listed in `permissions.json`
`player-idle-timeout`	`30`	0+ (0 = disabled)	Minutes before idle players are kicked
`allow-list`	`false`	true / false	Restrict the server to players listed in `allowlist.json`. See the whitelist guide
`texturepack-required`	`false`	true / false	Force players to accept the server resource pack before joining
`disable-custom-skins`	`false`	true / false	Block custom player skins
`disable-player-interaction`	`false`	true / false	Disable all player-to-player interaction
`chat-restriction`	`None`	None, Dropped, Disabled	`Dropped` silently discards chat; `Disabled` prevents sending entirely

Property	Default	Recommended	Description
`view-distance`	`32`	10–16	Maximum view distance in chunks. Biggest performance knob — lowering from 32 to 12 dramatically reduces RAM and CPU usage
`tick-distance`	`4`	4–8	Simulation distance in chunks. Controls how far from players mobs are active and redstone fires. Range: 4–12
`max-threads`	`8`	Match CPU cores	Maximum worker threads. Set to `0` for automatic detection
`compression-threshold`	`1`	1–256	Minimum packet size (bytes) before network compression kicks in. Higher values reduce CPU at the cost of bandwidth
`compression-algorithm`	`zlib`	zlib, snappy	`snappy` is faster but uses slightly more bandwidth. Good for LAN or low-latency connections
`client-side-chunk-generation-enabled`	`true`	true	Lets clients pre-generate visual-only chunks. Reduces server load
`server-build-radius-ratio`	`Disabled`	Disabled or 0.0–1.0	Ratio of server-generated vs client-generated visual chunks. `Disabled` = server handles all building

Performance Tips

Start with view-distance=12 and increase if players want more render distance and your server handles it
tick-distance=4 is fine for most survival servers. Increase to 6–8 for redstone-heavy builds
compression-algorithm=snappy reduces CPU overhead on servers with good network connections

BDS has built-in server-authoritative movement validation. These settings control how strictly the server checks player positions.

Property	Default	Description
`server-authoritative-movement`	`server-auth`	`client-auth` = trust the client (no protection). `server-auth` = server validates positions. `server-auth-with-rewind` = server validates and rewinds invalid moves
`correct-player-movement`	`false`	When true, the server corrects invalid player positions instead of just flagging them
`player-movement-score-threshold`	`20`	Number of anomalous movements before action is taken
`player-movement-distance-threshold`	`0.3`	Maximum position discrepancy (blocks) before a movement is flagged
`player-movement-action-direction-threshold`	`0.85`	How closely the attack direction must match the look direction (0–1)
`server-authoritative-block-breaking`	`false`	Server validates block breaking range and speed

Recommended Anti-Cheat Settings

For public servers, use these stricter values:

server-authoritative-movement=server-auth-with-rewind
correct-player-movement=true
player-movement-score-threshold=10
server-authoritative-block-breaking=true

server-auth-with-rewind provides the best protection but may cause rubber-banding on high-latency connections. If players complain about teleporting back, try server-auth instead.

These settings are for servers running Script API behavior packs (JavaScript/TypeScript addons).

Property	Default	Description
`content-log-file-enabled`	`false`	Write addon error logs to a file. Enable this when troubleshooting behavior packs
`allow-inbound-script-debugging`	`false`	Accept VS Code debugger connections
`allow-outbound-script-debugging`	`false`	Connect to a remote debugger
`force-inbound-debug-port`	`19144`	Port for debugger connections
`script-watchdog-enable`	`true`	Monitor scripts for hangs and memory leaks
`script-watchdog-hang-threshold`	`10000`	Milliseconds before a script is considered hung
`script-watchdog-memory-limit`	`250`	MB before the server shuts down a script
`script-watchdog-enable-shutdown`	`true`	Shut down the server if a script exceeds memory limits

Most servers don't need to touch these settings. Only modify them if you're developing or running Script API behavior packs.

Quick-Reference: Common Scenarios

I want to...	Property	Value
Make a creative server	`gamemode=creative`	+ `force-gamemode=true`
Create a private server	`allow-list=true`	Then add players via allowlist
Reduce lag	`view-distance=10`	+ `tick-distance=4`
Force my texture pack	`texturepack-required=true`
Disable PvP	Use `/gamerule pvp false`	(not a server.properties option)
Allow cheats for admins only	`allow-cheats=true`	Then OP specific players

Minecraft Bedrock server.properties Reference

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