How to Configure Your Minecraft Server

Complete server.properties reference for Minecraft Java Edition. All 50+ settings with defaults, valid values, and descriptions.

The server.properties file is the main configuration file for your Minecraft Java server. It controls gameplay, networking, security, performance, and more. This guide covers every available setting.

Changing Server Settings

Stop your server

Go to the XGamingServer panel and stop your Minecraft server.

Open server.properties

Go to Files and open server.properties.

Edit and save

Change the settings you want, then click Save.

Start your server

Start your server to apply the changes.

⚠️ Warning: Always stop your server before editing server.properties. Changes made while the server is running will be overwritten when the server saves on shutdown.

Gameplay Settings

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`gamemode`	`survival`	`survival`, `creative`, `adventure`, `spectator`	Default game mode for new players
`force-gamemode`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Force players back to default game mode each time they join
`difficulty`	`easy`	`peaceful`, `easy`, `normal`, `hard`	Server difficulty. Guide
`hardcore`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Permanent death — players switch to spectator on death. Guide
`pvp`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Player vs player combat. Guide
`allow-flight`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Allow flight in Survival mode. Prevents the anti-fly kick. Guide
`spawn-monsters`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Hostile mob spawning. Guide
`spawn-protection`	`16`	`0`–unlimited	Radius in blocks around spawn where non-ops can't build. `0` disables. Guide
`player-idle-timeout`	`0`	Minutes (`0` = disabled)	Kick players after this many minutes of inactivity. Guide
`enable-command-block`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Enable command blocks. Guide
`max-players`	`20`	`0`–2147483647	Maximum concurrent players. Guide

World Settings

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`level-name`	`world`	Any string	Name of the world folder
`level-seed`	(blank)	Any value	World generation seed. Guide
`level-type`	`minecraft\:normal`	See below	World generation type
`generate-structures`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Generate villages, temples, strongholds, etc.
`generator-settings`	`{}`	JSON string	Customize generation for flat/single-biome worlds
`max-world-size`	`29999984`	`1`–`29999984`	World border radius in blocks from center
`initial-enabled-packs`	`vanilla`	Comma-separated	Data packs enabled on world creation
`initial-disabled-packs`	(blank)	Comma-separated	Data packs excluded from auto-enabling

level-type Values

Since Minecraft 1.19+, level-type uses namespaced values. The colon must be escaped with a backslash in server.properties:

Value	Description
`minecraft\:normal`	Standard world generation (default)
`minecraft\:flat`	Superflat world
`minecraft\:large_biomes`	Biomes are 4x larger than normal
`minecraft\:amplified`	Extreme terrain heights up to Y=256. Resource-intensive
`minecraft\:single_biome_surface`	Single-biome world (set biome via `generator-settings`)

⚠️ Warning: Using the old un-namespaced values like flat or amplified may not work on 1.19+ servers. Always use the minecraft\: prefix.

Server Display

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`motd`	`A Minecraft Server`	Any string	Message shown in the server list. Supports color codes with `\u00A7`. Guide
`enable-status`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Show server as "online" in the server list
`hide-online-players`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Hide the player list from server status requests
`bug-report-link`	(blank)	URL	Custom bug report link shown to players

Network Settings

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`server-ip`	(blank)	IP address	IP the server binds to. Leave blank for all interfaces
`server-port`	`25565`	`1`–`65534`	TCP port the server listens on
`network-compression-threshold`	`256`	Integer (`-1` = disabled)	Minimum packet size in bytes before compression
`use-native-transport`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Use optimized Linux networking (epoll). Leave `true`
`rate-limit`	`0`	Integer (`0` = disabled)	Max packets per second from a client before kick
`prevent-proxy-connections`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Kick players if their ISP doesn't match Mojang's auth server
`accepts-transfers`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Accept incoming player transfers (1.20.5+)

Performance Settings

These settings have the biggest impact on server performance. See the Performance Guide for recommended values.

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`view-distance`	`10`	`3`–`32` chunks	How far the server sends world data to clients. Guide
`simulation-distance`	`10`	`3`–`32` chunks	How far from players entities and blocks are ticked
`sync-chunk-writes`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Synchronous chunk writes. Set to `false` for better performance
`entity-broadcast-range-percentage`	`100`	`10`–`1000`	Percentage of default entity tracking distance
`max-chained-neighbor-updates`	`1000000`	Integer (negative = disabled)	Limit consecutive neighbor block updates
`max-tick-time`	`60000`	`-1` or `0`+ (ms)	Max ms a tick can take before the watchdog kills the server. `-1` disables
`region-file-compression`	`deflate`	`deflate`, `lz4`, `none`	Chunk file compression algorithm
`pause-when-empty-seconds`	`60`	Integer (`-1` = disabled)	Seconds with no players before the server pauses ticking (1.21.2+)

💡 Tip: The three most impactful performance settings are view-distance, simulation-distance, and sync-chunk-writes. Lowering view and simulation distance reduces loaded chunks dramatically. Setting sync-chunk-writes=false prevents I/O bottlenecks.

Security Settings

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`online-mode`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Verify players against Mojang. Never disable unless using a proxy
`white-list`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Enable the whitelist. Guide
`enforce-whitelist`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Kick non-whitelisted players immediately when whitelist reloads
`enforce-secure-profile`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Require Mojang-signed player profiles. Disable for offline-mode or some proxies
`log-ips`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Log player IP addresses to console
`op-permission-level`	`4`	`0`–`4`	Default permission level for operators
`function-permission-level`	`2`	`1`–`4`	Permission level for data pack functions

Operator Permission Levels

Level	Permissions
1	Bypass spawn protection
2	Use `/clear`, `/difficulty`, `/effect`, `/gamemode`, `/gamerule`, `/give`, `/summon`, `/tp`, and edit command blocks
3	Use `/ban`, `/deop`, `/kick`, `/op`, `/whitelist`
4	Use `/stop`, `/reload`, and all commands

Query and RCON

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`enable-query`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Enable GameSpy4 query protocol
`query.port`	`25565`	`1`–`65534`	UDP port for query
`enable-rcon`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Enable RCON remote console. Guide
`rcon.port`	`25575`	`1`–`65534`	TCP port for RCON
`rcon.password`	(blank)	Any string	RCON password
`broadcast-rcon-to-ops`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Send RCON output to online operators
`broadcast-console-to-ops`	`true`	`true` / `false`	Send console output to online operators

Resource Pack

Setting	Default	Values	Description
`resource-pack`	(blank)	URL	Download URL for the server resource pack
`resource-pack-id`	(blank)	UUID	Unique identifier for the resource pack
`resource-pack-sha1`	(blank)	40-char hex	SHA-1 hash for verification
`resource-pack-prompt`	(blank)	JSON chat component	Custom message on the resource pack prompt
`require-resource-pack`	`false`	`true` / `false`	Disconnect players who decline the pack

All Settings Quick Reference

The complete alphabetical list of all server.properties settings:

server.properties

accepts-transfers=false
allow-flight=false
broadcast-console-to-ops=true
broadcast-rcon-to-ops=true
bug-report-link=
difficulty=easy
enable-command-block=false
enable-jmx-monitoring=false
enable-query=false
enable-rcon=false
enable-status=true
enforce-secure-profile=true
enforce-whitelist=false
entity-broadcast-range-percentage=100
force-gamemode=false
function-permission-level=2
gamemode=survival
generate-structures=true
generator-settings={}
hardcore=false
hide-online-players=false
initial-disabled-packs=
initial-enabled-packs=vanilla
level-name=world
level-seed=
level-type=minecraft\:normal
log-ips=true
max-chained-neighbor-updates=1000000
max-players=20
max-tick-time=60000
max-world-size=29999984
motd=A Minecraft Server
network-compression-threshold=256
online-mode=true
op-permission-level=4
pause-when-empty-seconds=60
player-idle-timeout=0
prevent-proxy-connections=false
pvp=true
query.port=25565
rate-limit=0
rcon.password=
rcon.port=25575
region-file-compression=deflate
require-resource-pack=false
resource-pack=
resource-pack-id=
resource-pack-prompt=
resource-pack-sha1=
server-ip=
server-port=25565
simulation-distance=10
spawn-monsters=true
spawn-protection=16
sync-chunk-writes=true
use-native-transport=true
view-distance=10
white-list=false

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How to Configure Your Minecraft Server

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