# How to Change Max Players on Your Minecraft Server (/docs/minecraft/player-limit)



import { Tab, Tabs } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/tabs';
import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

The default max-players value on a fresh Minecraft server is **20**. You can raise or lower this based on your server plan and gameplay style.

<Tabs items={['Via Startup (Recommended)', 'Via server.properties']}>
  <Tab value="Via Startup (Recommended)">
    <Steps>
      <Step>
        Open Startup [#open-startup]

        In the [XGamingServer Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), click **Startup** in the sidebar.
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Set Max Players [#set-max-players]

        Find the **Max Players** field and enter your desired count.
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Restart [#restart]

        Restart from **Console** to apply.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Via server.properties">
    <Steps>
      <Step>
        Stop the server [#stop-the-server]
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Open server.properties [#open-serverproperties]

        Click **Files** in the sidebar and open `server.properties`.
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Set max-players [#set-max-players-1]

        ```
        max-players=20
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Save and start [#save-and-start]
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Recommended RAM and View Distance by Player Count [#recommended-ram-and-view-distance-by-player-count]

Each player adds significant load — chunk loading, mob ticking, network sync. Match your view distance and RAM to your peak player count:

| Players    | Recommended RAM | view-distance | simulation-distance |
| ---------- | --------------- | ------------- | ------------------- |
| **1–10**   | 2–4 GB          | 10            | 8                   |
| **10–20**  | 4–6 GB          | 8             | 6                   |
| **20–50**  | 6–10 GB         | 6             | 4                   |
| **50–100** | 10–16 GB        | 4–6           | 4                   |
| **100+**   | 16 GB+          | 4             | 4                   |

> **Tip:** If your server is hitting performance limits, **lower view-distance and simulation-distance before adding more RAM**. View distance has the biggest performance impact of any single setting. See the [Performance Guide](/docs/minecraft/optimize-server) for full tuning.

Bypass Player Limit for Admins [#bypass-player-limit-for-admins]

Admins can bypass the player limit by setting `bypassesPlayerLimit: true` in `ops.json`:

```json
{
  "uuid": "...",
  "name": "AdminName",
  "level": 4,
  "bypassesPlayerLimit": true
}
```

This lets you join your own server even when it's at max capacity — useful for managing a full server during peak hours.

Set Maximum to Unlimited [#set-maximum-to-unlimited]

Setting `max-players=-1` removes the player cap entirely. **Not recommended** — without a cap, the server can be DDoS'd by automated connection floods.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Server Properties](/docs/minecraft/server-properties)
* [Performance Guide](/docs/minecraft/optimize-server)
* [How Much RAM](/docs/minecraft/how-much-ram)
* [Render Distance](/docs/minecraft/render-distance)
* [AFK Timeout](/docs/minecraft/afk-timeout)