How to Set Up a Whitelist on Your Minecraft Server

Enable whitelist mode and manage allowed players on your Minecraft Java server using console commands or whitelist.json.

A whitelist restricts your server to only approved players. Anyone not on the list is rejected at connection. This is the strongest access control — stronger than a password, since usernames are tied to verified Mojang accounts.

Enable the Whitelist

Open the Console

In the XGamingServer Panel, click Console in the sidebar.

Enable the whitelist

whitelist on

The whitelist is now active. Any non-whitelisted player who tries to join will be rejected with "You are not whitelisted on this server!"

(Optional) Kick non-whitelisted players who are already online

whitelist enforce

This is the equivalent of enforce-whitelist=true and immediately kicks any connected player who isn't on the list.

Stop the server

Open server.properties

Click Files in the sidebar and open server.properties.

Set the flags

white-list=true
enforce-whitelist=true

enforce-whitelist=true kicks non-whitelisted players who are already online when the whitelist is enabled. Set it to false if you want to leave existing players alone and only block new connections.

Save and start

Manage the Whitelist

All commands work in the panel Console or in-game (with OP):

Command	Description
`whitelist add <PlayerName>`	Add a player to the whitelist
`whitelist remove <PlayerName>`	Remove a player from the whitelist
`whitelist list`	Show all whitelisted players
`whitelist on`	Enable the whitelist
`whitelist off`	Disable the whitelist (anyone can join)
`whitelist reload`	Reload `whitelist.json` after manual edits

Tip: Use the player's exact username including capitalization. The whitelist is NOT case-sensitive in modern Minecraft versions, but quoting it correctly avoids confusion.

Edit whitelist.json Directly

The whitelist is stored in whitelist.json in the server root. Each entry has the player's UUID and name:

[
  {
    "uuid": "069a79f4-44e9-4726-a5be-fca90e38aaf5",
    "name": "Notch"
  },
  {
    "uuid": "853c80ef-3c37-49fd-aa49-938b674adae6",
    "name": "jeb_"
  }
]

Find UUIDs at mcuuid.net by entering the username.

After editing the file directly, run whitelist reload in the Console to apply changes without restarting.

OPs Bypass the Whitelist

Server operators (players in ops.json) can always join regardless of whitelist status. This means:

You don't need to add yourself to the whitelist if you're already an OP
New OPs are automatically allowed
Use this combo for staff-only servers: enable whitelist, OP your staff, no one else can join

Common Issues

Problem	Fix
Player not found	The username doesn't exist in Mojang's database. Check spelling — modern Minecraft uses Mojang verification
Whitelist not enforcing	Run `whitelist reload` after manual `whitelist.json` edits
OP can't join	OPs bypass the whitelist by default. If they still can't join, check `enforce-whitelist` and the server logs
Online-mode false	If `online-mode=false`, the whitelist verifies by username only — players can spoof names

How to Set Up a Whitelist on Your Minecraft Server

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