These are the settings people change first on a Minecraft server: what the server list shows, how hard the game is, what mode players start in and which seed the world uses. Most are on one page in the panel, and a few only matter when a world is created.
In the list on the left, click Server Properties (Java) for a Java server, Server Properties (Bedrock) for a Bedrock server, or Server Properties (PocketMine) for a Pocketmine server. Bedrock and Pocketmine are two different server types, and their settings differ.
Change the setting, then click Save only, or Save & restart to apply it now. Changes take effect when the server starts, so warn your players before you restart.
The message of the day is the description players see under your server's name in the Minecraft server list.
Open Server Properties (Java) and find Message of the day.
Type your text. Keep it under 59 characters in total, because Minecraft's documentation says a longer MOTD can make the server list report a communication error.
For a second line, type \n in the middle of the text, for example Welcome to the server\nSurvival, no griefing.
Special characters such as the section sign used for colour codes can be typed in the box. The panel writes them in the form the game expects.
Click Save & restart, then refresh the server list in the game.
On a Bedrock server, the name in the list is Server Name, found under Settings, then Game Settings. Do not use the field with a similar name, Server name, under Server Properties (Bedrock), because the panel overwrites it at every start. Message of the day in Server Properties (Bedrock) is shown only in some places. On a Pocketmine server, Message of the day under Server Properties (PocketMine) is the name players see in their server list.
A Java server can show a small picture beside its name in the server list.
Make a PNG image that is exactly 64 by 64 pixels.
Name the file server-icon.png, all lower case.
In the panel, open Files and click Upload, with the main server folder open, the one that holds server.properties. Choose the file.
Restart the server, then refresh the server list in the game.
If the icon does not appear, check the file name and size. Players who already saved the server may need to refresh the list. The Bedrock server has no icon setting in the panel.
Change the difficulty
Difficulty is a menu with four values: peaceful, easy, normal and hard. Peaceful removes hostile mobs, and hard makes them stronger and lets hunger do real damage.
To set it for good, change Difficulty in the Server Properties page and restart.
To change it now without a restart, type difficulty hard in the Console tab, or /difficulty hard in game if you are an operator. Change Difficulty in the settings too, or it may return to the old value when the server restarts.
A Hardcore world is always played on hard difficulty. Set Hardcore before the world is created. On a Bedrock server, difficulty is in Game Settings and has the same four values. On Pocketmine it is in Server Properties (PocketMine).
Change the game mode
Game mode is the mode players are in when they join: survival, creative, adventure or spectator. Bedrock offers survival, creative and adventure.
Force game mode puts players back into the default mode every time they join. Without it, a player who was in creative when they left rejoins in creative.
To change one player now, type gamemode creative Alex in the Console.
To change the starting mode for new players now, type defaultgamemode survival.
On a Bedrock server, players use cheat commands only if Allow cheats is on in Game Settings.
Choose the seed
The seed decides what a new world looks like. Two worlds made with the same seed on the same version are the same, so you can share a seed with friends.
World seed only applies when a world is created. It does nothing for a world that already exists, and a world's seed cannot be changed afterwards.
To see the seed of your current world, type seed in the Console.
Type the seed into World seed and click Save only. You can set World type here too. The choices are normal, flat, large biomes, amplified and single biome surface, and amplified is much heavier to generate.
Stop the server and delete the old world, or change World name to a new name so a new world is made next to the old one. The backup guide shows both.
Start the server. It generates the world from your seed.
A seed produces a different world in Java and in Bedrock, and in different Minecraft versions, so use a seed from the same edition and version as your server. Leave World seed empty for a random world.
MINECRAFT HOSTING
GAME SERVERS
Game Panel
