The server.properties file controls many of the basic settings for a Minecraft Java server, including the game mode, difficulty, player limit, view distance, whitelist behavior, world settings, and more.

This guide explains the most commonly used server.properties settings on a Down Side Hosting Minecraft Java server.

Before making changes:

• Stop your Minecraft server.
• Make a backup if you are changing important world or networking settings.
• Edit only the options you understand.
• Save the file before restarting the server.
• Check the console after startup for errors.

Important: Some settings, especially networking settings, may be managed by Down Side Hosting. Do not change your assigned server port unless you have a specific reason or Down Side Hosting support instructs you to do so.

Open the Files section of your Down Side Hosting server panel.

The file is normally located in the main Minecraft server directory:

server.properties

Click the file to open it in the panel's editor.

Before changing the file, stop the server from the Down Side Hosting panel.

If Minecraft is running while you edit server.properties, some changes may not apply correctly and the server may overwrite settings when it shuts down.

After saving your changes, start the server again.

A server.properties file may contain settings similar to:

gamemode=survival
difficulty=easy
max-players=20
pvp=true
white-list=false
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=10
spawn-protection=16
enable-command-block=false
online-mode=true
level-name=world
motd=A Minecraft Server

Your file may contain additional settings depending on the Minecraft version.

The setting:

server-port=25565

controls which network port Minecraft listens on.

Down Side Hosting customers should normally leave the server port assigned by the hosting panel unchanged.

Your public server address is normally:

dsh.network:YOUR_PORT

Replace YOUR_PORT with the port assigned to your server.

Changing server-port to a random value can prevent players from reaching the server.

See:

How to Connect to Your Down Side Hosting Minecraft Java Server

You may see:

server-ip=

In most hosted Minecraft configurations, this should normally be left blank unless the hosting environment specifically requires another value.

Do not enter:

dsh.network

into server-ip.

The public hostname players use to connect is not normally what belongs in this field.

The Message of the Day is controlled by:

motd=A Minecraft Server

This is the description players see for the server in their Minecraft Multiplayer list.

For example:

motd=Welcome to My Survival Server!

You can use this to display your community or server name.

The maximum number of players is controlled by:

max-players=20

For example:

max-players=10

allows up to 10 players to be connected at the same time.

Setting a high player limit does not mean the server automatically has enough CPU, RAM, or other resources to support that many active players.

The default game mode is controlled by:

gamemode=survival

Common values include:

survival
creative
adventure
spectator

For a normal survival server:

gamemode=survival

The setting:

force-gamemode=false

controls whether players are forced into the server's default game mode when joining.

With:

force-gamemode=true

players will be placed into the game mode configured by gamemode when they connect.

The server difficulty is controlled by:

difficulty=easy

Common values are:

peaceful
easy
normal
hard

For example:

difficulty=hard

Hardcore mode is controlled by:

hardcore=false

To enable Hardcore:

hardcore=true

Hardcore changes normal survival behavior and can have major consequences for players, so make sure this is what you intend before enabling it.

Player-versus-player combat is controlled by:

pvp=true

To disable PvP:

pvp=false

The server whitelist is controlled by:

white-list=false

To require players to be on the whitelist:

white-list=true

You can then add a player with:

whitelist add PLAYERNAME

For example:

whitelist add Steve

To see the current whitelist:

whitelist list

You may also see:

enforce-whitelist=false

When enabled:

enforce-whitelist=true

players who are no longer allowed by the whitelist can be prevented from remaining connected.

If you are running a private server, using the whitelist is a good way to control access.

The setting:

online-mode=true

controls normal Minecraft account authentication.

For a standard public Minecraft Java server, this should normally remain:

online-mode=true

Do not disable online mode simply to troubleshoot a connection problem.

Changing authentication behavior can have security and identity implications for the server.

The setting:

view-distance=10

controls approximately how far from each player the server sends world chunks.

A higher value can increase:

• CPU usage
• Memory usage
• Network usage
• Chunk loading
• World-generation workload

For a busy or modded server, reducing view distance can sometimes help performance.

Do not assume the highest possible value is the best setting.

The setting:

simulation-distance=10

controls the distance around players where many game systems continue to actively simulate.

This can affect:

• Mobs
• Redstone
• Farms
• Entity processing
• Other ticking game activity

Reducing simulation distance can lower server workload, but it also changes gameplay behavior.

The setting:

spawn-protection=16

protects an area around the world's spawn from normal player modification.

To disable spawn protection:

spawn-protection=0

This may be useful when a plugin or another protection system manages your spawn area instead.

Command blocks are controlled by:

enable-command-block=false

To enable them:

enable-command-block=true

Only enable command blocks when your server or map requires them.

You may see:

allow-flight=false

This setting can affect how Minecraft handles players who appear to be flying.

Some mods, plugins, or gameplay features may require:

allow-flight=true

If a legitimate server feature allows players to fly and players are being incorrectly kicked, check whether this setting is relevant.

The main world folder is controlled by:

level-name=world

If you upload a world named:

survival

you can set:

level-name=survival

The folder name and level-name need to match.

For help moving worlds, see:

How to Upload a Minecraft World to Your Down Side Hosting Server

The world seed can be set with:

level-seed=

For a new world, you can enter a seed before the world is generated.

For example:

level-seed=123456789

Leaving the setting blank allows Minecraft to generate a seed automatically.

Changing level-seed after a world has already been generated does not simply replace the existing world.

The setting:

generate-structures=true

controls generation of normal Minecraft structures when creating new terrain.

Disabling it can change the way newly generated areas of the world are created.

You may see:

allow-nether=true

This controls whether the Nether is available on server software that uses this setting.

For most normal survival servers, leave it enabled.

The setting:

spawn-animals=true

controls normal animal spawning.

To disable it:

spawn-animals=false

The setting:

spawn-monsters=true

controls hostile mob spawning.

Keep in mind that the server's difficulty setting can also affect hostile mobs.

The setting:

spawn-npcs=true

controls certain NPC spawning behavior, including villagers.

The setting may look like:

player-idle-timeout=0

A value of:

0

normally disables automatic idle kicking.

A nonzero value can be used to disconnect players after they remain inactive for the configured period.

You may see:

enable-status=true

This allows Minecraft clients to query basic server information for the Multiplayer server list.

For a normal publicly reachable Minecraft server, this is usually left enabled.

Some Minecraft versions include:

hide-online-players=false

When enabled, the normal status response may hide the player sample/list from server-list queries.

A server can offer players a resource pack with:

resource-pack=

This normally requires a direct URL to the resource-pack file.

You may also see related settings for:

• Resource-pack prompt
• Resource-pack requirement
• Resource-pack hash

Make sure the resource pack is hosted somewhere players can access directly.

On supported Minecraft versions, you may have:

require-resource-pack=false

Setting:

require-resource-pack=true

can require players to accept the server resource pack before joining normally.

You may see:

enable-rcon=false

RCON provides remote console access.

Do not enable RCON unless you specifically need it and understand how to secure it.

The Down Side Hosting panel already provides console access, so most customers will not need to enable RCON.

You may see:

enable-query=false

The Minecraft query protocol is used by certain external tools to request server information.

Most normal players do not need this enabled.

You may see:

network-compression-threshold=256

This is a more advanced networking setting.

For most servers, leave it at the default unless you have a specific reason and understand the effect of changing it.

Some server versions include:

max-tick-time=60000

This controls watchdog behavior when a server tick becomes stuck for too long.

Do not disable or dramatically change watchdog behavior simply to hide server freezes.

If the server is repeatedly triggering watchdog crashes, identify the underlying performance problem.

After editing server.properties:

1. Save the file.
2. Return to the server console.
3. Start the server.
4. Watch the startup log.
5. Connect and test the changed setting.

If the server fails to start after editing the file, check for an invalid value or accidental formatting change.

If a setting appears to revert:

• Make sure the server was stopped before editing.
• Confirm the file was saved.
• Check whether the server panel manages that setting.
• Check whether a plugin or mod controls similar behavior.
• Make sure you edited the correct server.properties file.

Check:

level-name=

If your world folder is:

survival

you normally want:

level-name=survival

Make sure the actual world files are directly inside the expected folder.

See:

How to Upload a Minecraft World

If players could connect before the change, check whether you modified:

server-port
server-ip
online-mode

Down Side Hosting servers normally use the port assigned through the hosting environment.

Your public address should look like:

dsh.network:YOUR_PORT

If you changed the networking settings and are unsure what they should be, stop the server and contact Down Side Hosting support.

Settings such as:

view-distance
simulation-distance
max-players

can affect server workload.

However, lag can also be caused by:

• Plugins
• Mods
• Entities
• World generation
• Redstone
• Farms
• Loaded chunks
• CPU workload
• Insufficient resources

Do not change dozens of settings at once.

Make one or a few changes, restart, and test the result.

Normally, no.

Down Side Hosting assigns your Minecraft server a port.

Use the port provided for your server rather than choosing a random port in server.properties.

No.

The hostname players use to reach the server is not normally entered into server-ip.

Leave server-ip blank unless your hosting configuration specifically requires another value.

There is no single best value for every server.

A smaller server may be able to use a higher view distance, while a busy or heavily modded server may benefit from a lower setting.

Choose a value that balances gameplay and server performance.

No.

max-players only controls the number of simultaneous players Minecraft permits.

It does not add RAM, CPU power, or network capacity.

For a normal authenticated Minecraft Java server, leave:

online-mode=true

Do not disable account authentication as a general troubleshooting step.

• How to Connect to Your Down Side Hosting Minecraft Server
• How to Upload a Minecraft World
• How Much RAM Does a Minecraft Java Server Need?
• Paper vs Purpur vs Spigot
• Minecraft Plugin Troubleshooting Guide
• Minecraft Mod and Modpack Troubleshooting Guide

If you are unsure about a setting, include the setting name, your Minecraft version, and what you are trying to accomplish when contacting support.

Contact Down Side Hosting Support

Down Side Hosting provides Minecraft Java hosting with server panel access, file management, console controls, backups, and configuration access.

Minecraft Java hosting starts at $2/month.

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