Minecraft Java server settings explained
Updated 2 November 2026 · 61 settings · Minecraft Java · By Exclsv Support
Every setting in the Minecraft Java settings form in Exclsv HQ: what it does, where it lives, its default and the values it takes. File settings are in server.properties; to edit it by hand, stop the server first, because a game can rewrite its settings while it runs.
On Exclsv you don’t need to edit the file by hand: change a setting in HQ’s form and HQ writes it for you, with the server stopped.
Settings marked “Set in HQ” are changed in HQ’s form only: HQ applies them every time the server starts, so an edit elsewhere doesn’t last.
World
| Setting | Where | What it does | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game mode | gamemode | What new players start in. Operators can still switch their own. | Survival | Survival, Creative, Adventure, Spectator |
| Always use this game mode | force-gamemode | Players are put back in this game mode every time they join. | Off | On or off |
| Difficulty | difficulty | How hard monsters hit. Peaceful has no monsters at all. | Easy | Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard |
| Hardcore | hardcore | One life: players who die become spectators. Also locks difficulty to Hard. | Off | On or off |
| Monsters | spawn-monsters | Hostile mobs spawn. | On | On or off |
| Animals | spawn-animals | Animals spawn. | On | On or off |
| Villagers | spawn-npcs | Villagers spawn. | On | On or off |
| World seed | level-seed | Empty picks one at random. Applies to a new world or map. | Empty | |
| World type | level-type | Shape of a newly generated world. Applies to a new world or map. | Normal | Normal, Superflat, Large biomes, Amplified |
| Generator settings | generator-settings | Settings for a flat or single-biome world, in the game's JSON. {} for none. Applies to a new world or map. | — | |
| Villages and structures | generate-structures | Generate villages, temples and other structures in new chunks. | On | On or off |
| Data packs to turn on | initial-enabled-packs | Data packs turned on when the world is made, separated by commas. Applies to a new world or map. | vanilla | |
| Data packs to leave off | initial-disabled-packs | Data packs left off when the world is made, separated by commas. Applies to a new world or map. | Empty | |
| World border | max-world-size | Blocks from the centre to the world border, up to 29,999,984. | 29999984 | 1 to 29999984 |
| Build height | max-build-height | Highest block players can build at. Before 1.17 only. | 256 | 1 or more |
Players
| Setting | Where | What it does | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max players | Set in HQ | How many people can be on at once. HQ starts it from your plan's memory; you can raise it up to the limit for your plan, shown when you save. More players use more memory. | — | 1 to 200 |
| Kick players not on the whitelist | enforce-whitelist | When the list changes, players who are no longer on it are kicked straight away. | Off | On or off |
| Check Minecraft accounts | online-mode | Only players with a real Minecraft account can join. Turned off only behind a linked network, where the entrance checks accounts. | On | On or off |
| Signed chat only | enforce-secure-profile | Only players whose chat is signed by Mojang can join. Off: chat can't be reported. | On | On or off |
| Block VPNs | prevent-proxy-connections | Kicks players whose connection doesn't match the one Mojang saw when they signed in. | Off | On or off |
| Accept transfers | accepts-transfers | Lets other servers send players here with a transfer. | Off | On or off |
| Hide who's online | hide-online-players | Leaves the player list out of the server list. | Off | On or off |
| Operator level | op-permission-level | What operators can do by default: 1 build at spawn, 2 commands, 3 kick and ban, 4 everything. | 4 | 0 to 4 |
| Function level | function-permission-level | Permission level data pack functions run with, from 1 to 4. | 2 | 1 to 4 |
| Spawn protection | spawn-protection | Blocks around spawn that only operators can change. 0 turns it off. | 16 | 0 or more |
| Allow flying | allow-flight | Stops the server kicking players who fly with a mod or plugin. | Off | On or off |
| Kick idle players | player-idle-timeout | Minutes before an idle player is kicked. 0 never kicks. | 0 min | 0 or more min |
| Chat spam limit | chat-spam-threshold-seconds | How quickly chat messages can come before a player is kicked. 0 never kicks. | 10 | 0 or more |
| Command spam limit | command-spam-threshold-seconds | How quickly commands can come before a player is kicked. 0 never kicks. | 10 | 0 or more |
| Console output to operators | broadcast-console-to-ops | Operators see what console commands print. | On | On or off |
| Remote console output to operators | broadcast-rcon-to-ops | Operators see what remote console commands print. | On | On or off |
| Code of conduct | enable-code-of-conduct | Shows players the code of conduct from the codeofconduct folder, in their language. | Off | On or off |
| Announce achievements | announce-player-achievements | Posts achievements in chat. Before 1.12 only. | On | On or off |
| Chat preview | previews-chat | Shows a preview of chat as players type. 1.19 to 1.19.2 only. | Off | On or off |
| Log IP addresses | log-ips | Writes players' IP addresses in the console and log. | On | On or off |
| Send usage data | snooper-enabled | Sends anonymous usage data to Mojang. Before 1.18 only. | On | On or off |
Performance
| Setting | Where | What it does | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View distance | view-distance | How far players can see, in chunks, from 3 to 32. Higher uses more memory. | 10 | 3 to 32 |
| Simulation distance | simulation-distance | How far away crops grow and mobs move, in chunks, from 3 to 32. | 10 | 3 to 32 |
| Mob display range | entity-broadcast-range-percentage | How far away mobs are shown, as a percentage of normal, from 10 to 1,000. | 100 % | 10 to 1000 % |
| Watchdog | max-tick-time | Milliseconds one tick may take before the server stops itself as frozen. -1 turns the watchdog off. | 60000 ms | -1 or more ms |
| Pause when empty | pause-when-empty-seconds | Seconds with nobody online before the world pauses. | 60 s | 0 or more s |
| Chained block updates | max-chained-neighbor-updates | Most block updates in a row before the rest are skipped. Below 0: no limit. | 1000000 | |
| Compress packets from | network-compression-threshold | Packets of this many bytes or more are compressed. -1 turns compression off. | 256 bytes | -1 or more bytes |
| Packet limit | rate-limit | Packets a player may send before being kicked. 0 turns it off. | 0 | 0 or more |
| Safe chunk writes | sync-chunk-writes | Writes chunks straight away so a crash loses less. Off can be faster. | On | On or off |
| Chunk compression | region-file-compression | How chunks are compressed on disk. Chunks already saved stay as they are. | Deflate (normal) | Deflate (normal), LZ4 (faster, bigger), None |
Server list and resource pack
| Setting | Where | What it does | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Message in the server list | motd | Shown under the server name in Minecraft's multiplayer list. Over 59 characters can show an error. | A Minecraft Server | Up to 59 characters |
| Show to very old clients | enable-legacy-status | Shows the server as online to versions before 1.7. | On | On or off |
| Contact details | status-contact-details | How to reach the server's owners. Not shown to players. | Empty | |
| Bug report link | bug-report-link | A link players can use to report a bug. Empty for none. | Empty | |
| Resource pack link | resource-pack | Direct download link to a resource pack, up to 250 MB. | Empty | |
| Resource pack SHA-1 | resource-pack-sha1 | The pack's SHA-1 in lower-case hex, so players' games can check the download. | Empty | |
| Resource pack hash | resource-pack-hash | The pack's SHA-1. 1.8 only; later versions use the SHA-1 setting. | Empty | |
| Resource pack id | resource-pack-id | A UUID for the pack. Empty for none. | Empty | |
| Resource pack message | resource-pack-prompt | Message shown when the pack is offered, in the game's text format. Empty for the usual one. | Empty | |
| Require the resource pack | require-resource-pack | Players who decline the pack are disconnected. | Off | On or off |
| Chat filter settings | text-filtering-config | Settings for the chat filter. Mojang made it for Realms; most servers leave it empty. | Empty | |
| Chat filter version | text-filtering-version | Format of the chat filter settings: 0 or 1. | 0 | 0 to 1 |
Network (set by HQ)
| Setting | Where | What it does | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port | Set in HQ | HQ's port picker sets it and adds an address record, so players never need it. | — | |
| Memory for Java | Set in HQ | Share of your plan's memory given to Java. HQ leaves room for Java itself. | — | |
| Tuned garbage collection | Set in HQ | The widely used Aikar flags. Smooths out short freezes on busy servers. | — |
Sources
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