How to edit it
- Open your server on the dashboard and go to the Files tab.
- Open
server.properties. Each line isname=value. - Change the values you want. Keep the name exactly as it is and don't add spaces around the
=. - Save the file, then restart the server from the dashboard.
The most common settings also have their own controls in the Settings tab, which writes the file for you.
Lines that start with # are comments. The server ignores them and rewrites the file when it starts, so your own comments won't last.
Settings worth changing
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| motd | The message under your server's name in the multiplayer list. Short is better; it's cut off after about 45 characters per line. |
| difficulty | peaceful, easy, normal or hard. |
| gamemode | What new players start in: survival, creative, adventure or spectator. |
| hardcore | true makes death permanent: players become spectators when they die. |
| pvp | false stops players hurting each other. |
| max-players | How many people can be online at once. |
| white-list | true only lets in people on the whitelist. |
| spawn-protection | Radius in blocks around spawn that only operators can change. 0 turns it off. |
| view-distance | How many chunks around each player are sent to them. Lower means less lag. |
| simulation-distance | How many chunks around each player keep running: crops grow, mobs move. Lower means less lag. |
| level-seed | The seed for a new world. Only used when the world is first generated. |
| allow-flight | true stops the server kicking people for flying, which some plugins and mods need. |
Settings to leave alone
- server-port and server-ip: Kiphost sets these so the address works. Changing them makes your server unreachable.
- online-mode: keep it
true. With it off, anyone can join as any username, including yours. - enable-rcon and enable-query: these open extra network ports that Kiphost doesn't route, so they won't work and only add risk.
Starting a new world
To start over with a new seed, stop the server, set level-seed to the seed you want, and delete the world, world_nether and world_the_end folders in the Files tab. When the server starts again it generates a fresh world from the seed. Back up your world first if there's any chance you'll want it back.