Minecraft Bedrock server.properties: Every Setting
What each setting in a Minecraft Bedrock server.properties file does, sensible values for it, and the four the panel writes for you from Startup settings instead.
5 min read · Updated Oct 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
server.properties is the main settings file for a Minecraft Bedrock server, and the quickest way to change it is the Server properties page under Minecraft tools: stop the server, edit the value, click Save changes, start it again. It controls everything from the game mode to how far players can see. This guide explains each setting that matters, gives sensible values, and flags the four that GuavaHost writes for you from Startup settings on the Settings tab.
Where it is and how to edit it
server.properties sits in the root folder of your server, next to the worlds, behavior_packs and resource_packs folders. The easiest way to edit it is the Server properties page:
- Stop the server with the Stop button at the top of the page.
- In the server menu, under Minecraft tools, click Server properties. The settings are grouped into sections such as The basics, Who can join, World and Performance, and the search box finds one by name.
- Change the value. Anything without its own control is listed further down as plain text: type the value only, with no spaces or quotation marks.
- Click Save changes.
- Start the server again.
You can also open server.properties on the Files tab, change the value after the = sign (no spaces around it, no quotation marks) and press Save.
The file comes with a comment line (starting with #) above each setting describing what it does. Bedrock updates add and rename settings from time to time, so when this guide and those comments disagree, trust the comments in your own file.
Settings the panel manages
Four settings also appear in Startup settings on the Settings tab: Server Name, Gamemode, Difficulty and Allow cheats. The panel writes those values into server.properties each time the server starts, so if you only edit them in the file, your change can be put back on the next start. Change these four in Startup settings, where each has its own Save button, then restart. On the Server properties page they are shown locked, with a link to where they are set.
The panel sets server-port the same way, to the port in your server's address at the top of the server page. Leave it alone.
Server and player settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
server-name | The name your server reports to players' games when they look it up. Set it in Startup settings. |
max-players | How many players can be online at once. The default is 10. |
online-mode | When true, every player must be signed in to a Microsoft (Xbox) account. Keep it true. |
allow-list | When true, only players in allowlist.json can join. Add names before switching it on. |
player-idle-timeout | Minutes before an idle player is kicked. 0 turns this off. The default is 30. |
The allow-list has one trap: turning it on with nobody on the list locks everyone out, including you. Allowlist and whitelist explained shows the safe order.
Gameplay settings
| Setting | Values | What it does |
|---|---|---|
gamemode | survival, creative, adventure | Default mode for players. Set it in Startup settings. |
force-gamemode | true, false | Makes the server apply gamemode to players, even after the world was created. |
difficulty | peaceful, easy, normal, hard | World difficulty. Set it in Startup settings. |
allow-cheats | true, false | Lets operators use commands such as /give, /tp and /gamemode. Set it in Startup settings. |
default-player-permission-level | visitor, member, operator | What new players can do when they first join. |
A few notes:
- Game mode not changing? With
force-gamemode=false, changinggamemodeafter the world exists may not affect players. Setforce-gamemode=true, or change individual players with thegamemodecommand. - Permission levels.
visitorcan walk around but not build or break,membercan play normally, andoperatorcan run commands.memberis the usual choice for public servers;visitoris a good lockdown while you vet new players.
World settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
level-name | The folder name of the world to load, inside worlds/. It must match the folder exactly, spaces included. The default world folder is Bedrock level. |
level-seed | The seed used when a brand new world is generated. Changing it does nothing to a world that already exists. |
To switch between saved worlds, set level-name to another folder in worlds/ and restart. Take a backup on the Backups page before you start moving worlds around.
Performance settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
view-distance | 32 | The furthest a player can see, in chunks (16-block squares). The minimum is 5. |
tick-distance | 4 | How far from players the world stays active: mobs, crops and redstone. Allowed values are 4 to 12. |
max-threads | 8 | The most CPU threads the server tries to use. |
tick-distance is Bedrock's version of simulation distance, and every step up makes the server simulate a much larger area. Leave it at 4 unless a farm or build needs more, and raise it one step at a time. Lowering view-distance to somewhere between 10 and 16 is a common way to take load off a busy server while keeping a decent view. The ideas behind both are the same as on Java; see View distance vs simulation distance.
Packs and content
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
texturepack-required | When true, players must accept the world's resource packs to join. When false, packs are optional. |
content-log-file-enabled | When true, errors from addons are written to a log file. Handy while testing a new addon. |
For installing addons in the first place, see Installing Bedrock addons, and for addons that need experimental features, Enabling experiments and Beta APIs on Bedrock.
Settings to leave alone
server-portandserver-portv6. Players connect on the port in your server's address, shown at the top of the server page, which the panel manages. See Join your Minecraft Bedrock server.enable-lan-visibility. LAN discovery does not matter on a hosted server.- Movement and anti-cheat settings such as the
server-authoritativeandplayer-movementoptions. Their names and defaults have changed across recent Bedrock versions, and wrong values cause rubber-banding. compression-thresholdand other network tuning.
Gotchas
- Values are case sensitive, and true or false settings must be exactly
trueorfalse. - Most changes only apply after a full restart.
level-seednever reseeds an existing world. Pointlevel-nameat a new folder name to generate a fresh one.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.
- bedrock
- server.properties
- settings
- config
- view-distance
- tick-distance
- allow-list
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