The server.properties file is the main settings file for your Minecraft Java server, and editing it lets you control everything from the world seed to the max player count and PvP.
Where to find server.properties
You will find server.properties in the root folder of your server. Open the Files tab in your GuavaHost panel and it is listed right at the top level, in the same place as your world folder and any plugins or mods folders. Click the file name to open the built-in editor, make your change, and press Save Content.
Most settings only take effect after a restart, and a few (like the world seed) only apply when a brand new world is generated. To be safe, stop the server before editing, then start it again afterwards.
The settings you will change most
Each line is a setting followed by = and its value. These are the ones people edit most often:
- gamemode - the default mode for new players: survival, creative, adventure or spectator.
- difficulty - peaceful, easy, normal or hard.
- max-players - how many players can be online at once.
- motd - the message shown under your server name in the multiplayer list.
- pvp - true lets players damage each other, false turns it off.
- view-distance - how many chunks load around each player. Lower it (for example 8) to reduce lag on busy servers.
- simulation-distance - how far mobs, crops and redstone actually tick. Lowering this helps performance a lot.
- level-seed - the seed for a new world. Leave it blank for random.
- level-name - the folder name of the world to load. Change this to swap between saved worlds.
- spawn-protection - the radius in blocks around spawn that only ops can build in. Set 0 to disable.
- white-list - true turns on the whitelist (add yourself first, see our whitelist guide).
- online-mode - keep this true. It verifies players against Mojang. Setting it false allows cracked clients and is a security risk.
How to edit it safely
- Open the Backups tab and take a snapshot first, so you can roll back if something breaks.
- Stop the server from the Console tab (type stop and press Enter, or use the power controls).
- Open the Files tab and click server.properties.
- Change the value after the = sign. Do not add spaces around it and do not use quotes.
- Press Save Content.
- Start the server and check the Console log for errors.
A few gotchas
Values are case sensitive and boolean settings must be exactly true or false. If a change seems ignored, you probably need a full restart. And remember level-seed will not reseed an existing world; you have to generate a new one or change level-name to a fresh folder.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.