Basic Server Settings

The server.properties file is the primary configuration file for your Minecraft server. It controls everything from gameplay rules to network settings. This guide covers the most important settings and what they do.

How to Edit server.properties

1. Log in to your dashboard at Dashboard.
2. Select your Minecraft server.
3. Go to the File Manager tab.
4. Click on server.properties in the root directory.
5. Make your changes and click Save.
6. Restart your server for the changes to take effect.

Changes to server.properties only apply after a server restart. Simply saving the file is not enough.

Gameplay Settings

gamemode

Sets the default game mode for new players joining the server.

gamemode=survival

Options: survival, creative, adventure, spectator

difficulty

Controls the difficulty level of the game world.

difficulty=normal

Options: peaceful, easy, normal, hard

• Peaceful — No hostile mobs spawn, hunger does not deplete.
• Easy — Hostile mobs deal less damage, hunger can deplete but will not kill.
• Normal — Standard damage and hunger mechanics.
• Hard — Mobs deal more damage, hunger can kill, zombies can break doors.

pvp

Enables or disables player-versus-player combat.

pvp=true

Set to false if you want a cooperative-only server.

hardcore

When enabled, players are banned from the server upon death. Only works with gamemode=survival.

hardcore=false

spawn-protection

Defines a radius (in blocks) around the world spawn point where only operators can build. Set to 0 to disable.

spawn-protection=16

allow-flight

Determines whether players can use flight on the server. Some anti-cheat plugins require this to be true.

allow-flight=false

World Settings

level-seed

Sets the seed used for world generation. Leave blank for a random seed. Only affects world generation when a new world is created — changing this on an existing world has no effect.

level-seed=

level-type

Controls the type of world generated.

level-type=minecraft\:normal

Options: minecraft\:normal, minecraft\:flat, minecraft\:large_biomes, minecraft\:amplified, minecraft\:single_biome_surface

generate-structures

Whether to generate structures like villages, temples, and mineshafts.

generate-structures=true

max-world-size

Sets the maximum radius of the world border in blocks (from the center).

max-world-size=29999984

allow-nether

Enables or disables the Nether dimension.

allow-nether=true

Player and Connection Settings

max-players

The maximum number of players that can be connected at the same time.

max-players=20

Set this based on your plan’s capacity:

• The Construct (4GB): 10-15 players recommended
• The Reactor (8GB): 20-30 players recommended
• The Mainframe (16GB): 40-60 players recommended

online-mode

When set to true, the server authenticates players against Mojang’s servers. This ensures only legitimate Minecraft accounts can join.

online-mode=true

Important: Set this to false only if you are running a crossplay server with GeyserMC/Floodgate. Otherwise, always keep it true for security.

white-list

When enabled, only players on the whitelist can join the server.

white-list=false

Manage the whitelist using /whitelist add <player> and /whitelist remove <player> from the console.

motd

The “Message of the Day” displayed in the Minecraft server list. Supports color codes using the section symbol (\u00a7).

motd=A Witchly Minecraft Server

See our Customizing Server Icon and MOTD guide for color code details.

Performance Settings

view-distance

Controls how many chunks around each player the server keeps loaded. Lower values improve performance.

view-distance=10

Recommended values:

• Vanilla/few plugins: 8-10
• Modded/many plugins: 6-8
• Large player count: 4-6

simulation-distance

Controls the distance (in chunks) from a player within which entities and blocks are ticked. Introduced in Minecraft 1.18+.

simulation-distance=10

Keeping this lower than view-distance can significantly improve performance while players still see distant terrain.

max-tick-time

The maximum number of milliseconds a single tick can take before the server watchdog intervenes. Set to -1 to disable the watchdog (useful for heavy modded servers that may have long ticks during world generation).

max-tick-time=60000

network-compression-threshold

The minimum size of a packet (in bytes) before the server compresses it. Lower values use more CPU but less bandwidth.

network-compression-threshold=256

Server Identity

server-port

The port your server listens on. This is assigned by Witchly and should not be changed.

server-port=25565

Do not modify this value. Witchly assigns a specific port to your server. Changing it will prevent players from connecting.

server-ip

Leave this blank. Witchly handles network binding automatically.

server-ip=

Quick Reference

Setting	Default	Recommended
gamemode	survival	Your preference
difficulty	easy	normal or hard
max-players	20	Based on plan
view-distance	10	6-8 for performance
simulation-distance	10	6-8 for performance
spawn-protection	16	0 if using plugins
online-mode	true	true (false only for crossplay)
pvp	true	Your preference

Need Help?

For performance-specific tuning beyond server.properties, see our Performance Optimization guide. If you need assistance, join us on Discord.