server.properties Generator
Configure 35 server.properties settings visually. Each property includes a description and default value. Export the file when done.
Network
Gameplay
World
Performance
Security
Misc
No Longer in server.properties (26.2)
DedicatedServerProperties, the class a Java server reads this file with, dropped these six keys by version 26.2. Setting them in server.properties now does nothing. Version 26.2 also renamed the game rules themselves: the ids are lowercase with underscores, so the /gamerule spawnMonsters you typed on 1.21 is /gamerule spawn_monsters here. An existing world keeps its settings, because the old names in level.dat are converted when the world loads.
Generated server.properties
#Minecraft server properties #Generated by tools.astroworldmc.com server-port=25565 server-ip= query.port=25565 enable-query=false enable-rcon=false rcon.port=25575 rcon.password= network-compression-threshold=256 gamemode=survival difficulty=easy hardcore=false allow-flight=false force-gamemode=false spawn-protection=16 max-players=20 player-idle-timeout=0 level-name=world level-seed= level-type=minecraft\:normal generate-structures=true max-world-size=29999984 view-distance=10 simulation-distance=10 max-tick-time=60000 entity-broadcast-range-percentage=100 rate-limit=0 online-mode=true white-list=false enforce-whitelist=false enforce-secure-profile=true prevent-proxy-connections=false motd=A Minecraft Server enable-status=true resource-pack= require-resource-pack=false
Embed This Tool
Put the server.properties generator on your own site or server wiki.
<iframe src="https://tools.astroworldmc.com/embed/server-properties-generator" width="700" height="700" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;" loading="lazy" title="server.properties Generator"></iframe>
How to write server.properties
Work through the groups
Network, gameplay, world, performance, security and misc, with each key explained where it stands.
Set the ports first
Server port, query and RCON decide what is reachable from outside the machine, so they are worth settling before the rest.
Tune the distances
View distance and simulation distance are the two keys that cost the most tick time on a busy server.
Copy the file
The output is a complete server.properties with the keys in the order the server itself writes them.
How It Works
Configure server.properties with full explanations.
Java Edition 26.2Checked on against 35 keys against DedicatedServerProperties and the game rule ids in GameRulesPage updated
How to Use the server.properties Generator
The server.properties file controls the core configuration of every Minecraft Java Edition dedicated server. It lives in the root of your server directory and is read once at startup. Every setting from the server port and game mode to the world seed and difficulty is defined here. Editing this file by hand requires knowing the exact key names, valid value ranges and what each option does. This tool removes that guesswork by showing every common property in an organized visual editor grouped by category.
Browse through the Network, Gameplay, World, Performance, Security and Misc sections to adjust any setting. Boolean toggles flip between true and false. Dropdowns offer valid options for properties like game mode and difficulty. Number inputs accept the correct range. A description next to each property explains what it does, and when you change a value from its default, the original default is shown so you can compare. Setting white-list to true keeps everyone out until whitelist.json carries the right UUIDs, and the whitelist manager builds that file from a list of names.
Common Use Cases
First-time server owners use this tool to generate a complete server.properties file before launching their server for the first time. It ensures every setting is correct without having to look up documentation. Experienced administrators use it when migrating servers or changing hosting providers to quickly rebuild their config with the same settings. Network operators managing multiple servers adjust spawn protection, view distance and online mode for each game type and export separate files.
After configuring, click Copy to place the text on your clipboard or Download to save a ready-to-use server.properties file. Upload the file to your server root, restart and the new settings take effect immediately. Two of these lines are more guess than setting: max-players, which the player slot advisor derives from your hardware, and the memory the server starts with, which is not in this file at all but comes out of the RAM calculator as a JVM flag.
The settings that actually change how it runs
| view-distance | How far chunks are sent to a player. It costs bandwidth and memory per player, and it is the first number to lower on a busy server. |
|---|---|
| simulation-distance | How far things actually tick. A farm outside it stops, and lowering this saves far more CPU than lowering view distance does. |
| online-mode | true checks every login against Mojang. Turning it off lets anyone claim any name, so it belongs only behind a proxy that does the check itself. |
| spawn-protection | A radius in blocks around spawn where only operators may build. Set it to 0 if you handle protection with a plugin instead. |
| max-players | A gate on the door, nothing more. It reserves no memory and promises no performance. |
| Applying changes | server.properties is read at startup. Editing it while the server runs changes nothing until you restart, and the file is rewritten on shutdown. |
Every setting here was laid next to DedicatedServerProperties as version 26.2 has it, checked 8 August 2026 and rechecked 9 August 2026. That is the class a Java server reads server.properties with. It carries 64 keys, so this page is a selection from the file and not the whole of it. The recheck found six keys the form still offered that the class no longer carries at all: pvp, spawn-animals, spawn-monsters, spawn-npcs, allow-nether and enable-command-block. All six are gone from this page now, with the game rule that replaced each one named in its place.
What view-distance actually costs, in chunks and in blocks
Two of the settings on this page are radii, and a radius squared is what the server pays. The defaults in the form are 10 for both distances and 16 for spawn protection, so those are the numbers worked out here.
chunks around one player = (2 x distance + 1) squaredblocks in those chunks = chunks x 256 x 384, the full height of a modern worldspawn protection is a square too: (2 x radius + 1) squared blocksThe square is the whole story. Going from 10 to 12 sounds like a fifth more and is 42 percent more chunks; going from 10 to 8 sounds like a fifth less and saves 34 percent. Twenty players at the default, standing far enough apart not to overlap, are 8,820 chunks in memory at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about server.properties
Do I have to restart for a change to take effect?
Yes. The file is read once at startup, and the server writes its own copy back when it stops, which is also why edits made while it runs get overwritten.
View distance or simulation distance, which should I lower?
Simulation distance for CPU, view distance for bandwidth and client memory. Players notice a lower view distance immediately and rarely notice a lower simulation distance at all.
Is it safe to turn online-mode off?
Only when something else authenticates the player, which in practice means a proxy in front with the port firewalled off. On a directly reachable server it lets anyone log in as anyone, including as an operator.
Why can my players not build near spawn?
spawn-protection. It defaults to a radius around the world spawn point where only operators may place or break, and it silently overrides most plugin permissions.
