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To change the MOTD on your FREAKHOSTING Minecraft server, open Server Properties in the Game Panel, type your message in the MOTD editor (press Enter for the second line), select text and click a colour or a format such as Bold, check the live preview and click Save and restart. The MOTD (message of the day) is the text shown under your server name in the Minecraft multiplayer list.

How to change the MOTD in the Game Panel

1

Open Server Properties

Open your server in the Game Panel and click Server Properties in the sidebar. The MOTD editor is in the Server group, with a preview of your server icon and name.
Minecraft Server Properties page with the MOTD editor showing a preview with server icon and name, a colour palette, Bold, Strike, Underline, Italic, Obfuscated and Reset buttons, alignment buttons and a text box

The MOTD editor on the Server Properties page

2

Type your message

Replace the default text A Minecraft Server. The MOTD has two lines: press Enter to start the second line.
3

Add colours and formats

Select some text, then click one of the 16 colours, or Bold, Strike, Underline, Italic or Obfuscated (scrambled, flickering text). Reset clears formatting from that point. Use the align buttons to place text left, centre or right.
4

Check the preview

The preview shows how the server will look in the multiplayer list.
5

Save

Click Save and restart. Or click Save, and the new MOTD shows after the next start. Players see it when they refresh their server list.
Click the server name or icon in the preview to change them. See how to add a custom server icon.

Minecraft MOTD colour codes

The editor writes these codes for you. You only need them if you edit server.properties by hand or set a MOTD in a plugin. Each code starts with the section sign §. Put a colour code before a format code: §6§l is gold bold text. A colour code after a format code resets the format.

How to set the MOTD in server.properties by hand

Stop the server, open server.properties in Files and edit the motd line. Write § as § and a line break as \n, so the file stays valid in any encoding:
This shows My Server in bold gold on the first line and “Survival with friends” in grey on the second. Click Save Content and start the server.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a Minecraft MOTD be?

Two lines. Text that is too wide for the server list is cut off, so check the preview and keep each line short.

Why doesn’t my new MOTD show?

The server must restart, and players must refresh their server list. Some proxies and plugins set their own MOTD and override server.properties.

Can I use hex colours in the MOTD?

The editor offers the 16 standard colours. Hex colours need a plugin that sets the MOTD.

Can I centre the MOTD?

Yes. Use the align buttons in the editor and check the preview.

Minecraft server guide

Every Minecraft guide in one place.

Custom server icon

Add a 64 × 64 icon next to the MOTD.

server.properties explained

Every setting in one table.

Set up a whitelist

Make your server private.
Tested by the FREAKHOSTING team on our Game Panel on 29 October 2026 (Minecraft 26.1, Paper and Fabric). Steps may differ slightly if the game or its plugins change.

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Last Updated: October 2026