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This guide shows you how to run your Minecraft server day to day: who has admin rights, who can join, and the commands and gamerules you’ll use most.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

10 minutes

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The Players page

Open your server and click Players in the sidebar. It has four tabs: If a file doesn’t exist yet, the first entry you add creates it. When the server is stopped, changes are saved straight to these files and apply when it starts.

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Make someone an operator

1

Open the Opped tab

Click Players, then Opped, then the + tile.
2

Enter the player

Type the Minecraft username (3 to 16 letters, digits or underscores; Java Edition).
3

Pick a level

Choose an Operator level (see the table below). Switch on Bypass the player limit if this operator should be able to join a full server.
Add an operator dialog with a Minecraft username field, an Operator level list from 0 to 4 with descriptions, a Bypass the player limit toggle and Cancel and Look up player buttons

Adding an operator

4

Look up and add

Click Look up player. The panel checks the name with Mojang and shows the player’s skin and UUID. Click Add operator. You see Saved to ops.json.
Each operator card has Level (change the level), Ban and Deop (remove operator).
Opped tab with an info card and an operator card showing the player's skin, name, Level badge, UUID and Level, Ban and Deop buttons

Operators on the Opped tab

You can also type op <name> or deop <name> in the console. The console doesn’t use a /.

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Ban a player

1

Open the Banned tab

Click Players, then Banned, then the + tile. (Or click Ban on an operator’s card.)
2

Fill in the details

  • Minecraft username.
  • Reason (optional): shown to the player. Up to 200 characters, one line, no @.
  • Duration: Permanent, 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or Pick a date…
3

Look up and ban

Click Look up player, check it’s the right account and confirm.
A banned player can’t join, whatever else is set. To ban an address instead, run ban-ip <name or IP> in the console. Bans show on the Banned IPs tab. Use pardon <name> or pardon-ip <IP> to lift a ban.

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Use the whitelist

A whitelist lets only the players you choose join.
1

Add yourself first

Click Players, then Whitelisted, then the + tile. Add your own name, then your friends’.
2

Turn the whitelist on

Click Server Properties, switch on Whitelist and click Save and restart.
3

Kick everyone else now (optional)

Switch on Enforce whitelist immediately so players who aren’t on the list are kicked straight away, not only at their next join.
In the console you can use whitelist add <name>, whitelist remove <name>, whitelist list, whitelist on and whitelist off.

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Useful console commands

Type these in the Console without a /. In game, add / in front (you need the right op level).

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Gamerules

Gamerules change how the world behaves. Minecraft renamed them in 1.21.11, so use the names for your version.
Gamerules are saved with each world. Type gamerule <name> on its own to see the current value.

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Permissions with LuckPerms

Operator is all-or-nothing. For ranks such as Member, Helper and Admin, use LuckPerms (install it from the Plugins page, see plugins). Every plugin lists its permission nodes on its download page. Give the default group what normal players need, such as essentials.home and essentials.tpa.

Server configuration

Whitelist, PvP and other settings.

Popular setups

SMP with claims, economy and voting.

Server console

Send commands from the panel.

Sub-users

Let staff use the panel safely.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: October 2026