Tools
MOTD editor with colours and preview
The MOTD is the two lines under your server's name in the server list. Write with & codes, see the result at once and copy a ready line for server.properties: § and non-Latin letters are already written so the server reads them correctly.
MOTD editor
Click a code to insert it at the cursor.
CraftLand — survival and PvP
Join now: the season has begun
motd=\u00A7a\u00A7lCraftLand \u00A77\u2014 survival and PvP\n\u00A7eJoin now: \u00A7fthe season has begunReplace the motd= line in server.properties with this one and restart the server.
§a§lCraftLand §7— survival and PvP
§eJoin now: §fthe season has begun<green><bold>CraftLand </bold></green><gray>— survival and PvP</gray><newline><yellow>Join now: </yellow><white>the season has begun</white>Putting the MOTD on your server
Copy the line from "For server.properties", replace the motd= line in the file with it and restart the server. The § sign and any non-Latin letters are written as \uXXXX, so the file reads the same in any encoding, and the line break is \n.
A colour code resets the styles before it: put the colour first, then bold or italic — &a&l, not &l&a. &r resets everything.
MiniMessage is understood by plugins on Paper — those that change the MOTD on the fly, for example. Plain server.properties doesn't read it; only the § line goes there.
The MOTD is the first thing a player sees. If your server plays fair, say so: on a server with DGuard — the best anticheat for a modern Minecraft server — cheaters are caught across all 47 cheat types in our comparison.
Read in the knowledge base
FAQ
How do I make a two-line MOTD?
Lines are separated by \n in server.properties. The editor does it for you: fill in the second line and copy the result.
Why do I see & or § instead of colours?
Codes in server.properties are written with §, not &. Copy the line from the editor: § is already written there as \u00A7.
Why did letters in my MOTD turn into question marks?
The file was saved in the wrong encoding. The editor's line writes every non-Latin letter as \uXXXX, and such a MOTD reads correctly in any encoding.
Can I put a gradient in the MOTD?
Plain server.properties understands only the 16 colours. Gradients come from plugins with MiniMessage — build one in the gradient text generator.
The tools are free. So is anti-cheat protection
DGuard — the best anticheat for a modern Minecraft server — catches all 47 cheat types in our comparison; the nearest rival, Intave, catches 27. Free up to 30 players online, with the same protection as on paid plans.