MOTD and icon: how your server looks in the server list

In short: put your description in motd in server.properties — the second line starts after \n, and colours come from § codes (which you can write as \u00A7 in the file). Drop a 64×64 PNG named server-icon.png into the server folder next to server.properties and restart. For RGB colours and gradients, install a plugin such as MiniMOTD; on a Velocity network the proxy sets the description and icon.

What a player sees in the server list#

The MOTD in server.properties#

motd=§6§lMyCraft §r§7| survival 1.21.11\n§aA new season is open

• Second line — after \n.
• Colour and style — the § sign plus a code from the table below. Put the colour first, then the style: a colour after a style code cancels the style, so §6§l gives bold gold text and §l§6 plain gold.
• The `§` sign can be written as \u00A7: the file is read by Java Properties rules, so \uXXXX escapes always work.
• Non-English text. Since 1.20 the server reads server.properties as UTF-8 (falling back to ISO-8859-1) and writes it as UTF-8. If the list shows garbled characters, save the file as UTF-8 or write the text with \uXXXX escapes.
• Keep it short. The Minecraft Wiki warns that a MOTD over 59 characters may cause a communication error in the server list.
• Restart. server.properties is only read at startup.

To build a coloured line without picking codes by hand, use the MOTD editor: type with & codes, see the result as it looks in the server list, and copy a ready motd= line with special characters already escaped so the server reads them correctly.

The server-icon.png icon#

1. 1

   Prepare the image

   PNG format, 64×64 pixels. A JPG renamed to .png is still a JPG: re-save it as PNG in an image editor.

2. 2

   Name it server-icon.png

   Exactly that name, in lower case. The server doesn't create this file itself.

3. 3

   Put it in the server folder

   In the server's working directory — where server.properties and the server jar live, not in plugins or the world folder.

4. 4

   Restart and check

   After the restart, refresh the server list in the client.

Player count, the name list and an "invisible" server#

enable-status=false suits a private server for friends: port scanners see it as offline. A public server shouldn't do this — players will assume you've shut down. Other keys of the file are in server.properties.

Gradients and rotating MOTDs: MiniMOTD#

The vanilla motd only knows the 16 colours from the table. RGB, gradients and a random pick from several descriptions come from plugins. MiniMOTD is a free, open-source (MIT) plugin for Paper, Folia, Velocity, Waterfall, Fabric, NeoForge and Sponge. You write text in MiniMessage format, and the plugin downsamples RGB colours for outdated clients automatically.

motds=[
    {
        icon=random
        line1="<gradient:#f5a623:#f8e71c><bold>MyCraft</bold></gradient> <gray>| survival"
        line2="<green>A new season is open"
    }
]

• line1 and line2 are the two description lines; with several entries in the list, a random one is chosen on each refresh.
• icon=random picks a random image from the plugin's icons folder; you can also name a file without .png.
• MiniMessage tags: named (<gray>) and hex (<#09add3>) colours, <bold>, <italic>, <gradient:colour:colour>, <rainbow>. The gradient generator helps build a gradient.

MiniMOTD also has a fake player count (fake-players), off by default. Leave it off: a player who joins, opens the player list and sees they were misled won't trust your server more.

A Velocity network: the proxy sets the description#

Players ping the proxy, not the game servers, so the list shows what Velocity is configured with: motd in velocity.toml (MiniMessage format only, <#09add3>A Velocity Server by default) and server-icon.png from the proxy folder. show-max-players sets the maximum shown. The MOTDs of the game servers behind the proxy aren't shown unless you turn on ping-passthrough (by default the proxy forwards nothing). MiniMOTD on Velocity can show different descriptions for different domains. Building the network is covered in setting up Velocity.

motd = "<gold><bold>MyCraft</bold></gold> <gray>| lobby, survival, arena"

What to write in the MOTD#

• Game mode and version: "Survival 1.21.11", "Anarchy 26.3" — the player knows at once whether this is the right place.
• What's new: a wipe, a new season, an event — see server wipe.
• One honest selling point. Don't promise "no lag" or "no cheaters" unless you can deliver: players will check within minutes.

The same text works for your listing on server-list sites — where to list the server and how to avoid fake votes is in Minecraft server lists.

Fair play as a selling point#

Players leave servers where people fly and hit through walls with impunity, so "fair play" is a selling point that works — if it's true. DGuard — the best anticheat for a modern Minecraft server — checks combat, movement, packets, inventory, building and world actions. If it's installed, "Protected by DGuard" in the MOTD or the server description is honest; if it isn't, don't write it.

Put together rules for your website and Discord in the free rules generator: its "We run DGuard" option is off by default — turn it on only if you really installed the anticheat.

FAQ#