Minecraft Bedrock server.properties Explained (Every Key, 2026)

server.properties sits in the main folder of a Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS) and controls the server name, game mode, difficulty, player limit, allowlist, ports and how far the world loads around players. The defaults are max-players=10, difficulty=easy, allow-list=true (since version 26.30), server-port=19132 and view-distance=32. Most friend servers only need to change five of them: server-name, difficulty, allow-list, level-name and view-distance. Stop the server before you edit the file, then start it again: BDS only reads it on startup.

The settings most people change

General settings

server-name is the name shown on the in game play screen and in the LAN list. Any text without a ; works.

gamemode (survival, creative, adventure) is the game mode for new players. force-gamemode (default false) decides what happens to existing worlds: with false, the server keeps the mode saved when the world was created even if you change gamemode later. If you change gamemode and nothing happens, set force-gamemode=true.

difficulty takes peaceful, easy, normal or hard.

allow-cheats lets operators use commands in chat. Worlds with cheats on lose achievements, so ask your group first. The console can always run commands regardless.

max-players is the hard cap on players online. Higher values do not cost anything by themselves, players do. Our plans are sized for 10, 25 and 50 players.

Access settings: allow-list, online-mode and permissions

allow-list (default true since Bedrock 26.30, false before): when true, only Gamertags in allowlist.json can join, so a new server with an empty list lets nobody in. Leave it on and add your players. Bedrock has no ban command, so the allowlist is your main way to keep people out. See how to whitelist players on a Minecraft Bedrock server.

online-mode (default true): players must be signed in to Xbox Live. Leave it on. Microsoft's docs note that players connecting from outside your LAN always need Xbox Live sign in no matter what this says, so turning it off fixes nothing and only weakens LAN checks.

default-player-permission-level (default member): what new players can do. visitor can only look around, member plays normally, operator gets commands. Leave it on member.

chat-restriction (default None): Dropped blocks chat messages and tells players chat is off, Disabled hides the chat box for everyone except operators.

disable-player-interaction (default false): tells clients to ignore other players when interacting with the world. Rarely useful outside minigames.

disable-custom-skins (default false): blocks skins made outside the Marketplace and the in game skin tools. Useful on public servers with kids around.

Network settings: ports and LAN

Bedrock uses UDP, not TCP. If you self host and forward ports, forward UDP 19132. A detail that catches people running two servers on one machine: with enable-lan-visibility=true, BDS also binds 19132 and 19133 even when you set different ports, so the second server fails to start. Set it to false on the extra servers.

On GamezServers your server gets its own port, already open, and you never edit these. Leave the compression keys alone everywhere.

World settings

level-name is the folder in worlds/ that the server loads. If the folder does not exist, BDS creates a new world with that name. When you upload a world, set this to the folder's exact name, capitals included.

level-seed only matters when a new world is generated. Changing it on an existing world does nothing.

texturepack-required (default false): when true, players must accept the world's resource packs to join. Turn it on if your add-ons need their resource pack to look right, otherwise players who decline see broken textures. More in how to add add-ons to a Minecraft Bedrock server.

Performance settings: view-distance and tick-distance

These two decide most of your server's load.

view-distance (default 32, minimum 5) is the most chunks a player can see. Players with a lower setting on their device see less. 32 is a lot of chunks to send and keep in memory for every player. We would set:

• 10 to 12 on a 2 GB server with a full group
• 16 on 4 GB and up
• higher only if you have RAM to spare and players actually look at the horizon

tick-distance (default 4, range 4 to 12) is how many chunks around each player are simulated: crops grow, mobs move, redstone runs. Each step up adds a lot of work, because the area grows as a square. Leave it at 4 unless a farm needs more, and even then try 6 before going higher.

client-side-chunk-generation-enabled (default true) lets players' devices build the visual chunks past the simulation range themselves, which takes load off the server. Leave it on. server-build-radius-ratio (default Disabled) tunes that split and is best left alone.

max-threads (default 8) caps how many CPU threads BDS uses. 0 means as many as possible. Leave the default.

player-idle-timeout (default 30) kicks players idle for that many minutes. 0 turns it off. If your friends AFK at an iron farm overnight, set 0.

Anti cheat settings

BDS has a set of server authoritative checks. The defaults are permissive, and on a private server we leave them:

On a public server with strangers, server-authoritative-block-breaking=true is the one worth trying first. Turn the strict movement options on only if you see fly or speed cheats, and expect complaints from players on mobile data.

Settings you can ignore

content-log-file-enabled writes add-on errors to a file, handy only when debugging packs. block-network-ids-are-hashes should stay true. The script-debugger-*, allow-inbound-script-debugging, allow-outbound-script-debugging, force-inbound-debug-port, script-watchdog-* and diagnostics-capture-* keys are for add-on developers. disable-client-vibrant-visuals (default true) tells clients not to use Vibrant Visuals; leave it unless you know your add-ons support it.

A sensible starting file

server-name=Friends SMP
gamemode=survival
difficulty=normal
allow-cheats=false
max-players=10
online-mode=true
allow-list=true
level-name=Friends SMP
view-distance=12
tick-distance=4
player-idle-timeout=0
default-player-permission-level=member
texturepack-required=false

Editing server.properties on GamezServers

The keys most people change are in Settings on our panel: World name, Game mode, Difficulty, Allowlist, Allow cheats, the server name and the Bedrock version. Change those there, because the panel applies them when the server starts and would overwrite the same lines in the file. Everything else, like view-distance or player-idle-timeout, you edit in server.properties in the Files tab. Stop the server, save the file, start it.

If you are not running a server yet, the Bedrock hosting quick start gets one online in about a minute, and our Bedrock server commands list covers what you can change from the console without a restart.

FAQ

Where is server.properties on a Bedrock server?

In the main server folder, next to bedrock_server (or bedrock_server.exe on Windows), allowlist.json and permissions.json. It is not inside the worlds folder.

Why did my server.properties change not do anything?

The server only reads the file at startup, so restart it. If you edited while it was running, it may also have written the old values back. Stop it, edit, then start. For gamemode, you also need force-gamemode=true on an existing world.

What is the best view distance for a Bedrock server?

10 to 16 for most friend servers. The default 32 uses far more memory and bandwidth than most groups need, and players rarely notice the difference with fog and their own device settings.

Can I change the difficulty without restarting?

Yes. Type changesetting difficulty normal in the console. It lasts until the next restart, so also update difficulty in the file or panel.

Does max-players affect performance?

Not on its own. It is only a cap. Performance depends on how many people are actually online and how much of the world they load.