Manage a Minecraft Server

After you get your Minecraft server up and running on a Cloud Server with Linux, there are many ongoing tasks to perform and changes you can make. Learn how to perform management and administrative tasks on a Minecraft server, including how to start and stop the Minecraft server, change the map seed, and use console commands.

• A Cloud Server with Linux.
• Minecraft server installed and running.
• Root access to the server.

There are several reasons why you might want to stop the Minecraft server from the command line. When the server is stopped from the command line, it automatically saves all player and map data to the files. This lets you make changes to the game or back up a clean copy of the files without worrying about creating a conflict.

If you are running Minecraft in a detached screen session, as we covered in the article Install and Run a Minecraft Server, reattach to that screen session with the command:

You will see the current output of the game, including messages about which players have joined or left the game, player deaths, and so forth.

To stop the Minecraft server, hit CTRL+C. The session will finalize and quit, and you will be returned to the command line:

First, begin a new screen session with the command:

Next, start the Minecraft server with the command:

The start-up process will take a few moments to complete.

At this point, your server is running. Use ctrl+a+d to detach this window, so that it continues to run after you exit.

Every map begins with a seed, a long string of digits which (among other things) specify the map's spawn point. To change your map's spawn point, you will need to change the seed.

Generating a new random seed

To get a new, random seed, first stop the Minecraft server as described in the section above.

Then rename the world folder original-world with the command:

Start the Minecraft server as described in the section above. It will automatically generate a new world folder, with a new random seed.

Use a specific new seed

To set a specific new seed, first stop the Minecraft server as described in the section above.

Then save a copy of your existing world by renaming the folder to original-world with the command:

Next, you will need to edit the server.properties file:

Scroll down until you find the line:

Put the seed at the end of this line. For example, to use the seed 1168863261 you would edit the line to read:

Then start the server as described in the section above. It will automatically generate a new world from that seed.

Restoring your original world

If you want to restore your original world, first rename the original-world folder back to world with the command:

If you created a new world from a random seed, all you need to do now is start the Minecraft server.

If you created a new world from a specific new seed, a few more steps are involved.

Edit the server.properties file:

Scroll down until you find the line:

Delete the seed number so that the line reads:

Save and exit the file.

Next you will need to create a fresh world, then replace that with your original world. Delete the existing world folder:

Start the Minecraft server. Wait for it to finish generating a new world. Then stop the Minecraft server.

Now replace the world folder with original-world:

Finally, start the Minecraft server.

As the server administrator, there are many console commands which you can issue from the command line on your server.

You can issue console commands from the active screen session. If you have detached from the screen where the Minecraft server is running, you can reattach to it with the command:

You will see the most recent output from the game's log, lines like:

Type out the console command and hit Enter. If the command is correct, the server will respond with a confirmation message. If the command is incorrect, the server will suggest you use the /help command:

By default, a Minecraft server does not have any server operators (OPs) set. A player with OP status is granted the highest level of admin rights, and can kick, ban, grant other players OP status, and more.

You will most likely want to grant yourself OP rights. If you have just set up your Minecraft server, you will first need to open your desktop Minecraft and connect to your server, if you have not already done so. This lets your server find and save your UUID.

You will need to issue this console command from the active screen session, as described above.

To grant yourself operator rights, use the /op command:

For example, if your player name was jdoe the command would be:

If the command is successful, the server with respond with:

A whitelist blocks anyone who is not on the list from connecting to your Minecraft server. This lets you create a list of players who you want to allow on your server, and blocks everyone else.

You will need to issue this console command from the active screen session, as described above.

To enable the whitelist, use the command:

The server will respond with:

To add a player to the whitelist, use the command:

For example, to add the player jdoe to your whitelist, the command would be:

The server will respond with:

To remove a player from the whitelist, use the command:

For example, to remove the player jdoe from the whitelist, the command would be:

The server will respond with: