nurshia

MOTD Editor

Design a Minecraft server MOTD with a real server-list preview, automatic centering and a 64×64 server icon. Export for server.properties, Velocity, BungeeCord and MiniMOTD.

MOTD

239 / 271 px
236 / 271 px

Server entry

Server iconDrop any image. It’s cropped to a square and resized to 64×64.

Shown in white above the MOTD. Players choose this name when adding your server.

Export

Vanilla, Paper, Spigot and Purpur. Replace the motd= line in server.properties.

server.properties220 chars
motd=\u00A7r       \u00A76\u00A7lNURSHIA \u00A78\u00BB \u00A77Survival \u00A78\u2022 \u00A77Skyblock \u00A78\u2022 \u00A77Creative\n        \u00A7e\u00A7lNEW! \u00A7fSeason 4 is live \u00A78\u2014 \u00A7bplay.nurshia.net

How to use

  1. 1Write both lines with & codes or MiniMessage. Use the toolbar for colors, formats and symbols.
  2. 2Turn on Center for a line to pad it with spaces so it sits in the middle of the server list.
  3. 3Watch the width meter: lines wider than 271 pixels wrap, and only two lines are ever shown.
  4. 4Add your server icon, then export for your server software and paste it into the config.

Good to know

Centering is pixel-exact

Minecraft’s font is proportional: an i is 2 pixels wide, an m is 6 and bold adds 1. The editor measures every character the way the game does, so centered lines line up for real.

server.properties needs escapes

The file is read as Latin-1, so § must be written \u00A7 and line breaks as \n. The export does this, and adds §r in front of centered lines because .properties drops leading spaces.

Hex colors

Vanilla server.properties MOTDs only support the 16 legacy colors. Velocity, MiniMOTD and most MOTD plugins support hex and gradients.

Questions

How long can a Minecraft MOTD be?

The server list shows two lines, each up to 271 pixels wide (about 45 average characters). Longer text wraps onto the next line and anything past the second line is hidden.

Why isn't my MOTD centered in-game?

Centering with spaces depends on character widths and on the player’s font. With the default font it is exact; players using a resource pack with a custom font may see it slightly off.

How do I set a server icon?

Save a 64×64 PNG named server-icon.png in the server’s root folder (next to server.properties) and restart. The image must be exactly 64×64 or it will be ignored. Proxies like Velocity and BungeeCord use their own favicon setting.

Can I have a different MOTD per player or a random MOTD?

Not with vanilla. Plugins such as MiniMOTD rotate several MOTDs, and some show placeholders like the online count.