How to Change Your Minecraft Server MOTD

The MOTD (Message of the Day) is the short description displayed below the name of your Minecraft server in the Minecraft Java Edition server list. You can use the MOTD to highlight information such as the game mode, supported Minecraft version or a temporary event. In this guide, we explain how to create a MOTD with colors and text formatting and set it through the game panel.

Create a Minecraft MOTD

Create the first and second lines of your MOTD below. You can add colors and text formatting and immediately preview how the MOTD will appear in the server list. The editor automatically converts your design into a suitable motd= line for the server.properties file.

Tip Keep both lines short and place the most important information first. A long MOTD may be partially cut off depending on the screen size, language and Minecraft client.

Change the Minecraft server MOTD

1. Log in to the game panel and go to your Minecraft server.
2. Open the Files page.
3. Open the server.properties file by clicking its filename.
4. Find the line that begins with motd=.

Tip Use Ctrl+F on Windows and Linux or Cmd+F on macOS to find the setting more quickly.

5. Click Copy in the widget above to copy the generated motd= line.
6. Replace the entire existing motd= line with the copied line.
7. Save the file.
8. Restart the Minecraft server using the grey restart button.
9. Open the server list in Minecraft Java Edition and click Refresh if necessary. The new MOTD is now displayed below your server’s name.

Note The generated motd= line must remain on a single line in server.properties. The widget automatically handles the separation between the first and second lines. Do not manually add a line break to the file.

Note Are you using BungeeCord or Velocity? Change the MOTD on the proxy server that players connect to. BungeeCord uses config.yml for this, while Velocity uses velocity.toml. The MOTD of a connected backend server is normally not displayed in the server list.