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Minecraft MOTD generator

Write the two lines players see under your server in the multiplayer list. Click a colour or a format, see it as the game shows it, and copy the line to paste. Free, and nothing to sign up for.

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Make your MOTD

Click in a line, then click a colour or a format: the code goes in where your cursor is. Or start from an example.

Blockhaven 12/100
Examples:

Every colour code

Sixteen colours, each with a code. In chat plugins and BungeeCord you write &a, the game itself uses §a, and in server.properties it becomes §a.

The 16 colour codes of Minecraft
Colour Code In server.properties Hex MiniMessage
Black &0 · §0 §0 #000000 <black>
Dark blue &1 · §1 §1 #0000AA <dark_blue>
Dark green &2 · §2 §2 #00AA00 <dark_green>
Dark aqua &3 · §3 §3 #00AAAA <dark_aqua>
Dark red &4 · §4 §4 #AA0000 <dark_red>
Dark purple &5 · §5 §5 #AA00AA <dark_purple>
Gold &6 · §6 §6 #FFAA00 <gold>
Gray &7 · §7 §7 #AAAAAA <gray>
Dark gray &8 · §8 §8 #555555 <dark_gray>
Blue &9 · §9 §9 #5555FF <blue>
Green &a · §a §a #55FF55 <green>
Aqua &b · §b §b #55FFFF <aqua>
Red &c · §c §c #FF5555 <red>
Light purple &d · §d §d #FF55FF <light_purple>
Yellow &e · §e §e #FFFF55 <yellow>
White &f · §f §f #FFFFFF <white>
The formatting codes of Minecraft
Format Code What it does MiniMessage
Bold &l · §l Makes the text bold. <bold>
Italic &o · §o Slants the text. <italic>
Underline &n · §n Draws a line under the text. <underlined>
Strikethrough &m · §m Draws a line through the text. <strikethrough>
Obfuscated &k · §k Keeps changing the characters, like a secret code. <obfuscated>
Reset &r · §r Puts colour and formatting back to normal. <reset>

A MOTD that announces your sale by itself

With a free Minecraftstore.io store you set the MOTD in your dashboard. While a sale runs, the server list shows your sale lines, like 25% off, ends in 3 hours, and goes back when it ends. Your goal and top buyer can be in it too. No restart, no file to edit.

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Set it on your server

  1. 1

    Copy the line

    Pick server.properties above and copy. It starts with motd= and has the codes written as §.
  2. 2

    Replace it in server.properties

    Open server.properties in the folder of your server, find the line that starts with motd= and put the copied line in its place.
  3. 3

    Restart and check

    Restart the server and look in your multiplayer list. On a network, set it on BungeeCord or Velocity instead: that is the MOTD players see.

Tips for a MOTD that gets clicks

  • Name and game mode first

    The first line is what players scan. Your server name and what they play there: Survival, Skyblock, Prison.

  • Something new on line two

    A new season, an event, a reward for voting. Change it when something happens, so returning players see it.

  • Two or three colours

    One colour for your name, grey for the rest, one to stand out. More looks busy in a list full of servers.

Questions

Why does server.properties need \u00A7 instead of §?

Minecraft reads server.properties as an old Java properties file, which does not know characters like §. Typed straight in, it often shows up as § in the server list. Written as \u00A7 it always works, so the generator writes it that way.

Can I use & instead of § in server.properties?

No. The game itself only knows §. The & codes are a convention of plugins and proxies like BungeeCord, which turn them into § for you. That is why the generator gives a different line per place.

Why is my bold text not bold after a colour?

A colour code ends the formatting before it. Put the colour first and the format after it: &a&l for bold green, not &l&a.

How long can a MOTD be?

Two lines, and about 45 characters a line before the server list cuts it off. Wide letters like W take more room than i or l, so check the preview.

Can I use hex colours like #FF8800?

Not in server.properties: there only the 16 colours work. Velocity reads MiniMessage, which takes hex colours like <#ff8800>, and so do several MOTD plugins.

How do I centre my MOTD?

With spaces at the start of the line, as in the Skyblock example. The generator keeps them in server.properties, where a space at the start would otherwise be dropped.

Do I need to restart the server?

Yes, for server.properties, BungeeCord and Velocity. The new MOTD shows after the restart.

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