Whether you're a first-time server operator or a veteran administrator, there are moments when you need a specific command right now-not buried in a wiki, but immediately accessible. This cheatsheet is designed to be bookmarked. It covers every essential server command organized by category, with exact syntax and practical examples.
Entity Management
Kill All Hostile Mobs (Without Killing Players or Animals)
This is one of the most searched commands in 2026, and for good reason. When your server's TPS tanks because a broken mob farm spawned 500 zombies, you need to clean them up without wiping out player pets or livestock.
/kill @e[type=!player,type=!item]
Warning: This kills ALL non-player, non-item entities-including armor stands, item frames, and villagers. For a more targeted approach:
Kill only hostile mobs:
/kill @e[type=zombie]
/kill @e[type=skeleton]
/kill @e[type=creeper]
/kill @e[type=spider]
/kill @e[type=enderman]
Kill all entities in a specific radius (100 blocks around you):
/kill @e[type=!player,distance=..100]
Remove only dropped items (lag cleanup):
/kill @e[type=item]
Entity Count Check
See how many entities are loaded on the server:
/spark tickmonitor
Or for a quick vanilla count:
/debug start
# Wait 10 seconds
/debug stop
Player Management
Operator (OP) Commands
Grant or revoke operator privileges:
/op PlayerName # Grant OP
/deop PlayerName # Revoke OP
Best Practice: Never OP untrusted players. Instead, use a permissions plugin like LuckPerms to grant granular permissions without full OP access.
Banning and Moderation
/ban PlayerName reason # Permanent ban
/ban-ip 192.168.1.100 reason # IP ban
/pardon PlayerName # Unban a player
/pardon-ip 192.168.1.100 # Unban an IP
/kick PlayerName reason # Kick without ban
/whitelist add PlayerName # Add to whitelist
/whitelist remove PlayerName # Remove from whitelist
/whitelist on # Enable whitelist mode
Gamemode Commands
/gamemode survival PlayerName
/gamemode creative PlayerName
/gamemode spectator PlayerName
/gamemode adventure PlayerName
Shorthand:
/gm 0 PlayerName # Survival
/gm 1 PlayerName # Creative
/gm 2 PlayerName # Adventure
/gm 3 PlayerName # Spectator
World Management
World Border
Essential for controlling exploration and pre-generation:
/worldborder center 0 0 # Set border center
/worldborder set 10000 # Set border diameter (blocks)
/worldborder set 5000 300 # Shrink to 5000 over 300 seconds
/worldborder get # Check current size
/worldborder warning distance 100 # Warning at 100 blocks from edge
Time and Weather
/time set day # Set to daytime
/time set night # Set to nighttime
/time set 6000 # Set to noon (tick value)
/gamerule doDaylightCycle false # Freeze the time permanently
/weather clear # Clear weather
/weather rain # Start rain
/weather thunder # Start thunderstorm
/gamerule doWeatherCycle false # Freeze weather permanently
Teleportation
/tp PlayerName 100 64 -200 # Teleport to coordinates
/tp PlayerName OtherPlayer # Teleport to another player
/tp @a 0 100 0 # Teleport ALL players to coordinates
Server Performance Commands
TPS and Performance
/tps # Check ticks per second
/mspt # Milliseconds per tick (Paper)
Spark Profiler (requires Spark plugin/mod)
/spark profiler start # Begin profiling
/spark profiler stop # Stop and generate report
/spark tps # Detailed TPS breakdown
/spark gc # Garbage collection stats
/spark health # Overall server health
Memory and Debug
/debug start # Start debug profiling
/debug stop # Stop and save report
Gamerules Reference
Gamerules control fundamental server behaviors:
/gamerule keepInventory true # Players keep items on death
/gamerule mobGriefing false # Prevent creeper/enderman damage
/gamerule doFireTick false # Prevent fire spread
/gamerule doMobSpawning false # Disable all mob spawns
/gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 50 # 50% of players needed to skip night
/gamerule randomTickSpeed 3 # Default tick speed (lower = less lag)
/gamerule spawnRadius 10 # Spawn point radius
/gamerule maxEntityCramming 24 # Entity cramming limit
/gamerule announceAdvancements false # Disable advancement messages
Server Properties Quick Reference
These are set in server.properties (not in-game commands):
# Performance
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=8
max-tick-time=60000
network-compression-threshold=256
# Security
online-mode=true
enable-command-block=false
white-list=false
enforce-whitelist=false
# Gameplay
pvp=true
difficulty=hard
max-players=20
spawn-protection=16
Console-Only Commands
These must be run from the server console, not in-game:
stop # Gracefully stop the server
save-all # Force a world save
save-off # Disable auto-saving (for backups)
save-on # Re-enable auto-saving
list # List online players
Need More Performance?
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