How to Add Players to a Minecraft Server Whitelist in 2026
The whitelist is one of the most useful tools for Minecraft server owners who want to control who can join their server. Whether you are running a private SMP with friends or a vetted community where applications are required, the whitelist is how you keep your server exclusive.
What Is the Minecraft Whitelist
The whitelist is a list of approved player usernames. When whitelist mode is enabled, only players on the list can connect to the server. Everyone else sees a message that they are not whitelisted.
This is different from a ban list, which blocks specific players from otherwise open servers. The whitelist is an allowlist approach where the server is closed by default.
How to Enable the Whitelist
In your server.properties file, set:
white-list=true
Save the file and restart your server. The whitelist is now active.
Adding Players to the Whitelist
From the server console or in-game as an operator, use:
/whitelist add [username]
Replace [username] with the player's Minecraft username. You do not need them to be online to add them.
You can also directly edit the whitelist.json file in your server directory. Each entry looks like:
{
"uuid": "player-UUID-here",
"name": "PlayerName"
}
After editing the JSON file manually, run /whitelist reload from the console to apply the changes without restarting.
Removing Players from the Whitelist
/whitelist remove [username]
This removes them from the list immediately. They will be disconnected if currently online on servers running plugins that enforce this, though vanilla Minecraft may require a restart to kick them.
Checking the Whitelist
/whitelist list
Returns all currently whitelisted players.
Whitelist for Modded Servers
On modded servers running Forge or NeoForge, the whitelist works exactly the same as on vanilla. The server.properties setting and console commands are identical.
One caveat: if you are using GeyserMC to allow Bedrock players, you need to whitelist their Bedrock username in addition to their Java username, or configure Floodgate to handle Bedrock authentication separately.
Managing the Whitelist on Space-Node
If your server is hosted on Space-Node, the file manager in the game panel gives you direct access to server.properties and whitelist.json without needing to connect via FTP. Changes can be made and saved directly from the browser.
