What is a Minecraft MOTD?

MOTD stands for message of the day: the text under your server's name in the multiplayer server list. On a Java server it is the motd setting in server.properties, and a new server uses "A Minecraft Server" until you change it. The server name above it is whatever each player typed when they added your server.

How long can a Minecraft MOTD be?

Two lines of 267 pixels each, as the 26.3 server list draws them. Letters are 2 to 7 pixels wide including the gap after them, most of them 6, a space is 4 and bold adds 1 to every letter, so a line holds about 44 letters of plain text. A first line that is too wide wraps at its last space onto the second line, and whatever ends up past the second line is not shown.

How do I add colours to my MOTD?

Put a colour code in front of the text: § and a character from 0 to 9 or a to f, such as §6 for gold. Formatting codes go after the colour, because a colour code switches bold, italic and the rest off again. In server.properties, write the § as \u00A7; plugins and BungeeCord's config.yml usually take & instead of §.

Why does my MOTD show a strange Â before the § sign?

The server read the file in the wrong text encoding. Servers before 1.20 read server.properties as ISO-8859-1, so a § saved as UTF-8 turns into Â§ and the colour code no longer works. Write the § as \u00A7 instead: every server version reads that the same way, and it is what this generator puts in the motd line.

How do I centre my MOTD?

Add spaces in front of the line. A space is 4 pixels wide, so the number of spaces is (267 minus the width of your line) divided by 8; the generator shows each line's width. The server.properties format drops spaces at the very start of a value, so the generator writes the first one as a backslash and a space, which keeps them.

What is the JSON form of a MOTD for?

The server list receives the MOTD as a JSON text component. A vanilla server puts the § codes inside the text, while Spigot and Paper can send a full component with the styles spelled out. Use the JSON form where a plugin, proxy or tool asks for a text component. It can also take hex colours such as #FF8800, which § codes cannot.

Can anyone see the MOTD of a whitelisted server?

Yes. The server list reply that carries the MOTD needs no account and no whitelist, so anyone who adds your address can read it. Keep it to words you would put on a sign. Setting enable-status=false stops the reply, but then your server shows as offline in everyone's list.

How do I add a server icon next to the MOTD?

Save a PNG of exactly 64 by 64 pixels as server-icon.png in the server's main folder, next to server.properties, and restart the server. The game does not show an icon of any other size. You can try your icon in the preview above before you upload it.

Home/Minecraft Hosting/MOTD Generator

Free tool

Minecraft MOTD Generator

Type two lines, add colours and formatting, and see them the way the Java 26.3 server list draws them, with the same line width and the same cut-off. Then copy the line for server.properties, or the JSON form for plugins.

Quick answer: A Minecraft MOTD is the text under your server's name in the multiplayer list, set by motd in server.properties. The 26.3 server list shows two lines of 267 pixels each. Most letters are 6 pixels wide including the gap and a space is 4, so a line holds about 44 letters. Colour codes are § followed by 0 to 9 or a to f; §l is bold, §o italic, §n underline, §m strikethrough, §k obfuscated and §r resets. In server.properties, write § as \u00A7 and start the second line with \n.

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Line 1198 of 267 pixels

Line 2170 of 267 pixels

Colours (added to line 1 at the cursor)

Formatting

Read & as a code, as BungeeCord and many plugins do. An & that is not followed by a code, as in "Fish & Chips", stays as it is.

Preview settings

Server name in the player's list

OnlineMax players

Try your server-icon.png (stays in your browser, nothing is uploaded)Show where the 267 pixel line limit ends

How the server list shows it

Java Edition 26.3, two lines of 267 pixels each.

Both lines fit.

server.properties line

motd=\u00A76\u00A7lPinewood SMP \u00A78\u00BB \u00A77Survival with friends\n\u00A7aNew season open \u00A78| \u00A7bJoin us tonight

JSON text component

{"text":"","extra":[{"text":"Pinewood SMP ","color":"gold","bold":true},{"text":"» ","color":"dark_gray"},{"text":"Survival with friends\n","color":"gray"},{"text":"New season open ","color":"green"},{"text":"| ","color":"dark_gray"},{"text":"Join us tonight","color":"aqua"}]}

& codes, for plugins and BungeeCord

&6&lPinewood SMP &8» &7Survival with friends
&aNew season open &8| &bJoin us tonight

Paste the motd line over the one in server.properties and restart the server. Need a server? Plans from €2.70 a month

Where the MOTD goes

Vanilla, Paper, Fabric and Forge: replace the motd line in server.properties with the line you copied and restart the server; the server reads the file when it starts. On our Minecraft servers you edit the file in the Pterodactyl panel's file manager or over SFTP. The server.properties generator sets the rest of the file.

BungeeCord: the motd under listeners in config.yml takes the & form; BungeeCord turns & codes into § when it loads the file (its source). For a plugin or another proxy, use the form its own docs ask for.

Server icon: a PNG of exactly 64 by 64 pixels named server-icon.png, in the same folder as server.properties (Server List Ping).

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How the server list draws a MOTD

Read from the Java Edition 26.3 client on 25 October 2026; the colour values match the Minecraft Wiki's formatting codes table. The preview above follows the same rules.

Two lines
Each line can be 267 pixels wide. A longer first line wraps at its last space, and anything past the second line is not shown.
Letter widths
Letters are 2 to 7 pixels wide including the gap after them, most of them 6; a space is 4 and bold adds 1 per letter.
Gray, not white
Text without a colour code is gray (#808080), and §r goes back to that gray. Only the server name above it is white.
Shadows
Every letter has a shadow one pixel down and to the right, a quarter as bright as the letter: white gets #3F3F3F, the default gray #202020.
Colour first, then format
A colour code switches bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and obfuscated off, so write §6§l for bold gold, not §l§6.
Styles run on
Line 2 continues in the colour and format line 1 ends with, unless it starts with a colour code or §r. Codes are not case sensitive: §A is §a.

Colour and formatting codes

The section sign § followed by one character. Plugins and BungeeCord usually take & instead. The JSON name is what a text component uses (Text component format).

The 16 Minecraft colour codes with their JSON names and colours
Code	JSON name	Colour	Shadow
§0 &0	black	#000000	#000000
§1 &1	dark_blue	#0000AA	#00002A
§2 &2	dark_green	#00AA00	#002A00
§3 &3	dark_aqua	#00AAAA	#002A2A
§4 &4	dark_red	#AA0000	#2A0000
§5 &5	dark_purple	#AA00AA	#2A002A
§6 &6	gold	#FFAA00	#3F2A00
§7 &7	gray	#AAAAAA	#2A2A2A
§8 &8	dark_gray	#555555	#151515
§9 &9	blue	#5555FF	#15153F
§a &a	green	#55FF55	#153F15
§b &b	aqua	#55FFFF	#153F3F
§c &c	red	#FF5555	#3F1515
§d &d	light_purple	#FF55FF	#3F153F
§e &e	yellow	#FFFF55	#3F3F15
§f &f	white	#FFFFFF	#3F3F3F

Minecraft formatting codes
Code	Does
§l &l	Bold. Thicker letters, each one pixel wider.
§o &o	Italic. Slanted letters.
§n &n	Underline. A line under the text.
§m &m	Strikethrough. A line through the text.
§k &k	Obfuscated. Letters that keep changing, each as wide as the letter it hides.
§r &r	Reset. Back to plain gray text with no formatting.

One MOTD, written three ways

The example from the tool above: a gold, bold server name with a gray tagline on line 1 (198 of 267 pixels), and green and aqua on line 2 (170 pixels).

1. With § codes, for server.properties

server.properties uses the Java properties format, so \u00A7 stands for § and \n for the line break. Servers before 1.20 read the file as ISO-8859-1, and this form loads the same everywhere (server.properties).

server.properties line

motd=\u00A76\u00A7lPinewood SMP \u00A78\u00BB \u00A77Survival with friends\n\u00A7aNew season open \u00A78| \u00A7bJoin us tonight

2. As a JSON text component

What the server list receives. A vanilla server sends the § codes inside the text; Spigot and Paper can send a full component like this one, with each part's colour and format spelled out (Server List Ping, Text component format).

JSON text component

{"text":"","extra":[{"text":"Pinewood SMP ","color":"gold","bold":true},{"text":"» ","color":"dark_gray"},{"text":"Survival with friends\n","color":"gray"},{"text":"New season open ","color":"green"},{"text":"| ","color":"dark_gray"},{"text":"Join us tonight","color":"aqua"}]}

3. With & codes, for plugins and BungeeCord

The same codes with & in place of §, one line per row.

& codes

&6&lPinewood SMP &8» &7Survival with friends
&aNew season open &8| &bJoin us tonight

Minecraft MOTD FAQ

: MOTD stands for message of the day: the text under your server's name in the multiplayer server list. On a Java server it is the motd setting in server.properties, and a new server uses "A Minecraft Server" until you change it. The server name above it is whatever each player typed when they added your server.
: Two lines of 267 pixels each, as the 26.3 server list draws them. Letters are 2 to 7 pixels wide including the gap after them, most of them 6, a space is 4 and bold adds 1 to every letter, so a line holds about 44 letters of plain text. A first line that is too wide wraps at its last space onto the second line, and whatever ends up past the second line is not shown.
: Put a colour code in front of the text: § and a character from 0 to 9 or a to f, such as §6 for gold. Formatting codes go after the colour, because a colour code switches bold, italic and the rest off again. In server.properties, write the § as \u00A7; plugins and BungeeCord's config.yml usually take & instead of §.
: The server read the file in the wrong text encoding. Servers before 1.20 read server.properties as ISO-8859-1, so a § saved as UTF-8 turns into Â§ and the colour code no longer works. Write the § as \u00A7 instead: every server version reads that the same way, and it is what this generator puts in the motd line.
: Add spaces in front of the line. A space is 4 pixels wide, so the number of spaces is (267 minus the width of your line) divided by 8; the generator shows each line's width. The server.properties format drops spaces at the very start of a value, so the generator writes the first one as a backslash and a space, which keeps them.
: The server list receives the MOTD as a JSON text component. A vanilla server puts the § codes inside the text, while Spigot and Paper can send a full component with the styles spelled out. Use the JSON form where a plugin, proxy or tool asks for a text component. It can also take hex colours such as #FF8800, which § codes cannot.
: Yes. The server list reply that carries the MOTD needs no account and no whitelist, so anyone who adds your address can read it. Keep it to words you would put on a sign. Setting enable-status=false stops the reply, but then your server shows as offline in everyone's list.
: Save a PNG of exactly 64 by 64 pixels as server-icon.png in the server's main folder, next to server.properties, and restart the server. The game does not show an icon of any other size. You can try your icon in the preview above before you upload it.

server.properties generator

Every common setting with its default and a live file

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More reading: MOTD colour codes, server icons and Mojang and MOTDs on private servers.

Sources checked 25 October 2026: Minecraft Wiki (Formatting codes, Text component format, Server List Ping, server.properties) and the Java Edition 26.3 client, the latest release in Mojang's version list.

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