Minecraft Server MOTD Generator

The message players read beside your server in their list. Write it with colors, see it the way they will, and copy the line that actually works in the file.

Your message

40 of 59 characters used, 33 of them visible. Press Enter for the second line.

How it looks in the server list
My Server
Survival, no grief, 24/7
The line for server.properties
motd=\u00A76\u00A7lMy Server\n\u00A77Survival, no grief, 24/7

Replace the whole motd= line in your server.properties with this, then restart the server.

How it works

  • Write your message, up to two lines. Press Enter for the second one.
  • Click a color or a style to put its code where the cursor is.
  • Watch the counter. The codes count towards the limit even though nobody reads them.
  • Copy the line and replace the whole motd= line in your server.properties, then restart the server.
  • The sixteen colors are listed with their names on the color code page.

The line this tool gives you writes each section sign as an escape, which is what makes the colors appear. Pasting the sign itself into the file is the usual reason a MOTD comes out gray with a stray symbol in front of it.

Questions

Why does my color not work when I paste the sign myself?
Because server.properties is not a plain text file, it is a Java properties file, and it is read one byte at a time. A section sign typed straight in arrives as two characters, so the server list shows a stray symbol and no color at all. The line this tool gives you writes the sign as an escape instead, which the server turns back into the right character.
Where do I put the line?
In server.properties, in your server's folder. Find the line that starts with motd= and replace the whole line, then restart the server. Reloading is not enough: the server reads that file when it starts.
How long can it be?
About 59 characters is the safe limit, and the color codes count towards it even though nobody reads them. A message that is over the limit can make the server list show an error rather than your message, so the tool counts both numbers for you.
Can I use two lines?
Yes, two. Press Enter in the box and the tool writes the line break the file needs. Anything after the second line is dropped by the server list.
Does this work on Bedrock servers?
The setting exists there too but it is not the same file and it does not take the same codes, so use this for a Java server. The colors themselves are the same sixteen everywhere.
Can I put my server icon here?
No, that is a separate file. The icon is a 64 by 64 PNG called server-icon.png in the same folder as server.properties. The gray square in the preview stands in for it.