Minecraft Server Console Commands Cheat Sheet

Every Minecraft server admin needs a solid command reference. Whether you are running a small SMP or managing a large community server, knowing the right console commands saves time and keeps things running smoothly.

This cheat sheet covers every command you will regularly use — organized by category so you can find what you need fast. All commands work directly in your server console without the / prefix.

Player Management

The commands you will use most. Managing who is on your server and what they can do.

Command	What It Does	Example
`list`	Show online players and count	`list`
`kick <player> [reason]`	Remove a player from the server	`kick Steve Griefing`
`ban <player> [reason]`	Permanently ban a player	`ban Steve Griefing spawn`
`ban-ip <ip>`	Ban an IP address	`ban-ip 192.168.1.100`
`pardon <player>`	Unban a player	`pardon Steve`
`pardon-ip <ip>`	Unban an IP address	`pardon-ip 192.168.1.100`
`banlist`	Show all banned players	`banlist`
`whitelist add <player>`	Add player to whitelist	`whitelist add Steve`
`whitelist remove <player>`	Remove from whitelist	`whitelist remove Steve`
`whitelist list`	Show whitelisted players	`whitelist list`
`whitelist on`	Enable whitelist	`whitelist on`
`whitelist off`	Disable whitelist	`whitelist off`

Tip: Use whitelist on during maintenance or when testing new plugins. It keeps random joins out while you work.

Operator & Permissions

Control who has admin powers on your server.

Command	What It Does	Example
`op <player>`	Give operator (admin) status	`op Steve`
`deop <player>`	Remove operator status	`deop Steve`

Important: Operators have full access to every command. For finer control, use a permissions plugin like LuckPerms — it lets you assign specific permissions per player or group without giving full OP access.

World & Gameplay

Commands that affect the world itself — time, weather, difficulty, and game rules.

Time

Command	What It Does	Example
`time set day`	Set to daytime (1000 ticks)	`time set day`
`time set night`	Set to nighttime (13000 ticks)	`time set night`
`time set noon`	Set to noon (6000 ticks)	`time set noon`
`time set midnight`	Set to midnight (18000 ticks)	`time set midnight`
`time set <ticks>`	Set to exact tick value	`time set 0`
`time add <ticks>`	Advance time by ticks	`time add 1000`
`time query daytime`	Show current time of day	`time query daytime`

Weather

Command	What It Does	Example
`weather clear`	Clear skies	`weather clear`
`weather clear <seconds>`	Clear for a duration	`weather clear 600`
`weather rain`	Start rain	`weather rain`
`weather thunder`	Start thunderstorm	`weather thunder`

Difficulty

Command	What It Does
`difficulty peaceful`	No hostile mobs, health regenerates fast
`difficulty easy`	Hostile mobs deal less damage
`difficulty normal`	Standard difficulty
`difficulty hard`	Hostile mobs deal more damage, hunger can kill

Game Rules

Game rules control core mechanics. These are the ones you will actually use:

Command	What It Does	Default
`gamerule keepInventory true`	Players keep items on death	false
`gamerule doDaylightCycle false`	Freeze time	true
`gamerule doWeatherCycle false`	Freeze weather	true
`gamerule doMobSpawning false`	Disable mob spawning	true
`gamerule mobGriefing false`	Mobs cannot destroy blocks (creepers, endermen)	true
`gamerule doFireTick false`	Fire does not spread	true
`gamerule pvp false`	Disable player vs player	true
`gamerule announceAdvancements false`	Hide advancement messages in chat	true
`gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 50`	% of players needed to skip night	100
`gamerule spawnRadius 10`	Spawn area radius in blocks	10
`gamerule maxEntityCramming 24`	Max entities in one block	24
`gamerule randomTickSpeed 3`	Crop/plant growth speed	3

Pro tip for SMPs: gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 50 is a must-have. No more waiting for that one AFK player to sleep. Check our SMP server guide for more essentials.

Teleportation

Move players around the world instantly.

Command	What It Does	Example
`tp <player> <x> <y> <z>`	Teleport player to coordinates	`tp Steve 100 64 -200`
`tp <player> <target>`	Teleport player to another player	`tp Steve Alex`
`tp @a <x> <y> <z>`	Teleport all players to coordinates	`tp @a 0 100 0`
`tp @r <x> <y> <z>`	Teleport a random player	`tp @r 0 64 0`

Target Selectors

These work in any command that accepts a player argument:

Selector	Meaning
`@a`	All players
`@r`	Random player
`@p`	Nearest player
`@e`	All entities (including mobs)
`@s`	The command executor

Giving Items & Effects

Command	What It Does	Example
`give <player> <item> [amount]`	Give items to a player	`give Steve diamond 64`
`clear <player>`	Clear all items from inventory	`clear Steve`
`clear <player> <item>`	Clear specific item	`clear Steve diamond`
`effect give <player> <effect> <seconds> <level>`	Apply a status effect	`effect give Steve speed 60 2`
`effect clear <player>`	Remove all effects	`effect clear Steve`
`enchant <player> <enchantment> <level>`	Enchant held item	`enchant Steve sharpness 5`
`xp add <player> <amount>`	Give XP points	`xp add Steve 1000`
`xp add <player> <amount> levels`	Give XP levels	`xp add Steve 30 levels`

Game Mode

Command	What It Does
`gamemode survival <player>`	Switch to survival
`gamemode creative <player>`	Switch to creative
`gamemode adventure <player>`	Switch to adventure (cannot break blocks)
`gamemode spectator <player>`	Switch to spectator (fly through blocks, invisible)
`defaultgamemode survival`	Set the default for new players

Server Management

Commands for controlling the server itself.

Command	What It Does	Notes
`stop`	Shut down the server gracefully	Saves all data before stopping
`save-all`	Force-save all worlds	Run before risky operations
`save-off`	Disable auto-saving	Use during backups, then `save-on`
`save-on`	Re-enable auto-saving	Always run after `save-off`
`reload confirm`	Reload server config and plugins	May cause issues — restart is safer
`seed`	Display the world seed	Useful for sharing with builders

Warning: Avoid reload confirm on production servers. It can cause memory leaks and plugin conflicts. A clean stop and restart is always safer. On Swelis, just hit the restart button in your dashboard.

World Border

Control the playable area of your world. Essential for SMPs that want to keep players close together.

Command	What It Does	Example
`worldborder set <size>`	Set border diameter in blocks	`worldborder set 10000`
`worldborder set <size> <seconds>`	Gradually resize over time	`worldborder set 5000 300`
`worldborder center <x> <z>`	Set border center	`worldborder center 0 0`
`worldborder get`	Show current border size	`worldborder get`
`worldborder add <blocks>`	Expand border	`worldborder add 1000`
`worldborder add <blocks> <seconds>`	Expand gradually	`worldborder add 1000 60`
`worldborder damage amount <dps>`	Set damage outside border	`worldborder damage amount 0.2`
`worldborder warning distance <blocks>`	Red vignette distance	`worldborder warning distance 10`

Communication

Command	What It Does	Example
`say <message>`	Broadcast message as [Server]	`say Server restarting in 5 minutes`
`tell <player> <message>`	Private message to a player	`tell Steve Check your inventory`
`msg <player> <message>`	Same as tell	`msg Steve Hey!`
`title <player> title {"text":"Hello"}`	Show title text on screen	`title @a title {"text":"Welcome!"}`
`title <player> subtitle {"text":"Sub"}`	Show subtitle below title	`title @a subtitle {"text":"Have fun"}`
`title <player> actionbar {"text":"Hi"}`	Show text in action bar	`title @a actionbar {"text":"PvP enabled"}`

Performance & Debugging

When things feel slow, these commands help you figure out why. For a deeper dive into lag, check out How to Fix Minecraft Server Lag.

Command	What It Does	Notes
`tps`	Show ticks per second (PaperMC)	20 = perfect, below 18 = lag
`timings on` / `timings paste`	Generate performance report (Paper)	Shows exactly what is eating TPS
`spark profiler`	Advanced profiling (Spark plugin)	More detailed than timings
`kill @e[type=!player]`	Kill all non-player entities	Nuclear option for entity lag
`kill @e[type=item]`	Clear dropped items	Helps with item entity lag
`forceload add <x> <z>`	Keep a chunk loaded permanently	Use sparingly — adds load
`forceload remove <x> <z>`	Stop force-loading a chunk	`forceload remove 0 0`

Quick Lag Diagnosis

Run tps — if below 18, you have a problem
Run timings on, wait 5 minutes, then timings paste
Check the report for the biggest time consumers
Common fixes: reduce view distance, limit entity counts, optimize your settings

Scoreboard (For Minigames & Events)

Scoreboards are powerful for events, custom games, and player stats.

Command	What It Does	Example
`scoreboard objectives add <name> <criteria>`	Create objective	`scoreboard objectives add kills playerKillCount`
`scoreboard objectives setdisplay sidebar <name>`	Show on sidebar	`scoreboard objectives setdisplay sidebar kills`
`scoreboard players set <player> <objective> <value>`	Set a score	`scoreboard players set Steve kills 5`
`scoreboard players add <player> <objective> <value>`	Add to a score	`scoreboard players add Steve kills 1`
`scoreboard objectives remove <name>`	Delete objective	`scoreboard objectives remove kills`

Common Criteria

Criteria	Tracks
`dummy`	Manual scores only (for custom systems)
`playerKillCount`	Player kills
`totalKillCount`	All kills (mobs + players)
`deathCount`	Deaths
`health`	Current health

Data Packs & Structure Commands

Command	What It Does	Example
`datapack list`	Show loaded data packs	`datapack list`
`datapack enable <name>`	Enable a data pack	`datapack enable "file/my_pack"`
`datapack disable <name>`	Disable a data pack	`datapack disable "file/my_pack"`
`locate structure <type>`	Find nearest structure	`locate structure village`
`locate biome <type>`	Find nearest biome	`locate biome cherry_grove`

Essential Command Combos

Here are some real-world scenarios and the commands to handle them:

Setting Up a New SMP

gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 50
gamerule keepInventory false
difficulty normal
worldborder set 20000
worldborder center 0 0
whitelist on

Emergency Lag Fix

save-all
kill @e[type=item]
kill @e[type=!player,type=!villager]
gamerule randomTickSpeed 1

Locking Down for Maintenance

say Server maintenance starting in 5 minutes!
whitelist on
kick @a Server maintenance — back soon!
save-all

Setting Up a Build Event

gamemode creative @a
gamerule doDaylightCycle false
time set noon
weather clear 999999
gamerule doMobSpawning false
worldborder set 500
worldborder center 100 200

Quick Reference Card

The 10 commands every admin types daily:

#	Command	Purpose
1	`list`	Who is online?
2	`tps`	Is the server lagging?
3	`kick <player> <reason>`	Remove a troublemaker
4	`ban <player> <reason>`	Permanently remove a troublemaker
5	`tp <player> <x> <y> <z>`	Teleport someone
6	`gamemode creative <player>`	Toggle creative for a builder
7	`time set day`	Skip the night
8	`weather clear`	Stop the rain
9	`say <message>`	Announce something
10	`save-all`	Save everything right now

How to Set Up Your First Minecraft Server — get your server running in under 2 minutes
How to Fix Minecraft Server Lag — diagnose and fix performance problems
Best Minecraft Server Plugins 2026 — top 20 plugins to level up your server
How to Make a Minecraft SMP Server — the complete SMP setup guide