Minecraft server public or private? How to set up both

Updated 4 November 2026

A private Minecraft server only lets in the players on your whitelist; a public server lets in anyone who has the address. For friends, family, a class or a club, keep it private with whitelist on. Make it public only when you want strangers to join, and then set up protection (rollback, permissions, rules) before you share the address anywhere.

Settings were checked on 29 October 2026 against the Minecraft Wiki's server.properties reference and the official Bedrock Dedicated Server documentation from Microsoft.

Private or public: which one do you need?

Most servers people ask us about are private. That's the safe default, and you can open it up later in one command.

Make it private (Java)

1. Open the console in SparkPanel and type whitelist on.
2. Add every player: whitelist add Name. Add yourself too.
3. In server.properties, set enforce-whitelist=true, so players you remove are kicked straight away. Restart.
4. Keep online-mode=true (the default). It makes the server check that every player owns a real Minecraft account, so nobody can join under someone else's name.

Even faster: under Settings → Quick setup, Survival with friends turns the whitelist on and allows only official Minecraft accounts. All commands are in whitelist, op and bans.

Make it private (Bedrock)

Bedrock calls it the allow list: allowlist on and allowlist add Gamertag. Put a gamertag with a space in quotes: allowlist add "Gamer Tag". Keep online-mode=true so players must be signed in with Xbox. See Set up your Minecraft Bedrock server.

Going public: the checklist

Do these before you post your address on Discord, Reddit or a server list.

1. Rollback: install CoreProtect, so you can undo any griefing in one command. See Undo griefing with CoreProtect.
2. Permissions instead of OP: give moderators a rank with LuckPerms instead of operator rights. See ranks with LuckPerms.
3. Claims: let players protect their own builds with a claim plugin such as GriefPrevention. More ideas in the best plugins for a small server.
4. Spawn protection: keep spawn-protection in server.properties (16 by default) so new players can't wreck the spawn.
5. Rules: write a short rule list and show it at spawn or in your Discord.
6. Backups: set an automatic backup in Schedules, for example every 6 hours, on top of our nightly backup.
7. Turn the whitelist off: whitelist off. Leave online-mode=true.

Getting found

• Server name and icon: set motd in server.properties and add an icon with our free server icon maker.
• Your own address: a domain like play.yourname.com is easier to share than an IP and port; see IP and port.
• Server lists: websites that list Minecraft servers let you add yours for free; players vote, and plugins like NuVotifier can reward voters.
• Check reachability from outside with our server status tool.

Which plan?

Private for 2 to 5 friends: 2 GB (€1.89 per month paid per quarter, €2.19 monthly billing). Public, with plugins and 5 to 15 players online: 4 GB (€4.19 / €4.39). A growing community or modpack: 6 GB (€6.09 / €6.29) or 8 GB (€8.49 / €8.79). You can upgrade later and keep your world. See Minecraft server hosting.

Frequently asked questions