Minecraft MOTD Generator

Design your server's Message of the Day — highlight text to apply colors, hex gradients, bold, underline, strikethrough and obfuscation, see the live in-game preview, then copy the § codes (or MiniMessage) straight into server.properties.

Loading editor…
In-game preview
Minecraft server list
Output
server.properties
Paste on the motd= line. Hex/gradient colors need Paper/Spigot 1.16+; older servers ignore them.
 
   
 
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How to set your Minecraft MOTD
 
     
  1. Build your message in the editor and click Copy.
    2.  
  2. Open server.properties in your server folder.
    3.  
  3. Paste it on the motd= line, e.g. motd=§aMy Server.
    4.  
  4. Restart the server — the new MOTD shows in the multiplayer list.
    5.  
 
Color & format code reference
 
 
 
CodeColorCodeFormat
  
 §0  Black §l Bold 
 §1  Dark Blue §o Italic 
 §2  Dark Green §n Underline 
 §3  Dark Aqua §m Strikethrough 
 §4  Dark Red §k Obfuscated 
 §5  Dark Purple §r Reset 
 §6  Gold §  
 §7  Gray §  
  
 
 
FAQ
 
 
 How do I add color to my Minecraft MOTD? 
Highlight the text in the editor above and pick a color — it inserts the matching § color code (e.g. §a green, §c red). Then copy the generated code.
 
 Where do I put the MOTD? 
Open server.properties in your server folder and paste the generated code on the motd= line, e.g. motd=§aMy Server. Restart the server to apply it.
 
 What is the MOTD character limit? 
The Minecraft multiplayer list shows about 59 visible characters per line across two lines. Color/format codes do not count toward the visible length.
 
 Can I use bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and obfuscated text? 
Yes — select text and use the formatting buttons. Obfuscated (§k) text rapidly scrambles its characters in-game, shown live in the preview.
 
 Does this work on Bedrock servers? 
Bedrock supports the same § color codes in its MOTD, but not the hex gradients some Java forks allow — stick to the 16 standard colors for Bedrock.
 
 Can I use hex colors and gradients? 
Yes — pick any custom hex color, or use the gradient tool to blend two colors across your text. These output the §x hex format and render on Paper/Spigot 1.16+ (older versions do not support hex).
 
 What is MiniMessage and when should I use it? 
MiniMessage is a modern tag-based format (<gradient>, <color>, <bold>) used by many plugins and proxies like Velocity. Use the MiniMessage output toggle for those; use the § codes for vanilla server.properties.
 
 Why isn’t my MOTD color showing in-game? 
Three usual causes: you pasted plain text instead of the § codes; server.properties wasn’t saved as UTF-8; or you only ran /reload instead of a full server restart (the MOTD is read at startup). On vanilla, hex colors require Paper/Spigot 1.16+ — older versions drop them.
 
 How many lines can a MOTD have, and what is the limit? 
Two lines, roughly 59 visible characters each (color/format codes don’t count). Use the second editor line — or \n in server.properties — for line two.
 
 How do I add a MOTD on Bedrock? 
Bedrock uses the server-name / level-name fields and supports the same § color codes, but not §k obfuscation or hex gradients. Stick to the 16 standard colors for Bedrock.