How to change your server name and MOTD for Bedrock players

Bedrock players see your server's message (MOTD) and player count in their server list. Geyser either passes through your Java MOTD from server.properties or uses its own two-line message from its config. Both are set in plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml.

Passthrough: reuse your Java MOTD#

With passthrough on, Bedrock players see the same MOTD and player count as Java players:

passthrough-motd: true
passthrough-player-counts: true

Your Java MOTD comes from server.properties:

motd=A crossplay server on Schokr

Bedrock shows MOTDs differently from Java (it has no multi-line layout and limited formatting), so long or heavily formatted Java MOTDs may look cramped. Color codes using the section sign generally work.

Custom Bedrock MOTD#

If you prefer a separate message for Bedrock, turn passthrough off and set the two lines under bedrock:

passthrough-motd: false

bedrock:
  address: 0.0.0.0
  port: 25571
  motd1: "My Crossplay Server"
  motd2: "Java and Bedrock welcome"
  server-name: "My Crossplay Server"

• motd1 is the main line shown in the server list.
• motd2 is a secondary line; where it appears depends on the Bedrock screen.
• server-name is shown in some Bedrock menus, such as the pause screen.

Restart the server after editing.

Player counts#

With passthrough-player-counts: true, the online and max counts match your Java server (controlled by max-players in server.properties). With it off, Geyser shows its own values, configurable with max-players in Geyser's config.

The Bedrock server list reports Bedrock and Java players together, since they are all on the same server.

Why the server shows as offline in the list#

Bedrock pings servers over UDP to fetch the MOTD. If the entry shows as offline or keeps loading but joining works, the ping is being blocked or slow. If joining also fails, the port is wrong; see fix "Unable to connect to world".

Changes not showing#

• Bedrock caches server list entries. Pull down to refresh, or leave and reopen the Servers tab.
• Make sure you restarted the server after editing the config.
• Check there is only one Geyser config being used (plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml, or the proxy's config on a BungeeCord network).

Server icon#

Bedrock's server list does not show your Java server-icon.png. Bedrock players see a generic icon for custom servers.