How to change max players on a Minecraft server
Raise or lower the player limit on your Minecraft Java server with max-players, and learn how many players your resources can handle.
Updated · 1 min read
Set the player limit with the max-players key in server.properties, then restart the server. The default is 20.
Change the limit
- Open the file manager and edit
server.properties. - Change the value:
max-players=40
- Save and restart the server.
The number in the multiplayer list (for example 3/40) updates after the restart.
Does a higher limit cost anything?
No. max-players is only a cap. The server uses resources for players who are actually online, not for empty slots. Setting it to 100 on a small server just means more people can try to join; it does not reserve memory.
What really matters is how many players your memory and CPU can handle at once. On the free pool, a well-configured Paper server can comfortably handle a group of friends, and more with tuning. If many players join and the server lags, see how much memory a Minecraft server needs and lower view distance and simulation distance.
Let ops join when the server is full
Operators can be allowed to bypass the limit. In ops.json, each op has a bypassesPlayerLimit field:
[
{
"uuid": "069a79f4-44e9-4726-a5be-fca90e38aaf5",
"name": "Notch",
"level": 4,
"bypassesPlayerLimit": true
}
]
Edit it while the server is stopped, because the server rewrites ops.json when it saves. See ops and op levels.
Limit who can join instead
If the goal is to keep strangers out rather than limit numbers, a whitelist is the better tool. See set up a whitelist.
Plugins that change the displayed count
Some Paper plugins change the player count shown in the server list, or allow certain players to join a full server. If the list shows a number you did not set, check your plugins' configs.