How to Change Max Players on a Minecraft Server

To change max players on a Minecraft server, open server.properties, set max-players= to the limit you want (for example max-players=40), save and restart the server. The new number shows in the server list right away. The setting is only a cap: how many players the server can really hold depends on its RAM, CPU and view distance, so this guide also shows how to size the server for the new limit.

The default is max-players=20 on Java Edition. Bedrock Dedicated Server uses its own max-players, with 10 as the default.

Change max players on a Minecraft server, step by step

1. Open your server in the TheGameHosting panel and go to Files.
2. Click server.properties in the main folder.
3. Find max-players=20 and change the number, for example max-players=40.
4. Save the file.
5. Restart the server from the panel. The server reads server.properties only at startup.
6. Check the server list in Minecraft: it now shows 0/40 (or however many are online).

max-players=40

There is no vanilla command that changes the limit while the server runs, so a restart is always part of the change. If you want the restart at a quiet hour, create a task in Schedules to restart at night and edit the file before it runs.

Let operators join a full server

When the server is full, other players see "The server is full!" and cannot join. Operators can skip the limit if their entry in ops.json has bypassesPlayerLimit set to true. The Minecraft Wiki describes it as letting ops join even when the server is full.

[
  {
    "uuid": "069a79f4-44e9-4726-a5be-fca90e38aaf5",
    "name": "Notch",
    "level": 4,
    "bypassesPlayerLimit": true
  }
]

Stop the server, edit the file in Files, keep the JSON valid, and start the server again, so the server does not overwrite your change. If you are not on the list yet, see how to OP yourself on a Minecraft server.

How many players can your server really hold?

max-players does not add resources. A server set to 100 slots on 2 GB of RAM will accept 100 connections and lag long before it gets there. Each player loads and simulates a square of chunks around them, so more players means more memory and more CPU work per tick.

Our guide on how much RAM a Minecraft server needs goes into detail. As a starting point:

Treat these as starting points and watch real use once players are online. With Paper, the spark plugin shows TPS and memory with spark health.

Settings that matter as much as RAM

1. view-distance. How many chunks around each player are sent to clients. Lowering it from 10 to 6 or 8 cuts load a lot on busy servers. See how to change view distance on a Minecraft server.
2. simulation-distance. How far from each player mobs and crops are ticked. Lower values save CPU.
3. Plugins and mods. One heavy plugin or a big modpack can weigh more than several extra players.

If TPS drops below 20 as the player count grows, the Minecraft server lag fix guide shows how to find the cause.

Problems after changing max players

1. The server list still shows 20. You did not restart, or you edited the wrong file. Check that you changed server.properties in the main folder, then restart.
2. "The server is full!" with fewer players online. On a network behind a proxy (Velocity or BungeeCord), the proxy has its own player limit. Change it there too.
3. The number changed back. A typo can make the server ignore the line. Use digits only, with no spaces: max-players=40.
4. The server lags at 25 players. The cap is fine; the server needs more RAM or a lower view distance.
5. You want to hide how many players are online. Set hide-online-players=true to hide the names in the server list; the count still shows.

Grow your player count without per-player fees

On TheGameHosting you pay for RAM, not for player slots, so you set max-players to whatever your server can carry. Plans go from 2 GB at $1.90 USD per month to 16 GB at $12.89 USD and up to 64 GB, all on AMD 9950X or 7950X3D CPUs with DDR5 memory and NVMe storage, which keeps more players at a steady 20 TPS. DDoS protection is included, so a public server with a bigger cap is not an easy target.

Compare sizes on Pricing or see what our Minecraft server hosting includes. Your server is ready about 60 seconds after payment.

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