Minecraft

How to Kick or IP Ban a Player in Minecraft

The kick and ban-ip commands, where to find a player's address in the logs, and why dynamic IPs, VPNs and shared connections make IP bans tricky.

TheGameHosting Team 5 min read
IP Ban a Player in Minecraft
Background: Minecraft © Mojang Studios

To kick a player, type kick PlayerName reason in the console; they can come back. To IP ban Minecraft server visitors who keep returning with new accounts, run ban-ip with their address or their name while they are online. On TheGameHosting both commands run from the panel’s Console. IP bans have real limits, so read them before you rely on one.

For a normal account ban (the right choice most of the time) see how to ban a player on a Minecraft server. To lift any of these, see how to unban a player.

How to kick a player

A kick disconnects the player with a message. It is a warning, not a ban: they can reconnect straight away. The Minecraft Wiki gives this syntax:

Code
kick <targets> [<reason>]
kick Steve Stop spamming the chat
  • Without a reason, the player sees “Kicked by an operator.”
  • On Java it needs permission level 3, so the console or an operator. On Bedrock it is kick too and needs level 1.
  • The player in a single-player world or the host of a LAN world cannot be kicked.
  • Selectors work, but be careful: kick @a disconnects everyone, including you if you run it in-game.

How to IP ban Minecraft server visitors

An account ban blocks one account. If the same person comes back with a second account, ban-ip blocks the internet address they connect from. The Minecraft Wiki documents it for Java Edition:

Code
ban-ip <target> [<reason>]
banlist ips

The target can be an IP address or the name of a player who is online right now. If they already left, you need their address.

  1. Find the address. When a player joins, the console prints a line like Steve[/203.0.113.25:51234] logged in. On TheGameHosting you see it live in Console, or in Files under logs/latest.log. The part before the colon is the IP.
  2. Open the console. In the panel, select your server and click Console.
  3. Ban the address. Type ban-ip 203.0.113.25 Ban evasion, or ban-ip Steve Ban evasion if Steve is still online.
  4. Ban the account too. Run ban Steve so the account stays blocked if the IP changes.
  5. Check both lists. Run banlist ips and banlist players.
  6. Keep a note. Write down why and when. IP bans affect other people who share the address, so you may need to review it later.
Code
ban-ip 203.0.113.25 Ban evasion
ban Steve Ban evasion
banlist ips

Address bans are saved in banned-ips.json, next to banned-players.json in the main folder. To undo one, use pardon-ip with the same address.

The limits of an IP ban

An IP ban sounds final, but an address is not a person. Before you use one, know where it fails and where it hurts the wrong people:

ProblemWhat happens
Dynamic IPMany home and mobile connections get a new address after restarting the router or every few days. The ban stops working and later blocks whoever gets that address next.
VPN or proxyThe player connects through another address and walks around the ban in a minute.
Shared IPSiblings, a school, a dorm or a mobile carrier using CGNAT can share one public address. You ban all of them.
IPv6The argument must be one word without colons, so ban-ip cannot ban an IPv6 address (bug MC-97885 on the Wiki).
Offline targetThe name form only works while the player is online. Otherwise you need the IP from the logs.

So use IP bans as a short-term tool against someone actively evading bans, always together with an account ban. For a private group, the Minecraft server whitelist is far stronger: new accounts simply cannot get in, whatever their IP.

Temporary IP bans with EssentialsX

Vanilla bans, by account or IP, never expire. With EssentialsX on Paper or Purpur you can set a duration:

Code
tempbanip Steve 3d Ban evasion
tempbanip 203.0.113.25 12h Ban evasion

According to the EssentialsX source, tempbanip accepts a player name or an address and a duration such as 12h, 3d or 1w; unbanip lifts it early. A temporary IP ban is gentler on a shared or dynamic address, because it clears itself. On TheGameHosting, EssentialsX is in the Plugins tab, and the Version tab switches the server to Paper if it is still vanilla.

Kick, ban or IP ban: quick guide

  • Kick: first warning, someone AFK in a busy server, or to force a reconnect.
  • Ban: griefing, cheating, harassment. It follows the account even after a name change.
  • IP ban: the same person keeps coming back with new accounts. Short, combined with ban, and reviewed later.

Moderate without exposing your own IP

On a server hosted at home, players connect to your house’s IP, and an angry banned player knows where to aim. On TheGameHosting the server has its own public IP and port in a data center in Dallas or Amsterdam, with DDoS protection on every plan. You run kick, ban and ban-ip from the panel Console, read join addresses in logs/latest.log from Files, and give moderators their own access through Users.

Plans start at $1.90 USD/month on our Minecraft server hosting page. Compare plans on plans and pricing and use the code FULL2026 for 15% off for life.

FAQ

How do you IP ban someone on a Minecraft server?

In the console, type ban-ip followed by their IP address, or by their name if they are online, for example ban-ip Steve. Ban the account with ban Steve as well.

Where do I find a player's IP address?

In the server log. Each join prints a line such as Steve[/203.0.113.25:51234] logged in, in the console and in logs/latest.log.

Can a kicked player rejoin?

Yes. A kick only disconnects them. To keep them out, use ban.

Can players get around an IP ban?

Often, yes: a new address from their provider or a VPN is enough. That is why an IP ban should go together with an account ban, and a whitelist is better for private servers.

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Written by TheGameHosting Team, the people who run our servers in Dallas and Amsterdam and answer your tickets.

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