Minecraft

How to Unban a Player on a Minecraft Server

The pardon command, lifting IP bans, getting yourself back in when you banned your own name, and what to check if it still fails.

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

To unban player Minecraft server side, run pardon PlayerName in the server console. The name is removed from the ban list and the player can join again right away, no restart needed. For an IP ban the command is pardon-ip followed by the address. On TheGameHosting you type both in the panel’s Console.

This guide is about lifting bans. If you are here to ban someone, start with how to ban a player on a Minecraft server; for kicks and IP bans see how to kick or IP ban a player.

The pardon and pardon-ip commands

Minecraft calls an unban a “pardon”. There is no command named unban in vanilla Java Edition. The Minecraft Wiki documents both:

Code
pardon <targets>
pardon-ip <target>
Type of banLift it withExample
Account (ban)pardonpardon Steve
IP address (ban-ip)pardon-ippardon-ip 203.0.113.25
Temporary (EssentialsX tempban)pardon or unbanunban Steve
Temporary IP (EssentialsX tempbanip)pardon-ip or unbanipunbanip 203.0.113.25

Both commands need permission level 3 (the console or an operator) and exist only on a dedicated server. The player does not have to be online; in fact a banned player cannot be.

How to unban player Minecraft server side, step by step

  1. Open the console. In the TheGameHosting panel, select your server and click Console. The server must be running.
  2. Find the exact name. Run banlist players. It lists every banned account with who banned it and why. Copy the name from there.
  3. Pardon the player. Type pardon Steve without a slash.
  4. Read the reply. If the console says the player is not banned, they are probably under an IP ban: run banlist ips.
  5. Lift the IP ban if there is one. Type pardon-ip and the address shown by banlist ips.
  6. Ask them to reconnect. No restart is needed. If the server uses a whitelist, make sure the player is still on it with whitelist list.
Code
banlist players
pardon Steve
banlist ips
pardon-ip 203.0.113.25

From in-game chat you can do the same with a slash (/pardon Steve) if you are OP. If you are not, see how to OP yourself first.

How to unban yourself on your own server

It happens: you test ban @a or a moderator bans the wrong name, and now you are locked out of your own server. Since you cannot join, you need a way in that does not go through the game:

  1. Use the console. This is why the console matters. On TheGameHosting it is in the panel, not in the game, so a ban never locks you out of it. Run pardon YourName.
  2. No console access? Ask whoever has it. With the Users section of the panel, the owner can give a co-admin their own console access for exactly this kind of situation.
  3. Last resort: the file. Stop the server, open banned-players.json in Files, delete your entry (the whole block between { and }) and start the server again. Keep the brackets and commas valid, or the file will not load.

Editing the file while the server is running does not work well: the server keeps the list in memory and can write the old version back. With the server stopped, it reads your edited copy on the next start.

Temporary bans from EssentialsX

If the ban was made with EssentialsX tempban, it ends on its own at the date saved in the expires field. To end it early, use unban Steve. In EssentialsX, pardon is also an alias of unban, and unbanip has the alias pardonip, according to the EssentialsX source. The vanilla pardon run from the console also works, because EssentialsX stores temporary bans in the server’s normal ban list.

If they still cannot join after the unban

ldquo;not whitelistedrdquo; message
What you seeLikely causeFix
Console says the player is not bannedTypo, or it is an IP banCopy the name from banlist players; check banlist ips
Still “banned” after pardonA separate IP ban, or a plugin with its own ban listpardon-ip, then the plugin’s own unban command
A “You are not white-listed”“You are not white-listed”The whitelist is on and they were removedwhitelist add Name; see the whitelist guide
Your edit to banned-players.json came backYou edited it with the server runningStop the server, edit, start

Heads-up: unbanning does not give back operator status if you removed it, and it does not undo anything the player built or broke. If the ban was for griefing, restore from Backups before letting them back in.

Second chances, managed from your phone

On TheGameHosting the console is always one tap away in the panel, on your computer or your phone, so lifting a ban never depends on being able to join. Give your moderators their own access through Users, keep Backups ready in case a second chance goes wrong, and let the server run 24/7 in Dallas or Amsterdam without your PC on.

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

FAQ

What is the unban command in Minecraft?

In vanilla Java Edition it is pardon PlayerName. For an IP ban it is pardon-ip followed by the address. With EssentialsX installed, unban and unbanip work too.

How do I unban myself from my own Minecraft server?

Run pardon YourName from the server console, which a ban cannot block. Without console access, stop the server and delete your entry from banned-players.json.

How do I see who is banned?

Run banlist players for accounts and banlist ips for addresses. The same data is in banned-players.json and banned-ips.json.

Do I need to restart the server after an unban?

No. pardon takes effect immediately. A restart is only needed if you edit the ban file by hand, and then with the server stopped.

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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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