How to Whitelist Players on a Bedrock Server

To whitelist Bedrock server players, set allow-list=true in server.properties, restart, and add each player with allowlist add "Gamertag" in the console. Bedrock Dedicated Server calls the whitelist an allowlist, has no on/off command, and everyone must be on it, operators included. On TheGameHosting you do it all from Files and Console.

This page is for a pure Bedrock Dedicated Server. If you run a Java server and let Bedrock players in through Geyser, you need fwhitelist instead, explained in how to whitelist someone on a Minecraft server. For the Java list in depth, see our Minecraft server whitelist guide.

How the Bedrock allowlist differs from the Java whitelist

The Minecraft Wiki documents both commands side by side. The differences that catch people out:

The property was renamed from white-list to allow-list in Bedrock 1.18.10, so very old guides and files still use the old name.

How to whitelist Bedrock server players, step by step

1. Turn the allowlist on. In the TheGameHosting panel, open Files, edit server.properties and set allow-list=true. Leave online-mode=true, which makes every player sign in with an Xbox account so gamertags can be trusted. Save.
2. Restart the server from the panel so it reads the new setting.
3. Add yourself first. In Console, type allowlist add "YourGamertag". Being an operator does not get you in on Bedrock.
4. Add your friends the same way, one per line. Use double quotes for any gamertag with a space.
5. Check the list with allowlist list.
6. Test it. A listed friend should join normally; anyone else is turned away at the connection screen.

allow-list=true
online-mode=true

allowlist add "YourGamertag"
allowlist add "Friend Name"
allowlist list

Heads-up: if your server.properties already says allow-list=true and you add nobody, nobody can join, including you. Recent versions can ship with the allowlist on, so check this before you share the address.

Getting the gamertag right

• Use the Xbox gamertag, the name shown in the player’s profile in Minecraft, not a nickname they use elsewhere.
• Spaces need quotes. The Wiki notes the name must be a single word or a double-quoted string: allowlist add "Cool Builder 42".
• Phone, console and Windows players are all the same to the allowlist. A friend on Switch is added exactly like a friend on Android.

Editing allowlist.json by hand

allowlist.json sits in the main server folder. Each entry has the gamertag in name, an xuid (the account ID, which the server can fill in when the player connects) and ignoresPlayerLimit, which lets that player in even when the server has reached max-players:

[
  {
    "ignoresPlayerLimit": false,
    "name": "YourGamertag"
  },
  {
    "ignoresPlayerLimit": true,
    "name": "Friend Name"
  }
]

Edit it in Files, keep the JSON valid (commas between entries, none after the last one) and type allowlist reload in the Console so the server reads the change. Setting ignoresPlayerLimit to true for yourself is a good way to never be locked out of a full server.

Remove a player from the allowlist

Type allowlist remove "Gamertag" in the Console. To get them out of a session that is already running, also use kick "Gamertag". Removing someone from the allowlist is separate from their permission level: if they were an operator, also run deop "Gamertag". New to Bedrock servers? Start with how to make a Minecraft Bedrock server.

If a friend still cannot join

1. Gamertag typo. Run allowlist list, remove the wrong entry and add the exact name in quotes.
2. You edited the file without reloading. Run allowlist reload.
3. They are on a console and cannot even see the server. That is not the allowlist; see how to join a Bedrock server on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch.
4. You switched to PocketMine-MP or Nukkit. Those server programs have their own commands and files; follow that software’s documentation.

Run a private Bedrock server on TheGameHosting

On TheGameHosting, Mojang’s official Bedrock Dedicated Server is ready about 60 seconds after payment, with a public IP and port already assigned, so friends on phones, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and Windows can join without you opening a single port. Files edits server.properties and allowlist.json in the browser, Console runs allowlist add, and Users lets a co-admin manage the list without your password. Prefer plugins? Switch to PocketMine-MP or Nukkit in the Version Changer.

Plans start at $1.90 USD/month on our Minecraft Bedrock server hosting page, online 24/7 in Dallas or Amsterdam with DDoS protection. Compare sizes on plans and pricing and use FULL2026 for 15% off for life.

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