Turn on the whitelist and add operators
Published on 3 October 2026
A whitelist means only the players you add can join your Minecraft server. Operators, or ops, are players who may use admin commands. You manage both with a few console commands, and on Java also through Players in the game panel.
What does the whitelist do?
With the whitelist on, only players on the list get in. Since Minecraft 26.3 it’s switched on by default on new Java servers, so if a friend sees a message that they aren’t whitelisted, that’s why. For a server with children it’s the most important first step; see A Minecraft server for your kids.
How do you turn on the whitelist and add players?
- Open your server in the game panel and go to the console.
- Type
whitelist onand press Enter. - Add each friend with
whitelist add Name. They don’t need to be online, but the name has to be exact. - Check the list with
whitelist list. Remove someone withwhitelist remove Name.
How do you op someone on your server?
Type op Name in the console; deop Name takes it away again. The level a new op gets comes from op-permission-level in server.properties. The default is 4, the highest level.
| Level | What an op can do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Build inside the protected area around spawn. |
| 2 | Most game commands, such as gamemode and teleporting. |
| 3 | Kick and ban players, and op others. |
| 4 | Everything, including stopping the server. |
Don’t op friends who only come to play. If someone should help without full power, set op-permission-level to 2 or 3 before you op them. Note that on Java an op can always join, even when they’re not on the whitelist.
Can you do it without commands?
Yes, on Java through Players, under the Minecraft heading. The first time, that page asks for a few settings in server.properties: click Fix & Enable Player Manager and restart your server. After that, click a player and choose Whitelist or OP. If the page doesn’t do what you want, the console always works.
How does it work on Bedrock?
- Type
allowlist onin the console. - Add players with
allowlist add Name, using their gamertag. If it contains a space, put the name in quotes. - Op someone with
op Name. On Bedrock that player has to be online.
On Bedrock an operator also has to be on the allowlist. The lists live in allowlist.json and permissions.json.
What are the common mistakes?
- A typo in the name. Use
whitelist listto see what’s really on it. - Adding Bedrock players who join through Geyser with
whitelist. On a Java server with Geyser and Floodgate, usefwhitelist add Name. More in Java and Bedrock together. - Making everyone an op. An op can change your world a lot. Only give it to people you really trust.
