Minecraft MOTD Editor: Customize Your Server-List Message and Status

The MOTD is the line of text and the small icon players see next to your server in the Minecraft multiplayer list. The MOTD Editor in the LoafHub panel lets you customise that server-list “ping” — without touching server.properties or any plugin config — for the times your server is not running: the message lines, the player counts shown, the server icon and the version text players see while your server is offline, suspended, installing or starting up. The offline ping is the headline feature: even when your server is stopped, the LoafWings agent on the node answers the ping with your message, so the slot in a player’s list shows a friendly “back soon” line instead of a dead, unreachable entry. Once your server is actually running, the real Minecraft server answers the ping itself — with its own server.properties MOTD, server-icon.png and live player counts — so the editor’s job is to cover the offline, suspended, installing and starting moments. This guide walks through every part of the editor, exactly as it works in the panel, and explains what each field does. Whether you searched for Minecraft MOTD editor, server-list message, or how to set a custom offline message, everything is below.

What the MOTD Editor Does

The MOTD Editor is a Minecraft-only tool that controls the Server List Ping — the small preview a client requests when your server appears in its multiplayer list — while your server is not running. From one page you write the message lines, set the “online” and “max players” numbers shown in the ping, upload the 64x64 server icon, and author a distinct message for the Offline, Installing and Starting states (plus a shared second line). The fourth state, Suspended, is host-managed: you can preview it but not edit it. Everything you set here applies only while the server is offline, suspended, installing or starting — once it is running, the real Minecraft server answers the ping itself. A live preview pane shows precisely what a player will see for each non-running state.

The standout part is the offline responder. When your server is stopped, the LoafWings agent that runs on the node binds your server’s address and answers the ping itself, showing your offline message and icon. It is status-only by design: it answers the ping and politely declines a login attempt with your message — it never starts your server. That means a player pinging your offline server can read “Be back at 6pm EST” rather than seeing a broken, greyed-out entry, and nobody can power-cycle your server just by pinging it.

Note: The MOTD Editor is available on Minecraft (Java Edition) servers only — the item appears once it is enabled for your server

Note: The offline responder is status-only: it shows your message but never powers the server on

Note: You need the MOTD manage permission, so account owners and sub-users granted that permission can use it

Open the MOTD Editor

The MOTD Editor lives in your server’s sidebar, in the Game section, listed as “MOTD Editor”. It only shows on Minecraft servers that have the feature enabled, so if you do not see it on a non-Minecraft server that is expected.

1. Sign in to LoafHub at hub.loafhosts.com
2. Open your Minecraft server
3. In the left sidebar, under the Game section, click MOTD Editor
4. The editor opens with your current configuration and a live preview on the right

Tip: The MOTD Editor item sits near Change Game in the Game section of the sidebar

Tip: Like the other server tools, you can drag the item to reorder it in your sidebar

Turn the Offline Responder On

Near the top of the form is a Status card. The single checkbox there — “Enable the offline MOTD responder for this server” — controls whether the agent answers pings while your server is offline. When it is on, your offline message shows in the server list whenever the server is stopped. When it is off, the agent releases the responder and your server shows the normal vanilla “can’t connect” state while offline, exactly as it would without the feature.

Just below the page title — above the editor’s two columns, not inside the Status card — a small status chip shows the current apply state, with a separate “Last applied” timestamp beside it, so you can confirm your changes actually reached the node. The chip reads “Active — pushed to node” when everything is live, “Saved — node will pick it up shortly” if the node was briefly unreachable, “No allocation to bind a responder” if the server has no address assigned yet, or “Disabled” when the responder is off.

Note: With the responder off, your offline server shows the standard unreachable state — the message and icon only appear when the responder is on

Tip: Check the status chip after saving to confirm the change reached the node

Write Your Messages

The Messages card is where you write the text. Each line has a character counter and a row of colour swatches beneath it.

• Offline message — the main line shown when the server is stopped.
• Second line (all states) — an optional second line that appears under the first line in every state.
• Installing message — shown while the server is installing or reinstalling. There is a “Show a distinct message when installing” checkbox above it; with it unticked, the installing state simply reuses your offline message.
• Starting message — shown during the brief window while the server is booting. Leave it blank and the starting state falls back to your offline message.

Each line is capped at a maximum length (80 characters by default), shown live as a counter like 24/80 that turns red if you go over. Minecraft only renders roughly 45 characters per visible line in the list, so shorter lines look best.

Note: The second line shows under the first in every state, so use it for something that always applies, like your Discord or website

Note: If you do not tick “Show a distinct message when installing”, the installing state reuses your offline message

Tip: Keep each line under about 45 characters so it is not cut off in the multiplayer list

Use Colour Codes

The editor supports Minecraft’s classic ampersand colour codes — for example &c for red and &a for green. Under each message line is a row of sixteen colour swatches; click one and the matching & code is inserted at your cursor, so you do not have to remember the letters. You can type the codes yourself too. The live preview applies the colours so you can see the result immediately. For the full list of colour and formatting codes, see our Minecraft Color Codes guide.

The editor keeps your codes clean automatically: only valid Minecraft colour and formatting codes are kept, control characters are stripped, and the line is trimmed to the length limit. You do not need to worry about breaking the ping with a stray character.

Tip: Click a colour swatch to drop the matching & code in at the cursor — no need to memorise the letters

Tip: A code keeps applying until the next code, so add a fresh colour where you want the next part to change

Set the Shown Player Count and Version

The “Shown player count & version” card controls the numbers and the version text in the ping while your server is not running. These are purely cosmetic — they are what the list displays during the offline, suspended, installing and starting states, not a real player cap. Once the server is running, the list shows its real online and max player counts instead.

• Online (shown) — the “online” number shown in the ping.
• Max players (shown) — the “max” number shown in the ping. If you set an online value higher than max, the editor clamps it so the list never reads more online than max.
• Version label — the text shown as the server “version” in the ping (up to 48 characters). Leave it blank to show the lifecycle state instead — Offline, Suspended, Installing or Starting.

Note: These player numbers are display-only and only appear while the server is offline, suspended, installing or starting — once the server is running, the list shows its real online and max counts, and these never change how many people can actually join

Tip: A version label like “Back at 6pm” is a handy spot for a short status note, since it shows where the version normally appears

Add a Server Icon

The Server icon card sets the 64x64 image shown next to your server name in the list while your server is offline, suspended, installing or starting. (Once the server is running, the icon comes from the server’s own server-icon.png, just like the message and player counts.) You have two ways to provide it:

1. Upload a file — drag a PNG or JPG onto the drop area, or click it to choose a file. A 64x64 image is ideal; anything larger is resized down to 64x64 for you.
2. Fetch from a URL — paste an image URL and click Fetch. Only a small set of trusted image hosts are allowed, and the editor lists exactly which ones it accepts (for example Imgur, Discord’s CDN, Modrinth and CurseForge’s CDN). If your host is not on the list, upload the file directly instead.

Whichever route you use, the image is normalised to a 64x64 PNG favicon — the format Minecraft requires — and transparency is preserved. There is a Remove icon button to clear it. Keep source images small (around 1 MB or less).

Note: Accepted source formats are PNG, JPEG and WebP; everything is converted to a 64x64 PNG for the ping

Note: URL fetching is limited to an allowlist of trusted image hosts — the editor shows the exact list it accepts

Tip: If your image host is not on the allowed list, just upload the file from your computer instead

The Suspended Message Is Managed by the Host

The Messages card also shows a Suspended message field, marked “Managed by host”. You can read the wording but you cannot change it — the input is read-only. This is deliberate: when a server is suspended for billing, the agent always shows the suspended state and refuses login regardless of the configuration, and only the host can edit the suspension notice. It still appears in the Suspended preview tab so you can see exactly what would show.

Note: The suspended message is set by the host and cannot be edited from the MOTD Editor

Note: When a server is suspended, the agent always shows the suspended state — a custom message cannot fake an “online” lobby

Preview Every State

The Live preview pane on the right shows a faithful mock-up of your server’s row in the multiplayer list — the icon, the player count, and your message lines with colours applied. Tabs across the top switch between Offline, Suspended, Installing and Starting so you can check each state. The preview updates as you type, using your unsaved edits, so you can fine-tune wording and colours before saving anything.

Tip: Flip through the Offline, Suspended, Installing and Starting tabs to confirm each state reads the way you want

Tip: The preview reflects your unsaved draft, so you can experiment freely and only save when you are happy

Save and Push to the Node

Three buttons sit under the form: Save changes, Resync to node, and Discard edits.

• Save changes writes your configuration and pushes it to the node’s agent automatically.
• Resync to node forces another push if you want to re-apply — useful after a “node will pick it up shortly” status.
• Discard edits throws away unsaved changes and reloads the saved configuration.

If the node is briefly unreachable when you save, your configuration is stored safely and a background reconciler re-applies it within a minute, so changes are never lost. You can also press Resync to node to retry the push immediately.

Note: Saving pushes to the node automatically; the background reconciler retries any push that did not land

Tip: If the status chip says “Saved — node will pick it up shortly”, you can wait a moment or press Resync to node to push again right away