Set up a Minecraft server iconYour own image in the server list - in five minutes

Published on October 20, 2026

The three requirements

Minecraft is uncompromising here. All three points must be right, otherwise the client shows the default image:

• Exactly 64 x 64 pixels - not 63, not 128. Larger images are not scaled but ignored.
• PNG format - JPG or GIF do not work, not even renamed.
• File name server-icon.png - exactly like this, lower case, with a hyphen.

Transparency is supported, so PNG with an alpha channel works. There are no animated images - what sometimes looks animated in server lists are effects of the respective website, not of the game.

An image that still works at 64 pixels

The three requirements are quickly met; the harder part is the motif. 64 x 64 pixels is roughly the size of a single letter in this line - anything more complicated disappears in it.

• One motif, not a scene. A crest, a tool, a block. Of a landscape or a screenshot, only noise remains at this size.
• Strong contrast. The server list has a dark background - dark motifs without a light area blend into it.
• Two to three characters of text at most. A whole server name is no longer readable, and it is shown next to the icon anyway.
• Leave some margin. A motif filled to the edge looks cramped, because the icon sits right against the name and MOTD.

If you shrink a large template, fine lines become muddy. Hard scaling without smoothing - called "nearest neighbour" in many programs - keeps edges clean and suits the game's pixel look. Then check the result at its original size: the preview in the image editor usually shows it enlarged and fakes a sharpness that does not arrive in the game.

Transparency via the alpha channel works. Semi-transparent edges, however, look grey rather than soft against the dark background - if you need a clean finish, an opaque area works better.

Upload the icon

1. Bring the image to exactly 64 x 64 pixels and save it as PNG.
2. Rename the file to server-icon.png.
3. Upload it via WebFTP or SFTP into the server's main directory - where server.properties is too, not into the world folder.
4. Restart the server.

A /reload is not enough here - the icon is only read at startup.

Then refresh the server entry in the client once. If the default image still appears, it helps to delete the entry and create it again: clients stubbornly keep icons in their cache.

The MOTD next to it

Icon and MOTD sit right next to each other in the server list - it is worth designing both together. You set the MOTD via server.properties:

motd=§6My Server §7| §aNow with Season 3

Colour codes are introduced with the section sign, written as § in the file. You get two lines with \n at the desired position.

• Keep the MOTD short - long texts are cut off.
• Use the second line for things that change, such as the current season.
• Be sparing with colours - three are more effective than seven.

What else appears in the server list

The entry in the multiplayer list consists of more than the image. Good to know: the name in bold is the one the player chose themselves when creating the entry - you have no influence on that. You can only control the icon, the MOTD and the numbers behind them.

• Icon - on the left, 64 x 64 pixels, from server-icon.png.
• MOTD - up to two lines of text and the only place where your own server name reliably appears.
• Player count - currently online in relation to max-players from server.properties.
• Ping bars - the response time between client and server.
• Version note - if the client's version does not match the server, a note appears here instead of the player count.

The client only fetches this information when opening or refreshing the list. A freshly changed icon or a new MOTD text therefore does not appear immediately, but only after a refresh - that explains a good part of supposedly failed changes.

How your group gets to this entry in the first place is described in Join a server. If you want a name in the list instead of IP:port, set up your own domain for it - icon and MOTD are not affected.

If the icon does not appear

• Wrong dimensions - check in the image viewer that it really is 64 x 64.
• Wrong format - a JPG file renamed to .png is still a JPG file.
• Wrong location - the file belongs next to server.properties, not in the world folder.
• Double extension - server-icon.png.png easily happens on Windows when file extensions are hidden.
• Client cache - delete the server entry and create it again.

With a network with a proxy, the following also applies: the icon the players see lives on the proxy - not on the sub-servers behind it.

Frequently asked questions