How to ban, kick and unban players on a Minecraft server
Kick, ban, IP ban and pardon players on your Minecraft Java server, with commands, ban list files and tips for handling griefers.
Updated · 2 min read
Use kick <name> to remove someone temporarily, ban <name> to block them permanently, and pardon <name> to unban them. Run commands in the Schokr console without a slash, or in-game with a slash as an op of level 3 or higher.
Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
kick <name> [reason] | Disconnects the player. They can rejoin right away |
ban <name> [reason] | Bans the player's account, even if they are offline |
ban-ip <name or IP> [reason] | Bans an IP address |
pardon <name> | Unbans a player |
pardon-ip <IP> | Unbans an IP address |
banlist | Lists all bans |
banlist ips | Lists IP bans only |
Examples:
kick Griefer123 Stop breaking other people's builds
ban Griefer123 Griefing spawn
pardon Griefer123
The reason is shown to the player on their disconnect screen.
Where bans are stored
Bans are saved in the server root:
banned-players.jsonfor account bans (by UUID)banned-ips.jsonfor IP bans
Because account bans use the player's UUID, a banned player cannot get around them by changing their username, as long as online-mode=true. In offline mode bans are trivial to dodge. See online-mode explained.
If you edit these files by hand, do it while the server is stopped.
Should you use IP bans?
IP bans are a blunt tool. Players on the same home network, school or mobile carrier can share an IP, so you may block innocent people, and many players have changing IPs anyway. Prefer account bans and a whitelist, and use IP bans only for persistent alt-account abuse.
Temporary bans and mutes
Vanilla has no temporary bans or mutes. On Paper, moderation plugins add commands like tempban, mute and warn, and keep a history of punishments. EssentialsX and dedicated punishment plugins are common choices.
Dealing with griefers
- Ban the player.
- If damage was done, restore from a backup or snapshot. See back up your Minecraft world.
- Consider turning on a whitelist if your server is meant for friends.
- On Paper, a block logging plugin such as CoreProtect lets you inspect who broke what and roll back specific changes without restoring the whole world.
Kicked players see "You are banned"?
Run banlist to check if they are listed, then pardon <name>. If they are not listed, check whether a plugin is handling bans, or whether the server has a whitelist that they are not on.