To enable offline mode on a Minecraft server, disable official account authentication in server.properties. On Minecraft Java, change online-mode=true to online-mode=false.
How to enable offline mode on a Minecraft server
- Stop the server. Use your hosting panel, Pterodactyl, or console before editing its configuration.
- Open
server.properties. Findonline-mode=trueand change it toonline-mode=false. - Save the file and start the server again. Minecraft Java will no longer verify player accounts through the official authentication services.
On a hosting panel, the online-mode option is often exposed in the configuration or Startup section. On a manual installation, edit the server.properties file in the server directory.
What does online-mode=false do?
With online-mode=false, the server runs in offline mode and does not verify that a player owns the account name they are using.
Important: this can allow username impersonation. Offline-mode player UUIDs can also differ from authenticated UUIDs, so changing an existing server from online mode to offline mode may affect inventories, permissions, or other player-linked data. Back up the server before changing the setting.
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How to turn online mode back on
Stop the server, change the setting back to online-mode=true, save the file, and restart. If players have already joined in offline mode, review UUID-linked data and permissions before switching.
Players still cannot connect?
If the server appears offline or players cannot reach it, online-mode is probably not the network problem. Follow our guide to diagnose Minecraft port 25565.
For a public server, do not rely on online-mode=false alone as an access-control mechanism. Use an appropriate authentication layer and configure any proxy in front of the server correctly.
