One of the most fundamental parts of running your own Minecraft server, or hosting one for your friends, is the use of the server console. Knowing how to access and use the console on your server will allow you to manage the server you’ve created in ways you never thought possible before. In this article, we’ll be covering how to access and use a Minecraft server console in various ways that are relevant in almost every Minecraft server ever made.
What is a Server’s Console?
A server console gives you an overview of what’s happening on the server by displaying player actions, chat messages, plugin logs, and other server-specific items. Using the console, a server owner can view any warnings or errors happening with the server or it’s plugins, execute commands as the highest permission level, and much more!
Accessing the Console
Finding your server console has different steps depending on how you are hosting your server. Below are the two most common ways to find your server console.
If you are using a localhost:
If using a localhost server (a server that is being hosted on your machine), then finding your server console is fairly easy. When starting your Minecraft server, you should be met with a command prompt window. This new window is where all server logs will be sent for the time that your server is online.
If you are using a Minecraft Server Host:
Different server hosts all have different layouts of their websites. Generally however, you can find your console by navigating to your server host’s dashboard and clicking on a “Server Console” tab. Below are some examples.
Console Commands
Console commands are commands run from the server’s console. These commands carry the highest permission level possible (even higher than an Operators!). Because of this, some plugins for server owners to execute dangerous commands through the Server Console. However, because the server console isn’t an entity in game, some commands are impossible to run through the server console.
To execute a command through the console, simply type the command without the slash symbol “/” and click enter. If you type if with the slash symbol, you’ll probably be met with an unknown command!
Be wary of who you give access to your server console! People with harmful intents can use your server console to destroy your server.
Console Messages
Just by using the server console, you’ll notice a lot of messages being sent there by the server. While the constant flood of notices might seem intimidating, the concept behind it is pretty simple.
INFO Console Messages
Info messages are prefixed the “INFO” tag. These messages are generally just notices from plugins, player information, or messages from the server. For example, you can expect to find chat logs here.
WARNING Console Messages
Warning messages are prefixed the “WARNING” tag. These messages are warnings from the server or a specific plugin. Normally, these warnings are harmless and you can ignore them.
ERROR Console Messages
Error messages are prefixed the “ERROR” tag. These messages are the most dangerous out of all other console messages. If you stumble upon an error message in your logs, it normally means that a plugin has failed or the server is running into errors. If the errors persist, try reaching out to someone for help.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment below any topics that you’d like to see covered in this blog series!
Keep in touch with “How to make a Minecraft Server” by following! Many more useful guides are soon to come.
