Minecraft server commands every admin should know
You don't need hundreds of commands to run a server. These are the ones that come up every week, grouped by what they're for.
Where to type them
In the server console, type commands without the slash: op Steve. In the game, you need to be an op, and you add the slash: /op Steve. On Jump, the console is in the panel, under Console.
These are Java Edition commands. Most work the same way on Bedrock.
Players and access
/op <player>and/deop <player>: give or take admin commands./whitelist on,/whitelist add <player>,/whitelist remove <player>: only let in people you name./kick <player> [reason]: remove someone for now./ban <player> [reason]and/pardon <player>: keep someone out, or let them back./list: who's online.
The world
/time set dayand/weather clear: morning, no rain./difficulty hard: peaceful, easy, normal or hard, without a restart./gamerule keepInventory true: keep items on death./gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 1: one player sleeping skips the night./setworldspawn: make where you stand the spawn point./worldborder set 5000: limit the world to 5,000 blocks across, which keeps the map and the lag in check.
Helping players
/gamemode survival <player>: or creative, adventure, spectator./tp <player> <target>: move one player to another, or to coordinates like/tp Steve 0 80 0./give <player> diamond 3: give items./effect give <player> minecraft:night_vision 600: an effect for 600 seconds./say <message>: a message to everyone, from the server.
Keeping it safe
/save-all: write the world to disk now, before a backup or a risky change.- Stop the server from the panel rather than with
/stop, so the host knows it was stopped on purpose.
Plugins add their own commands (/home, /tpa, claims…). Each plugin's page lists them, and /help shows what's installed.
Questions
Why does it say "Unknown or incomplete command"?
Either it's misspelled, it's from a plugin that isn't installed, or you're not an op. Ops get every command; other players only get a few.
How do I op myself?
Type op YourName in the server console. See how to whitelist a server and op yourself.