What Are Gamerules?
Gamerules are server-side switches that control core properties of a Minecraft world. They define whether mobs can change the world, whether players keep their inventory after death, how quickly plants grow, and much more. Each rule is either a yes/no switch (Boolean) or a numeric value (Integer).
You can set gamerules in two ways:
- In the panel under Settings → Gamerules – using game-serverhosting’s integrated editor.
- Via server console command directly in the running game:
/gamerule <RuleName> <Value>.
The editor in the panel shows all available rules with their current setting and lets you save with one click – without needing to know the exact command names.
Note: Open your server in the panel and switch to the Gamerules tab in the Settings area to view and edit all rules. Don’t have a server yet? Order a Minecraft server.
All 15 Gamerules at a Glance
The following table lists all rules from the editor with their default value and effect.
| Rule | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Keep inventory after death | Off | Players keep their full inventory and experience after death. Ideal for creative and family servers. |
| Mobs change the world (Creeper, Enderman) | On | Creeper explosions, Enderman carrying blocks, Zombies breaking down doors. Off = the world stays intact. |
| Day/night cycle | On | Off freezes the time of day – useful for keeping the server permanently at day or night. |
| Weather cycle | On | Off freezes the current weather (no more rain/thunderstorms). |
| Fire spreads | On | Off prevents fire from spreading. Removed in 1.21.11 (only on older servers). |
| Mobs spawn | On | Off = no new mobs spawn (existing ones remain). |
| Phantoms spawn | On | Off prevents Phantoms completely, even if players don’t sleep for several nights. |
| Show death messages | On | Off suppresses chat messages about player deaths. |
| Immediate respawn | Off | On lets players rejoin immediately after death, without the respawn screen. |
| Health regenerates | On | Off forces healing only through potions, food, or effects (no passive regeneration). |
| Fall damage | On | Off = falls cause no damage. |
| Announce advancements | On | Off keeps earned advancements private (no chat spam for progress). |
| Plant/block growth (tick speed) | 3 (0–4096) | Higher values speed up plant growth and fire behavior, but put more load on the server. |
| Sleeping players for night skip (%) | 100 (0–100) | Share of players who must sleep to skip the night. 0 = one player is enough. |
| Max entities on one block | 24 (0–100) | How many animals/mobs may stack before they take damage. Lower values help server performance. |
Example Scenarios
Gamerules are most useful when they are matched to the server type. Here are three typical combinations:
Family/Creative Server (No Losses or Griefing)
keepInventory = On → No inventory loss after death
mobGriefing = Off → Creepers and Enderman cause no damage
fallDamage = Off → No fall damage when building high up
Ideal for kids’ play sessions or building servers where losses would be frustrating.
Hardcore PvP Server (Harsh Consequences)
doImmediateRespawn = On → Immediate respawn without screen
showDeathMessages = On → Everyone sees who died and why
keepInventory = Off → Inventory stays on the ground after death (default)
For competitive PvP rounds where dying should have consequences.
Static Showcase/Map Rounds (Frozen World)
doDaylightCycle = Off → Server stays permanently at day (e.g. at time tick 6000)
doWeatherCycle = Off → No rain, no thunderstorms
doMobSpawning = Off → No disruptive mobs on the exhibition map
Perfect for adventure maps, museum servers, or showcase worlds where the atmosphere should stay constant.
Notes on Specific Rules
randomTickSpeed: The default value 3 is optimized for normal gameplay. Values above 100 can noticeably impact server performance – only use high values for temporary actions (e.g. fast composting).
doFireTick: This rule was removed in Minecraft 1.21.11 and now only appears on servers with an older version. As of 1.21.11, fire behavior has a new internal control system.
playersSleepingPercentage: Set to 0, a single player is enough to skip the night – useful for solo players on multiplayer servers when the majority is busy.
mobGriefing: When Creeper explosions or Enderman behavior change the world, they leave permanent marks – only enable this rule on servers where players know the consequences.
Gamerule Changes in Real Time
The panel confirms every change directly in the server console:
You’ll find all gamerules directly in your server’s panel under Settings → Gamerules. Open the rules page there and click Save to apply changes. Don’t have a server yet? Order a Minecraft server now.