How do I make myself OP on my Minecraft server?

OP (operator) gives a player full control of the server: every command, from /gamemode to /stop. The first thing you do on a new server is make yourself OP, and one of the most important rules afterwards is to give it to as few people as possible. OP is granted from the console, because in-game you would need OP to grant OP.

Making yourself OP

1. Go to the game panel and click your server.
2. Open the Console tab.
3. Type op YourPlayerName and press Enter (without a slash; exactly your Minecraft username, capital letters included).
4. The console confirms with Made YourPlayerName a server operator.

You do not have to be online; the name is stored in ops.json in the server folder. Once you are OP, you can grant OP to others in-game with /op PlayerName.

Removing OP

deop PlayerName from the console or /deop PlayerName in-game. The change is immediate. You can also open ops.json in File Manager and remove the entry, followed by a restart.

OP levels

Operators have a level from 1 to 4; the default for /op is set by op-permission-level in server.properties (default 4).

• 1: bypass spawn protection.
• 2: most gameplay commands (/gamemode, /give, /tp, /time) and editing command blocks.
• 3: player management (/ban, /kick, /op, /deop).
• 4: everything, including /stop and /save-all.

You can give a specific player a lower level by editing the level field in ops.json.

OP versus permissions

OP is all or nothing. On a server with staff you want moderators to be able to kick and mute, but not to give themselves diamonds or stop the server. That is what a permissions plugin is for: LuckPerms lets you build ranks with exactly the commands each rank may use, without OP. A good rule: the owner is OP, everyone else gets a rank. How that works is in our blog article on LuckPerms permissions.

Cracked and Bedrock names

On an offline-mode server (online-mode=false), anyone who logs in with your name gets your OP; that is one of the reasons to keep online mode on. For Bedrock players through Geyser, the name in ops.json is the Bedrock name with the Floodgate prefix, usually a dot: op .PlayerName.

Common problems

• "Player not found" or nothing happens: the name has a typo, or on Paper the player has never joined and the server cannot look up the UUID yet. Let the player join once, then try again.
• OP but commands are still blocked: a permissions plugin explicitly denies the command; check its settings. Some plugins also disable OP entirely by design.
• Somebody has OP who should not: check ops.json and deop them; then consider changing to permissions.

Next steps once you are OP: changing gamemode, setting the difficulty and installing your first plugin. Stuck? Open a ticket.