Server Setup
How to Add a Server Icon
Give your Minecraft server a face in the multiplayer list. Drop a 64x64 server-icon.png in the root folder, restart, and it shows up next to your server name.
The whole trick: one file, one restart
Minecraft looks for a single file named server-icon.png sized exactly 64x64, sitting in the server root next to server.properties. It is read once at boot, so save the file, run /stop, start the server again, then re-add the entry in your client to bust the cached favicon.
Quick answers
+What size does the server icon have to be?
Exactly 64x64 pixels. Anything else is rejected or distorted. Use PNG with transparency if you want rounded or non-square art.
+Where do I put server-icon.png?
In the server root, beside server.properties, eula.txt and the server jar. Not in the world folder and not in plugins.
+Why is my icon not showing up?
Most often the name is wrong (must be server-icon.png), the size is not 64x64, or the server was not fully restarted. Check console for a load error at boot.
+Do I need a plugin for a server icon?
No. Vanilla, Spigot, Paper and Fabric all read server-icon.png natively. Plugins like ServerListPlus only matter if you want animated or per-player icons.
+My icon is cached and stuck on the old one.
The client caches favicons. In the multiplayer screen, select the server, click Edit then Done, or delete and re-add the entry to force a refresh.
+Can I use a JPG or a bigger image?
No. It must be a PNG at 64x64. Convert and resize first; the server ignores other formats and sizes without warning.
+Does the server icon work on Bedrock?
No. server-icon.png is a Java Edition feature only. Bedrock dedicated servers and Realms have no equivalent file; the world icon on Bedrock comes from the world template, not the server.
+Does the icon work behind BungeeCord or Velocity?
The icon players see in the list comes from whatever they ping. Behind a proxy that is the proxy, so set server-icon.png in the BungeeCord or Velocity folder, not on the backend servers. Velocity also lets you point to the file in velocity.toml.
+What format does the icon use in the protocol?
The server sends the favicon as a base64 data URI in the status response. You do not build that yourself; the server encodes server-icon.png at boot. If the PNG is corrupt or not 64x64 the favicon field is just left out.
+Can I animate the server icon?
Not with vanilla. The status response carries one static PNG. ServerListPlus on Spigot/Paper can swap between several icons or pick per-ping, but each frame is still a 64x64 PNG and the client shows it as a still image.
+The icon shows for me but not my friend.
Favicons are cached per entry in each client. Your friend has the old icon cached on their machine, so they need to edit or re-add the server entry on their own client. There is no server-side cache to clear.
Icon mistakes that waste an hour
- Wrong color mode. Export the PNG as RGB or RGBA. Some editors save indexed or grayscale PNGs that load but render washed out. 8-bit per channel is safe.
- Hidden file extension. If Windows hides extensions you can end up with server-icon.png.png. Turn on file extensions and check the real name.
- Editing on the wrong folder. The root is where server.properties, eula.txt and the jar sit. On a panel like Pterodactyl that is the top of the file manager, not /world or /plugins.
- Reload instead of restart. /reload and plugin reloads do not re-read the icon. Only a full server boot does. Run /stop, wait for the process to exit, then start again.
- Transparency clipped. Keep art inside the 64x64 frame with a few pixels of padding. Pixels at the edge can look cut off once the client rounds the corners.
- File locked on Windows hosts. If you overwrite server-icon.png while the server is running, save to a temp name and rename after /stop so the old file is not held open.