Custom MOTD

The Maintenance plugin displays custom messages in the server list (MOTD) when maintenance mode is active. These messages support MiniMessage formatting for rich text, gradients, and colors.

Basic Configuration

Configure your maintenance MOTD in config.yml:

# The message (MOTD) shown in the multiplayer server list motd when maintenance is enabled.
# If you put in multiple entries, one of them will be chosen randomly on every ping.
# If running an endtimer, the time left can be displayed by including '%TIMER%' in a ping message.
ping-message:
  enabled: true
  messages:
    - "<red>Currently under maintenance<br><gradient:#fbffc2:#0fffff>We will be back soon!"

The <br> tag creates a line break between the first and second lines of the MOTD.

MiniMessage Formatting

The plugin uses MiniMessage for text formatting. Here are common formatting options:

Colors

messages:
  - "<red>Maintenance Mode<br><yellow>Check back soon!"
  - "<color:#ff0000>Custom hex color<br><color:#00ff00>Another color"

Gradients

messages:
  - "<gradient:#ff0000:#0000ff>Beautiful gradient text<br><white>Normal text"
  - "<gradient:red:blue:green>Multi-color gradient"

Text Decorations

messages:
  - "<bold>Bold text<br><italic>Italic text"
  - "<underlined>Underlined<br><strikethrough>Strikethrough"

Combined Formatting

messages:
  - "<gradient:#fbffc2:#0fffff><bold>Maintenance Mode<br><reset><yellow>Be back soon!"

Multiple Message Variants

When you configure multiple messages, one is randomly selected each time a player pings the server:

ping-message:
  enabled: true
  messages:
    - "<red>Currently under maintenance<br><gradient:#fbffc2:#0fffff>We will be back soon!"
    - "<gold>Server updating!<br><yellow>Please check Discord for updates"
    - "<dark_red>Maintenance in progress<br><gray>Estimated time: 30 minutes"

This adds variety and can communicate different information on each ping.

Timer-Specific Messages

When using the /maintenance endtimer command, you can display different messages that show the remaining time:

ping-message:
  enabled: true
  messages:
    - "<red>Currently under maintenance<br><gradient:#fbffc2:#0fffff>We will be back soon!"
  # If set to true and an endtimer is currently running, a message from this pool will be chosen
  # instead of the ones above, so you can have different messages for when an endtimer is running/not running.
  enable-timer-specific-messages: true
  timer-messages:
    - "<red>Currently under maintenance<br><gradient:#fbffc2:#fffff>Come back in:</gradient> <color:#aa55ee>%TIMER%"

Timer Placeholder

The %TIMER% placeholder displays the remaining time in a human-readable format:

2h 30m 15s - 2 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds remaining
45m 30s - 45 minutes, 30 seconds remaining
30s - 30 seconds remaining

Configure timer messages

Set enable-timer-specific-messages: true and add messages to the timer-messages list.

Include the %TIMER% placeholder

Add %TIMER% where you want the countdown to appear in your message.

Start an endtimer

Run /maintenance endtimer <duration> to start the countdown.

Messages automatically switch

The plugin will show timer-specific messages until maintenance ends.

Player Count Message

Customize the version text shown in the server list where the player count normally appears:

# If enabled, the message below will be shown in the top right corner of the server in the server list, where the player count would normally be displayed.
# You can use '%ONLINE%' and '%MAX%' if you want to include the player count in a custom message (e.g. "Maintenance %ONLINE%/%MAX%").
# DOES NOT SUPPORT RGB!
player-count-message:
  enabled: true
  message: "<dark_red>Maintenance"
  # If set to true and an endtimer is currently running, the timer message will be used instead of the normal one.
  enable-timer-specific-message: false
  timer-message: "<dark_red>Come back in: <yellow>%TIMER%"

The player count message does NOT support RGB hex colors due to Minecraft protocol limitations. Use named colors only (e.g., <red>, <dark_red>, <yellow>).

Player List Hover Message

Configure the tooltip that appears when hovering over the player count:

# Is shown when you move your mouse above the text in the top right corner of the server in the server list, where the player count would normally be displayed.
# DOES NOT SUPPORT RGB!
player-list-hover-message:
  enabled: true
  message: "<red>Currently under<br><red>maintenance"
  # If set to true and an endtimer is currently running, the timer message will be used instead of the normal one.
  enable-timer-specific-message: false
  timer-message: "<red>Come back in:<br><red><yellow>%TIMER%"

Testing Your Messages

Use the MiniMessage Web UI to preview and test your messages before adding them to the config:

Visit https://webui.advntr.dev/
Enter your MiniMessage text
Preview the formatted output
Copy the formatted text to your config

Dynamic Commands

You can also update the MOTD dynamically using commands:

# Add a new MOTD message
/maintenance setmotd <message>

# View current MOTD messages
/maintenance motd

# Remove a MOTD message by index
/maintenance removemotd <index>

Dynamic MOTD changes made via commands are saved to the config file automatically.

Get Started

Configuration

Platform Guides

Features

Commands & Permissions

Basic Configuration

MiniMessage Formatting

Colors

Gradients

Text Decorations

Combined Formatting

Multiple Message Variants

Timer-Specific Messages

Timer Placeholder

Player Count Message

Player List Hover Message

Testing Your Messages

Dynamic Commands

​Basic Configuration

​MiniMessage Formatting

​Colors

​Gradients

​Text Decorations

​Combined Formatting

​Multiple Message Variants

​Timer-Specific Messages

​Timer Placeholder

​Player Count Message

​Player List Hover Message

​Testing Your Messages

​Dynamic Commands

Basic Configuration

MiniMessage Formatting

Colors

Gradients

Text Decorations

Combined Formatting

Multiple Message Variants

Timer-Specific Messages

Timer Placeholder

Player Count Message

Player List Hover Message

Testing Your Messages

Dynamic Commands