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How to Disable the Nether on a Minecraft Java Server

When the Nether is disabled, nether portals stop working and players can no longer enter the Nether dimension. Players who are already in the Nether are moved back to the overworld on their next login.

Note

This setting is controlled via server.properties and works on all Java server variants — Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Folia, Forge, Fabric and NeoForge.

Disable the Nether

  1. Stop the server
    Stop your server via the dashboard.

  2. Open server.properties
    Connect to your server via SFTP and open the file server.properties.

  3. Find the entry
    Search for the following entry:

    allow-nether=true
    allow-nether=true
  4. Change the value
    Change the value to false:

    allow-nether=false
    allow-nether=false
  5. Start the server
    Save the file and start your server.

Tip

To re-enable the Nether, set the value back to true and restart the server. Existing Nether worlds are preserved.