Minecraft server shows offline but players can still join

A red X in the multiplayer list can appear even when joining the same address works. The request that supplies the MOTD and player count is separate from the player login. Start by finding out which of those two paths fails.

Check the address and the status listener

1. Query the same hostname and port you use in the client. Select the matching edition in MCAPI.
2. If the client’s server list and MCAPI both fail to get status and players connect directly to Paper, inspect server.properties. With enable-status=false, the status listener can be disabled while joins still work. To make status public, set the existing line as shown below and schedule a Paper restart.

enable-status=true

3. If players connect through Velocity, test the proxy address. In velocity.toml, ping-passthrough controls what comes from a backend. Check that setting and any MOTD plugins if the description or count looks wrong. With ALL, a backend response can be passed through. Keep private Paper ports private when testing.

Compare a client refresh and an external query

Refresh the multiplayer list, then query the same address from outside the server’s local network. If the hostname fails but IP:port returns status, inspect DNS and the Java SRV record. If only MCAPI shows an older count, check the response’s stale field and checked_at if present.

Sources and related guides

• MCAPI API documentation
• Minecraft Java SRV records
• Paper server.properties
• Velocity configuration
• Community discussion (r/Admincraft)