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.
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"
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"
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 remaining45m 30s - 45 minutes, 30 seconds remaining30s - 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.