Status Ping Configuration

The status section controls how your Gate proxy appears in the Minecraft server list when players ping it. Configure the MOTD (Message of the Day), favicon, max players display, and more.

Overview

When players add your server to their multiplayer list, Minecraft sends a status ping request. Gate responds with information like:

Server name/description (MOTD)
Player count (online/max)
Server version
Server icon (favicon)
Sample player names

Minecraft server list showing MOTD and favicon

Configuration

config.status

object

Configure the server list ping response

status:
  motd: |
    §bWelcome to My Server
    §fPowered by Gate
  showMaxPlayers: 1000
  favicon: server-icon.png
  logPingRequests: false

MOTD (Message of the Day)

config.status.motd

string

required

The server description shown in the multiplayer server list. Supports both legacy color codes and modern JSON text components.

status:
  motd: |
    §bA Gate Proxy
    §bVisit ➞ §fgithub.com/minekube/gate

Legacy Color Codes

Use § (section sign) followed by a color/format code:

status:
  motd: |
    §b§lMY MINECRAFT SERVER
    §fJoin us for epic adventures!

Color Codes

Code	Color	Code	Color
`§0`	Black	`§8`	Dark Gray
`§1`	Dark Blue	`§9`	Blue
`§2`	Dark Green	`§a`	Green
`§3`	Dark Aqua	`§b`	Aqua
`§4`	Dark Red	`§c`	Red
`§5`	Dark Purple	`§d`	Light Purple
`§6`	Gold	`§e`	Yellow
`§7`	Gray	`§f`	White

Format Codes

Code	Format	Code	Format
`§l`	Bold	`§o`	Italic
`§m`	Strikethrough	`§n`	Underline
`§k`	Obfuscated	`§r`	Reset

JSON Text Components

For advanced formatting, use JSON text components:

status:
  motd: |
    {"text":"Welcome to My Server","color":"aqua","bold":true}

JSON text components give you more control over formatting but are more verbose. Legacy codes are simpler and sufficient for most use cases.

Favicon (Server Icon)

config.status.favicon

string

The server icon shown in the multiplayer list. Accepts file paths or base64 data URIs. Optimal size is 64x64 pixels.

# File path (relative or absolute)
favicon: server-icon.png
favicon: /path/to/icon.png

# Base64 data URI
favicon: data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KG...

Favicon Formats

File Path
Data URI

status:
  favicon: server-icon.png  # Relative to config file
  favicon: /var/gate/icon.png  # Absolute path

Supports PNG images
Recommended size: 64x64 pixels
Gate reads file on startup/reload
File must be accessible to Gate process

status:
  favicon: data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAEAAAABA...

Embed image directly in config
No external file needed
Can be generated from existing image
Useful for containerized deployments

Creating a Favicon

Create or find a 64x64 PNG image

Use any image editor (Photoshop, GIMP, Pixlr, etc.) to create a 64x64 pixel PNG image

Save as PNG

Save as server-icon.png in the same directory as your config.yml

Configure in Gate

status:
  favicon: server-icon.png

Reload configuration

Restart Gate or use /greload to apply changes

Convert image to data URI

To embed the image in your config file:

# Linux/macOS
echo "data:image/png;base64,$(base64 -w 0 server-icon.png)"

# Or use online converter
# Visit: https://www.base64-image.de/

Then paste the output into your config:

status:
  favicon: data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KG...

Max Players Display

config.status.showMaxPlayers

integer

default:"1000"

The maximum player count shown in the server list. This is cosmetic only and doesn’t limit actual connections.

status:
  showMaxPlayers: 1000

This setting only affects what’s displayed in the server list. It does not limit how many players can connect. Gate has no hard player limit.

Display Examples

# Show as small server
showMaxPlayers: 50
# Server list shows: "5/50" players

# Show as large network
showMaxPlayers: 10000  
# Server list shows: "1247/10000" players

# Show exact count (common for small servers)
showMaxPlayers: 20
# Server list shows: "3/20" players

Forge Server Indicator

config.announceForge

boolean

default:"false"

Whether to present the proxy as Forge/FML-compatible in status responses. Enable if your backend servers use Forge.

announceForge: false

When enabled, Gate adds Forge/FML data to status responses, telling clients this is a modded server. Backend servers must actually run Forge for this to work properly.

Ping Request Logging

config.status.logPingRequests

boolean

default:"false"

Whether to log server list ping requests in the console. Useful for debugging but can be noisy.

status:
  logPingRequests: false

Example Log Output

When enabled:

[INFO] Ping request from /203.0.113.45:52841
[INFO] Ping request from /198.51.100.22:61234
[INFO] Ping request from /192.0.2.10:49152

Enable during initial setup to verify your server is reachable. Disable in production to reduce log noise.

Complete Examples

Basic Configuration

config.yml

config:
  bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
  
  servers:
    lobby: localhost:25566
    survival: localhost:25567
  
  try:
    - lobby
  
  status:
    motd: |
      §b§lMY MINECRAFT SERVER
      §fSurvival §7| §fCreative §7| §fMinigames
    showMaxPlayers: 100
    favicon: server-icon.png
    logPingRequests: false

Advanced Configuration

config.yml

config:
  bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
  
  status:
    # Multi-line MOTD with colors
    motd: |
      §6§l▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
      §b§l    SKYBLOCK NETWORK    
      §e⚡ §fVersion 1.8-1.20 §e⚡
      §6§l▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
    
    # Large network appearance
    showMaxPlayers: 5000
    
    # Use embedded favicon
    favicon: data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUg...
    
    # Enable logging for debugging
    logPingRequests: true
  
  # Forge server support
  announceForge: false

Network with Different Status per Host

In classic mode, status is global. For per-hostname status customization, use Gate Lite mode which supports different MOTD/favicon per route.

Lite mode example:

config.yml

config:
  lite:
    enabled: true
    routes:
      - host: lobby.example.com
        backend: lobby-server:25565
        fallback:
          motd: |
            §b§lLOBBY SERVER
            §fHub and game selection
          favicon: lobby-icon.png
      
      - host: creative.example.com
        backend: creative-server:25565
        fallback:
          motd: |
            §a§lCREATIVE SERVER
            §fBuild amazing creations
          favicon: creative-icon.png

Dynamic Status

Gate’s status response dynamically includes:

Player Count

Automatically aggregates players across all connected backend servers:

Online: 47/1000

Online count = total players on all backends
Max count = showMaxPlayers setting

Player Samples

Hover over player count to see sample player names (up to 12 shown):

Version Display

Shows protocol version range:

1.8.x - 1.20.x

Gate automatically supports a wide range of Minecraft versions.

Troubleshooting

Favicon not showing

Common Issues:

Wrong file format - Must be PNG, not JPG or other formats
Wrong size - Should be exactly 64x64 pixels
File not found - Check path relative to config.yml location
Permissions - Gate must be able to read the file
Not reloaded - Restart Gate or use /greload

Verify:

# Check file exists and is readable
ls -lh server-icon.png

# Verify it's PNG and 64x64
file server-icon.png
identify server-icon.png  # requires ImageMagick

MOTD colors not working

Symptoms: Color codes show as literal text like §b§lServer NameCauses:

Copied text from source that doesn’t preserve section signs
Using wrong character (regular S instead of §)
Client-side issue (some resource packs break colors)

Solution: Ensure you’re using actual section sign (§):

motd: |
  §bColored text  # Correct: § (Alt+0167 or Alt+21)
  SbNot colored   # Wrong: S

Line breaks not working in MOTD

Issue: MOTD appears on single lineSolution: Use | (pipe) for multi-line strings in YAML:

# ✅ Correct - preserves line breaks
motd: |
  Line 1
  Line 2

# ❌ Wrong - single line
motd: "Line 1 Line 2"

Player count shows 0/1000

Issue: Shows 0 players even though people are connectedCauses:

No players actually on backend servers (they’re on Gate but not connected to backends)
Backend servers not properly forwarding player info
Connection issues between Gate and backends

Check:

# In Gate console
/glist

# Check which servers have players

Status shows 'Can't connect to server'

Issue: Server appears offline in server listDiagnosis:

Check Gate is actually running: netstat -tlnp | grep 25565
Verify bind address: ensure not bound to 127.0.0.1 only
Check firewall: ensure port 25565 is open
Test locally first: try connecting from same machine

Common Causes:

Gate not running
Firewall blocking port 25565
Bound to wrong interface (127.0.0.1 instead of 0.0.0.0)

Best Practices

Keep MOTD concise

Maximum 2 lines (Minecraft limitation)
Each line ~50-60 characters max
Test how it looks in actual Minecraft client
Consider different screen sizes/resolutions

Choose appropriate max players

# Small community server
showMaxPlayers: 20-50

# Medium server
showMaxPlayers: 100-500

# Large network
showMaxPlayers: 1000-10000

Choose a number that matches your server’s scale and looks realistic.

Optimize favicon size

Use exactly 64x64 pixels
Keep file size under 10KB
Use PNG with transparency if needed
Test visibility at small size (server list icons are tiny)
Avoid detailed images - simple logos work best

Test in actual client

After configuration changes:

Restart Gate or reload config
Refresh server list in Minecraft (F5)
Check MOTD appears correctly
Verify favicon loads
Test from different clients/versions if possible

Disable ping logging in production

status:
  logPingRequests: false  # Reduce log noise

Enable only for debugging - server lists ping frequently.

Overview

Complete configuration overview and settings

Gate Lite

Per-route status customization in Lite mode

Servers

Configure backend servers and routing

Query Protocol

Enable GameSpy 4 query protocol support

Get Started

Installation

Core Concepts

Configuration

Features

Security

Status Ping Configuration

Status Ping Configuration

Overview

Configuration

MOTD (Message of the Day)

Legacy Color Codes

Color Codes

Format Codes

JSON Text Components

Favicon (Server Icon)

Favicon Formats

Creating a Favicon

Max Players Display

Display Examples

Forge Server Indicator

Ping Request Logging

Example Log Output

Complete Examples

Basic Configuration

Advanced Configuration

Network with Different Status per Host

Dynamic Status

Player Count

Player Samples

Version Display

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Overview

Gate Lite

Servers

Query Protocol

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Installation

Core Concepts

Configuration

Features

Security

​Status Ping Configuration

​Overview

​Configuration

​MOTD (Message of the Day)

​Legacy Color Codes

​Color Codes

​Format Codes

​JSON Text Components

​Favicon (Server Icon)

​Favicon Formats

​Creating a Favicon

​Max Players Display

​Display Examples

​Forge Server Indicator

​Ping Request Logging

​Example Log Output

​Complete Examples

​Basic Configuration

​Advanced Configuration

​Network with Different Status per Host

​Dynamic Status

​Player Count

​Player Samples

​Version Display

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

​Related Configuration

Overview

Gate Lite

Servers

Query Protocol

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Status Ping Configuration

Overview

Configuration

MOTD (Message of the Day)

Legacy Color Codes

Color Codes

Format Codes

JSON Text Components

Favicon (Server Icon)

Favicon Formats

Creating a Favicon

Max Players Display

Display Examples

Forge Server Indicator

Ping Request Logging

Example Log Output

Complete Examples

Basic Configuration

Advanced Configuration

Network with Different Status per Host

Dynamic Status

Player Count

Player Samples

Version Display

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Related Configuration