Minecraft Bedrock
An allow list (also called a whitelist) lets only the players you approve join your Minecraft Bedrock server. It is the easiest way to keep your world private for friends, family, or a small community.
On Bedrock, the allow list is switched on in the panel first. After that, you add players by their Xbox gamertag from the console.
Stop your server before changing settings so they save. The allow list will not apply until the server starts again.
Enable the Allow List
Stop to shut down your server.Bedrock Settings and click Server Properties.Allow List toggle and switch it to Enabled.Start.Leave
Online Mode on Enabled. The allow list checks players by their Xbox account, so it needs Online Mode to work reliably.
Add Players to the Allow List
Add players from your panel's Console tab while the server is running. The player does not need to be online.
Console tab in your panel.YourFriendsGamertag with their exact Xbox gamertag, and press Enter.Always put the gamertag in quotation marks. They are required if the gamertag has spaces, like
allowlist add "My Gamertag".
Manage Your Allow List
These console commands cover everything you need. In the panel console, type them without a leading slash.
Allow List Commands
allowlist add "Gamertag"Adds a player to the list.
allowlist remove "Gamertag"Removes a player from the list.
allowlist listShows everyone currently on the list.
allowlist reloadReloads the list after you edit
allowlist.json by hand.To switch the allow list off again, set the Allow List toggle back to Disabled in Server Properties, then restart your server.
Related Guides
Make yourself an operator so you can run in-game commands.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
A player says they are not on the allow list
Check that their gamertag is spelled exactly as it appears on their Xbox account. If they recently changed their gamertag, remove the old one with allowlist remove "OldName" and add the new one.
Players who are not on the list can still join
Make sure the Allow List toggle shows Enabled in Server Properties and that you started the server again after turning it on.
The add command does not work with my player's name
Wrap the gamertag in quotation marks, like allowlist add "Gamertag". This matters most for names with spaces.
I edited allowlist.json but nothing changed
Run allowlist reload in the console, or restart your server, so it reads the file again.
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