Minecraft server banners and icons that get clicked

A Minecraft server banner is the 468x60 image server lists show beside your listing, and a server icon is the 64x64 picture players see next to your name in their in-game multiplayer list. The icon must be a PNG named server-icon.png sitting in the server's main folder; the banner is uploaded to each list, usually as a PNG or an animated GIF.

They do different jobs. The banner competes for attention on a page full of other banners. The icon sits in a player's server list for months, reminding them you exist every time they open Multiplayer. Get the specs right first, then make them readable, then worry about looking cool.

Minecraft server banner and icon sizes, in one place

The 64x64 rule isn't a suggestion. The server list protocol documentation on the Minecraft Wiki is specific: the icon must be a Base64-encoded PNG, and "the source image must be exactly 64x64 pixels, otherwise the Notchian client will not render the image." A 128x128 file, a 64x65 file or a JPEG renamed to .png just shows the default icon.

The 468x60 banner size comes from the classic web "full banner" ad format. Nearly every server list settled on it years ago, so one file usually works everywhere. Always check each list's upload page for its file size limit and whether it accepts GIFs.

How to make a Minecraft server icon

You don't need expensive software. You need a square canvas and the discipline to keep it simple.

1. Start big and square. Draw or compose at 512x512 (or 256x256 for pixel art). You'll scale down at the end, and a big master file doubles as your Discord and listing logo.
2. Pick one idea. A single block, item, mob face, letter or symbol that says what your server is: a diamond sword for PvP, a Nether star for a hardcore server, a floating island for Skyblock.
3. Use two or three colors with strong contrast. The list background is dark. Mid-gray art disappears.
4. Leave a margin. Keep the shape a few pixels in from the edges so it doesn't feel cramped next to the MOTD.
5. Shrink it to 64x64 and look again. If you have to squint, simplify. Initials beat a full server name; nobody can read eight letters at that size.
6. Export as PNG and name it exactly server-icon.png.

Good free tools: GIMP and Krita (full editors), Photopea (a browser editor that opens PSD files), and Blockbench if you want a clean 3D render of a block or item. Aseprite is a paid favorite for pixel art. Transparent corners are fine; PNG keeps them.

Minecraft server icon ideas that read at 64 pixels

• One oversized item on a flat colored background (the most reliable style)
• A mob face, front-on, filling most of the square
• A single bold initial or two-letter monogram with a thick outline
• A block cube from a three-quarter angle, with a glow behind it for contrast
• A seasonal variant of your normal icon for events, so regulars notice the change

• Your full server name in small letters
• A screenshot of your spawn shrunk down (it turns into mush)
• Thin lines, gradients with no contrast, or five different colors
• The official Minecraft logo. Mojang's usage guidelines limit how the brand can be used; read them before using official artwork

Minecraft server icon converter: resize without the blur

Online converters will crop and resize any image to 64x64 for you. They're fine for photos and painted art. For pixel art, the resize method matters: a normal smooth resize blurs crisp pixels. If you have ImageMagick installed, these commands give you control:

• Painted or photo art, any shape: magick logo.png -resize 64x64^ -gravity center -extent 64x64 server-icon.png (fills the square and crops the overflow evenly)
• Pixel art drawn at 16, 32 or 128 px: magick art.png -filter point -resize 64x64 server-icon.png (nearest-neighbor, keeps hard pixel edges)

Pixel art scales cleanly only by whole multiples, so draw it at 16x16, 32x32 or 64x64 to begin with. A 50x50 sprite stretched to 64 will always look uneven.

Installing server-icon.png (and why it isn't showing)

1. Upload it to the server's root folder, the same folder as server.properties and the server jar. On a host, that's the top level of the File Manager.
2. Restart the server. The icon is read at startup, and SpigotMC's wiki notes the server must be restarted after you add it.
3. Refresh your Multiplayer list. Players see the new icon the next time their list pings you.

On a Velocity or BungeeCord network, the proxy answers the server list ping, so the icon has to be set on the proxy, not on the backends. For BungeeCord, SpigotMC's wiki says the file goes next to the proxy jar.

Designing a Minecraft server banner that earns the click

A 468x60 banner is a strip: very wide, very short. Players scan a list of them in a couple of seconds each. The job is to say three things fast: who you are, what you play, and how to join.

A good banner template to start from: a darkened 468x60 crop of your spawn, a 2 px lighter border, the icon on the left, the name in white with a dark outline, the mode words in your accent color, and the address on the right. That layout survives almost any art style.

Animated GIF banners

Animation catches the eye in a list, which is why GIF banners are part of server-list culture. Keep it tasteful:

• Make the first frame a complete banner on its own, in case a page or link preview shows only that frame.
• Animate one thing (a shine across the logo, a cycling mode word), not everything.
• Hold the address still. Flashing text is hard to read and harder to type.
• GIFs support only 256 colors per frame, so flat colors look better than gradients.
• Watch file size. We accept up to 1 MB; other lists may allow less. Fewer frames and fewer colors shrink it fastest.

Resizing an existing animated GIF with ImageMagick needs every frame unpacked first: magick in.gif -coalesce -resize 468x60! -layers optimize banner.gif. The ! forces the exact size, so start from art that's already close to 468:60 or it will stretch.

Banner makers, generators and logo makers: worth it?

Search "minecraft server banner maker" or "minecraft server icon generator" and you'll find plenty of free template tools. They're a fine way to test a layout in five minutes. The downside is that templates get reused, so your banner can end up looking like dozens of others. Two better paths once you're serious:

Making a Minecraft server logo is the same work at a larger size: design the logo big (512 px or more), then derive the 64x64 icon and the banner from it. One logo, three sizes, consistent everywhere, including your Discord server icon.

What happens on 9MinecraftServer if you skip the banner

If you haven't uploaded a banner, we don't leave a blank box. Your row shows a live replica of your server as it appears in the Minecraft multiplayer list: icon, name, colored MOTD, player count and ping bars. That means your icon and MOTD are your default banner, which is one more reason to get them right. Uploading a real banner, a logo and a cover image happens after you add your server and claim it with a one-line MOTD code.

A banner gets someone to look. What they read next is your server description, and whether they remember you depends a lot on your server name.

Quick questions