How do I set someone's gamemode or give creative? — Minecraft

Q: Nothing happens when I run the command — why?

You're probably not OP. Run op yourname in the Console first, then try again.

Q: Can I set gamemode for offline players?

Set the world default in server.properties; individual gamemode commands need the player to be online.

How do I set someone's gamemode or give creative?

Switching a player into creative, survival, adventure, or spectator is a one-line command — and you can also set the default gamemode for everyone who joins.

Changing one player's gamemode

As an operator, run the command in the panel Console or in-game:

gamemode creative PlayerName
gamemode survival PlayerName
gamemode adventure PlayerName
gamemode spectator PlayerName

The Console always has OP rights, so it's the most reliable place to run these.

Setting the world default

Open the Files tab and edit server.properties.
Set gamemode= to the default you want (e.g. gamemode=survival).
If you want to force players back to that gamemode on join, also set force-gamemode=true.
Save and restart.

Tip: force-gamemode=true is handy for survival servers where you don't want players keeping creative between sessions.

Frequently asked questions

Nothing happens when I run the command — why? You're probably not OP. Run op yourname in the Console first, then try again.

What does force-gamemode actually do? It resets players to the server's default gamemode each time they join, overriding whatever gamemode they had when they last logged out.

Can I set gamemode for offline players? Set the world default in server.properties; individual gamemode commands need the player to be online.