How to OP Yourself and Manage Server Operators
Grant yourself admin access on your Minecraft server, manage your operators list, and understand the risks of giving OP to other players.
What Is OP?
OP (operator) status gives a player elevated permissions on your Minecraft server. At the highest level (OP level 4), an operator can run any command — including ones that can wipe your world or kick every player. Treat OP like server root access: give it only to people you fully trust.
Granting OP via the Console (Recommended)
The easiest way to OP yourself is from the WISP panel console, before you've even joined the server — no in-game access needed.
- Open your server in the WISP panel and go to the Console tab.
- Type the command directly into the console input (no leading
/):
op YourUsername
- You'll see a confirmation message:
Made YourUsername a server operator.
You can now join and use all operator commands in-game.
Granting OP In-Game
If you're already on the server and already have OP, you can OP other players from in-game chat:
/op PlayerName
Understanding OP Levels
Minecraft has four OP permission levels. You can set a specific level by editing ops.json (see below) or via the op-permission-level setting in server.properties.
| Level | What It Allows |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bypass spawn protection |
| 2 | Use most commands (gamemode, time, weather, etc.) |
| 3 | Kick, ban, whitelist management |
| 4 | Stop the server, run all commands including operator-only ones |
By default, /op grants level 4.
Editing ops.json Directly
For more control — including setting a specific level — edit ops.json in your server root via the WISP file manager.
Navigate to Files in your WISP panel and open ops.json. The file looks like this:
[
{
"uuid": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"name": "YourUsername",
"level": 4,
"bypassesPlayerLimit": false
}
]
Change "level" to 1–4 as needed, then save. The change takes effect on next server start, or you can reload with /reload.
Removing OP (Deop)
To revoke operator status:
From the console:
deop PlayerName
In-game (requires OP):
/deop PlayerName
This removes them from ops.json immediately.
A Word on Trust
Never OP players you don't know personally. A level 4 operator can:
- Run
/opon other players - Delete or corrupt your world with
/fillor/setblock - Stop your server
- Bypass all plugin permission systems (including LuckPerms)
If you need to give a player limited elevated permissions, use a permissions plugin like LuckPerms instead of full OP.