Disable the Nether or The End

You can stop players reaching the Nether on any server, and you can stop them reaching The End on Paper. Vanilla has no switch for The End. The Nether switch also moved in Minecraft 1.21.9, so the right method depends on your version.

Checked against Minecraft 26.3 and Paper 26.3, October 2026.

Disable the Nether on 1.21.9 and newer

Mojang removed the allow-nether line from server.properties in 1.21.9 and replaced it with a game rule, which lets you change it while the server runs.

1. Make sure the server is running, because console commands only work while it is online, then open the Console tab.
2. Send gamerule allow_entering_nether_using_portals false.
3. Send gamerule allow_entering_nether_using_portals on its own to read the value back. It should report false.

The Minecraft Wiki describes the rule as controlling whether the Nether can be entered by using Nether portals, so it stops portal travel rather than removing the dimension.

The game rule is stored in the world, so it survives restarts. To turn the Nether back on, send the same command with true.

On 1.21.9 and 1.21.10 the rule is spelled allowEnteringNetherUsingPortals. Minecraft 1.21.11 renamed all game rules to snake case, which gives the name above. Game rule names are case sensitive.

Disable the Nether on 1.21.8 and older

1. Open the Config Editor and find Nether in the World section.
2. Switch it off and click Save changes.
3. Restart the server from the Console tab.

This writes allow-nether=false, which denies entry to the Nether on those versions.

Disable The End on Paper

Vanilla's server.properties and game rules have no option for The End. Paper has a setting in bukkit.yml instead.

1. Open File Manager. bukkit.yml sits in the top folder, next to server.properties.
2. Select it, click Edit, and find the settings: section.
3. Change allow-end: true to allow-end: false, keeping the indentation as it is.
4. Click Save, then restart the server.

Paper describes this setting as whether to load end-type dimensions, and Paper's own source skips loading The End when it is false. Purpur and Folia are built on Paper, and neither changes this check in its own patches, so the same bukkit.yml setting applies to them.

If your server runs Vanilla, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or Quilt, switch to Paper in JAR Manager to use this setting. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader covers the switch. Switching reinstalls the server jar, so check that your plugins or mods still apply to the new software first.

If it does not work

• The game rule command is not recognised. Your server is older than 1.21.9, or the rule name has the wrong spelling for your version. Use the Config Editor method for 1.21.8 and older, or the camel case spelling on 1.21.9 and 1.21.10.
• Portals still work after a Config Editor change. Your server is on 1.21.9 or newer. Use the game rule.
• YAML errors after editing bukkit.yml. A changed indent breaks the file. See Find and fix YAML and JSON config errors.