Metadata

Each server has one metadata.json. The formal definition is a JSON Schema, version 2020-12. The validator applies it to every submission, and also applies the rules that a schema cannot express.

ExampleCopy Anchor Link

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "id": "example-server",
  "name": "Example Server",
  "description": "Fictional network used to document and test the Owl server media format. It is not a real server.",
  "addresses": ["play.example.net", "mc.example.net"],
  "primaryAddress": "play.example.net",
  "minecraftVersions": ["1.8.9", "1.21.11"],
  "gameTypes": ["PvP", "Survival"],
  "primaryColor": "#2E6CF0",
  "website": "https://example.net",
  "socials": {
    "discord": "https://discord.gg/example-server"
  }
}

FieldsCopy Anchor Link

Game typesCopy Anchor Link

PvP, PvE, Survival, Skyblock, Factions, Minigames, Prison, Creative, Roleplay, Lobby, Other.

The list is closed. Adding a value is a change to the schema, made through a pull request.

HostnamesCopy Anchor Link

An address is a hostname, with these rules:

• lowercase ASCII, with at least two labels, for example play.example.net;
• no scheme, path, whitespace, trailing dot or port;
• not an IP address;
• not under .local, .localhost, .internal, .test, .invalid or .arpa;
• punycode (xn--) for non-ASCII names.

The default Minecraft port is implied. A server on another port cannot be described in version 1.

WildcardsCopy Anchor Link

wildcardDomains is opt-in. A wildcard example.net matches example.net and every name ending in .example.net. Use it only when the network really answers on all of them. A wildcard cannot overlap another server's wildcard, and cannot capture another server's address.

Unknown fieldsCopy Anchor Link

Unknown fields are rejected, not ignored. This keeps private information, such as an owner's email, out of the public repository.

Checks beyond the schemaCopy Anchor Link

• The directory name is a valid id, and equals metadata.id.
• The id has not been retired.
• primaryAddress is listed in addresses.
• Each address belongs to one server only.
• The file is at most 16 KiB, valid UTF-8 JSON, without a byte-order mark.