All three run the same command; pick whichever you prefer to type.
Alex stands in for your username and Steve for whoever the selector matches. Each matched player gets their own private line.
Plain player names work for everyone, no OP needed. Target selectors like @p or @a need operator permission level 2. /tell and /w give the identical whisper.
/msg sends a private message that only the players you target can read. Type /msg, then a player name or target selector, then your message. /tell and /w are aliases that do exactly the same thing, and every player can use the command without OP.
A whisper shows up in gray italic text for both sides of the conversation. You see You whisper to Steve: ... and Steve sees YourName whispers to you: .... Nobody else in chat sees anything, which makes /msg the standard way to coordinate privately on multiplayer servers, trade in secret, or send hints to a single player from a command block in an adventure map.
The command accepts players only. A plain name like Steve always works; selectors such as @p, @a or @r can match one or many players, and every matched player receives their own private copy of the message. An @e selector is rejected unless you narrow it with type=player, because items, mobs and armor stands cannot read chat.
One permission detail trips people up: /msg itself needs no OP (permission level 0), but target selectors require permission level 2 anywhere in a command. A regular survival player can run /msg Steve hello, while /msg @a hello only works for operators and command blocks.
The full syntax is /msg <targets> <message>, and /tell and /w take the same two arguments:
Two practical limits apply. Chat input holds at most 256 characters including the command itself, so very long whispers must go in a command block (which allows 32,500 characters). And the message is plain text only: there is no color or formatting in /msg. If you need colored, clickable text, that is what /tellraw is for.
Five ready-to-use whispers. Copy any of them and adjust the name or message:
Sends a private line that only Steve can read. Works for every player, no OP needed.
In a command block, @p whispers to the nearest player, usually whoever triggered it. A staple of adventure maps.
Every player within 10 blocks of the command's position gets the whisper; players further away see nothing.
/tell is an alias of /msg; the result is identical.
/w is the shortest alias. @r picks one random player on the server.
Whispering needs no setup, no cheats toggle and no OP. In any world or server:
1. Press T to open chat, or / to open it with the slash already typed.
2. Type /msg and a space, then start the player's name. Press Tab to auto-complete it from the players currently online.
3. Type your message after the name and press Enter. The whisper appears in gray italics for you and the recipient only.
4. To answer a whisper, run /msg with the sender's name. Vanilla has no /r reply command, but pressing T then the up arrow recalls your last chat line so you can resend without retyping.
Pick the right chat command for the job: /msg whispers privately to chosen players and works for everyone, /say broadcasts plain text to the whole server and needs permission level 2, and /tellraw sends formatted JSON text with colors and click actions, also at level 2. For team-only chat there is /teammsg (alias /tm), which messages every player on your scoreboard team.
Open chat with T, type /msg followed by the player's name and your message, then press Enter. For example: /msg Steve meet me at spawn. Only Steve sees the text, shown in gray italics as a whisper. /tell and /w work exactly the same way, and you can press Tab after typing /msg to auto-complete player names.
Nothing. /tell and /w are aliases that redirect to /msg in the game's command tree, so all three parse the same arguments and produce the identical private message. Use whichever is fastest to type; /w is the shortest.
No. /msg has permission level 0, so every player can whisper to other players by name in chat. Target selectors such as @a or @p are the exception: selectors require permission level 2 anywhere in a command, so only operators and command blocks can use them with /msg.
Other players in chat cannot see your whispers; only you and the targeted players get the message. They are not completely private though: on a server, every command a player runs is written to the server log, so admins can read whispers there, and some server plugins add a social spy feature that shows them live.
Vanilla Minecraft has no /r reply command. Type /msg followed by the sender's name to answer, or press T then the up arrow to recall your last message and edit it. Many servers running plugins such as Essentials add /r as a shortcut that replies to whoever messaged you last.
Yes. The targets argument accepts selectors that match several players, such as /msg @a for everyone or /msg @a[team=red] for one team, and each matched player receives the whisper privately. You cannot list two names separated by spaces; everything after the first space following the target is treated as the message.
Want to broadcast to everyone instead? Or browse more Minecraft tools:
