diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 408b9c5..c9b7f2d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ FROM openjdk:21-buster
 
 LABEL version="1.27.0"
 
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl unzip && \
- adduser --uid 99 --gid 100 --home /data --disabled-password minecraft
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl unzip jq && \
+    adduser --uid 99 --gid 100 --home /data --disabled-password minecraft
 
 COPY launch.sh /launch.sh
 RUN chmod +x /launch.sh
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4eb8e2b..f6f47f3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,18 +33,13 @@ As the end user, you are repsonsible for accepting the EULA from Mojang to run t
 
 ## Options
 
-These environment variables can be set at run time to override their defaults.
+These environment variables can be set to override their defaults.
 
 * JVM_OPTS "-Xms2048m -Xmx4096m"
 * MOTD "All the Mods 10-1.27.0 Server Powered by Docker"
-* LEVEL world
-
-### Adding Minecraft Operators
-
-Set the enviroment variable `OPS` with a comma separated list of players.
-
-example:
-`OPS="OpPlayer1,OpPlayer2"`
+* ENABLE_WHITELIST "true" or "false"
+* WHITELIST_USERS "TestUserName1, TestUserName2"
+* OP_USERS "TestUserName1, TestUserName2"
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
diff --git a/launch.sh b/launch.sh
index 29d9662..06ba89d 100644
--- a/launch.sh
+++ b/launch.sh
@@ -34,12 +34,51 @@ fi
 if [[ -n "$MOTD" ]]; then
     sed -i "s/motd\s*=/ c motd=$MOTD" /data/server.properties
 fi
-if [[ -n "$OPS" ]]; then
-    echo $OPS | awk -v RS=, '{print}' > ops.txt
-fi
-if [[ -n "$ALLOWLIST" ]]; then
-    echo $ALLOWLIST | awk -v RS=, '{print}' > white-list.txt
+if [[ -n "$ENABLE_WHITELIST" ]]; then
+    sed -i "s/white-list=.*/white-list=$ENABLE_WHITELIST/" /data/server.properties
 fi
+[[ ! -f whitelist.json ]] && echo "[]" > whitelist.json
+IFS=',' read -ra USERS <<< "$WHITELIST_USERS"
+for raw_username in "${USERS[@]}"; do
+	username=$(echo "$raw_username" | xargs)
+	if [[ ! "$username" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9_]{3,16}$ ]]; then
+		echo "Whitelist: Invalid username: '$username'. Skipping..."
+		continue
+	fi
+
+	UUID=$(curl -s "https://api.mojang.com/users/profiles/minecraft/$username" | jq -r '.id')
+	if [[ "$UUID" != "null" ]]; then
+		if jq -e ".[] | select(.uuid == \"$UUID\")" whitelist.json > /dev/null; then
+			echo "Whitelist: $username ($UUID) is already whitelisted."
+		else
+			echo "Whitelist: Adding $username ($UUID) to whitelist."
+			jq ". += [{\"uuid\": \"$UUID\", \"name\": \"$username\"}]" whitelist.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json whitelist.json
+		fi
+	else
+		echo "Whitelist: Failed to fetch UUID for $username."
+	fi
+done
+[[ ! -f ops.json ]] && echo "[]" > ops.json
+IFS=',' read -ra OPS <<< "$OP_USERS"
+for raw_username in "${OPS[@]}"; do
+    username=$(echo "$raw_username" | xargs)
+    if [[ ! "$username" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9_]{3,16}$ ]]; then
+        echo "Ops: Invalid username: '$username'. Skipping..."
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    UUID=$(curl -s "https://api.mojang.com/users/profiles/minecraft/$username" | jq -r '.id')
+    if [[ "$UUID" != "null" ]]; then
+        if jq -e ".[] | select(.uuid == \"$UUID\")" ops.json > /dev/null; then
+            echo "Ops: $username ($UUID) is already an operator."
+        else
+            echo "Ops: Adding $username ($UUID) as operator."
+            jq ". += [{\"uuid\": \"$UUID\", \"name\": \"$username\", \"level\": 4}]" ops.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json ops.json
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "Ops: Failed to fetch UUID for $username."
+    fi
+done
 
 sed -i 's/server-port.*/server-port=25565/g' server.properties
 chmod 755 run.sh