Minecraft `/whitelist add` Cannot Find a Player

Direct answer

Run the whitelist command from the server console and then verify the resulting whitelist. If the name cannot be resolved or stored, use the console error to distinguish an account lookup problem from a whitelist configuration problem.

What it means

Adding a player who has never joined may require a successful profile lookup.

If you are a player

Give the owner your exact Java Edition account name, not your display nickname from a separate platform or a name copied with spaces.
Share the exact error from the failed join or whitelist-add attempt. An "Unknown player" lookup error is different from "You are not whitelisted" when joining.
If you have changed your username recently or connect through a proxy, tell the owner; ask them to check how the backend identifies your account. Do not send account credentials.

If you run the server

Run whitelist add PlayerName in the server console (no leading slash), then whitelist list. Copy the exact console response if it fails.
Confirm the intended account name and that the server can perform the required profile lookup. A misspelled name, unavailable authentication service, or unusual offline-mode identity setup needs a different fix.
Check the server's white-list setting and whether an access-control plugin or proxy is managing a separate allowlist. Changing enforce-whitelist is not the same as enabling white-list.
On Velocity networks, confirm forwarding and backend network protection before editing player UUIDs. A misconfigured proxy may identify the same player differently.
Verify with the player joining, and keep the whitelist enabled. Do not solve a lookup failure by disabling player authentication on a standalone public server.

References

References used to verify the settings and troubleshooting steps in this fix.

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