Minecraft server guides: setting it up, mods, plugins and fixes
Setting up a Minecraft server to play with your friends is easy; getting it just right takes a little more. Here are all our guides in order: first what you need to get started, then each topic on its own.
Start here
How to Make a Minecraft Server to Play With Friends
What you need and the steps to get your server up and running.
Paper, Fabric, Forge or NeoForge: Which Minecraft Server Type to Choose
Choosing the server type, depending on whether you want plugins or mods.
How Much RAM Does a Minecraft Server Need?
How much RAM to get for your players, mods and view distance.
How to Join a Minecraft Server and Invite Your Friends
How you and your friends get in.
How to Move Your Minecraft World to a Server (or Switch Hosts)
If you already have a world, how to bring it to the server.
Where and how to host it
Free, on your PC or paid: what makes sense in each case.
How to Choose Minecraft Server Hosting: What to Check Before You Pay
What to check when renting a Minecraft server: dedicated or shared RAM, CPU, location, backups, mods and refunds. For comparing any host.
How Much Does a Minecraft Server Cost? Free, at Home or Rented
What a Minecraft server costs per month: free, on your PC (with the electricity), Realms or rented; what to pay for your players and mods and how to pay less.
Free Minecraft Server: the Real Options and Their Drawbacks
How to get a free Minecraft server: on your PC, over LAN, with Aternos or with a host's free plan. The limits of each option and when paying is worth it.
Aternos Alternative: When to Stay, When to Pay and How to Take Your World
Aternos falls short when there's a queue, mods or friends who play daily. What changes on a paid server, what it costs and how to bring your world over safely.
Minecraft Realms vs a Rented Server: Which Is Better?
Realms is the easiest option for a few friends; a rented server lets you add mods and plugins and have more players. What changes and how to choose well.
Minecraft Server Per Hour or Per Month: Which Is Cheaper?
Pay per hour online, like on exaroton, or a flat monthly fee? The maths with real numbers, the break-even point and what quietly pushes the hourly bill up.
Minecraft Server 24 Hours a Day: How to Keep It Always On
How to keep your Minecraft server on all day: your PC, an old computer, a free cloud tier or a host. What each option really costs, with numbers.
Play Minecraft with Friends Without Port Forwarding: Hamachi, Radmin VPN, playit.gg and Hosting
Play Minecraft with friends without touching the router: Hamachi, Radmin VPN, tunnels like playit.gg and a rented server. What each does and when to switch.
How to Open Port 25565 for Your Minecraft Server (and What to Do About CG-NAT)
How to open port 25565 on your router so friends can join your Minecraft server, the Windows firewall, how to test it and what to do about CG-NAT.
How Many Players Can a Minecraft Server Handle?
How many players fit on a Minecraft server depending on RAM, plugins and mods, and how to test it with your own group.
A Minecraft Server for Kids: A Guide for Parents
A private Minecraft server for your kids and their friends: who can join, how to turn off PvP and monsters, what it costs and how to cancel.
Mods, plugins and modpacks
How to Add Mods to a Minecraft Server
Fabric, Forge or NeoForge, which mods go on the server and which on the client, and how to get your friends in without fighting over versions.
The Best Minecraft Mods to Play with Friends on a Server
Minecraft mods for a server with friends, checked on Modrinth: voice chat, maps and claims, backpacks, shared storage, Create, cooking and quality of life.
How to Install Plugins on a Minecraft Server
What a plugin is, which servers it works on (Paper, Purpur), how to install it and the essentials to get started: permissions, land protection, backups.
How to Install a Modpack on Your Minecraft Server (Cobblemon, RLCraft, All the Mods…)
Choose a modpack, work out the RAM, install it on the server in one click from the panel and get your friends in with the same mods. No fighting with versions.
Mods and Plugins Together on a Minecraft Server: Hybrids and Alternatives
Can you run mods and plugins together in Minecraft? What Arclight, Mohist and Youer are, their problems, and the mods that do what your plugins do.
How to Install Datapacks on a Minecraft Server (and Check They Load)
Install datapacks on your Minecraft server: where to upload the .zip, how to turn it on with /reload and /datapack list, and what to do if it doesn't load.
How to Add a Resource Pack to Your Minecraft Server (and Make It Required)
Add a resource pack to your Minecraft server: a direct download link, the SHA-1, resource-pack in server.properties and how to make it required.
Shaders on a Minecraft Server: How to Use Them (and Why They Don't Go on the Server)
Can you put shaders on a Minecraft server? They go in each player's game: Iris, OptiFine or Oculus, and how to use them on Paper or modded servers.
Modpacks and game modes
Pokémon, tech, hardcore survival, SMP, minigames…
How to Make a Cobblemon Server to Play with Friends
Pokémon in Minecraft with friends: which version Cobblemon uses, how much RAM it needs, how to install it, how others join, plus useful settings and commands.
How to Make a Pixelmon Server to Play with Friends
Pixelmon with your friends: which Minecraft version and loader it needs, how much RAM, how to install it, how others join, and useful settings and commands.
How to Make a Minecraft Server with Create to Play with Friends
Create with your friends: which version and loader it needs, how much RAM, installing it with addons, how others join and how to avoid train and machine lag.
How to Make an RLCraft Server to Play With Friends
RLCraft with friends: the Minecraft and Java version it needs, how much RAM it really takes, how to install it, how friends join and what to do if it fails.
How to Make a Minecraft Skyblock Server
Set up a Skyblock server with an island for each player: Paper, BentoBox and BSkyBlock, where each file goes, the /island commands and how much RAM it needs.
How to Make a Minecraft OneBlock Server to Play with Friends
Set up OneBlock with friends: Paper, BentoBox and AOneBlock, where each file goes, the block phases, the /ob commands and how much RAM it needs.
Minecraft Origins Server: Pick Your Race and Play with Friends
How to set up a Minecraft server with the Origins mod: which version and loader it needs, how much RAM, how friends join, the origins and the /origin commands.
How to Make a Minecraft Prison Server: Mines, Ranks and Prestige
Set up a Minecraft prison server on Paper: the Prison plugin, A to Z mines that reset, /rankup, selling with /sellall and the RAM and CPU it needs.
Minecraft Server with Slimefun: Which Version to Pick, How to Install It and Addons
How to set up a Minecraft server with Slimefun: which Paper version to pick, installing it with its addons, admin commands, RAM and common errors.
How to Make a Minecraft Lifesteal Server: Plugin, Rules and RAM
Set up a Lifesteal SMP on your Minecraft server: which Paper plugin to use, how to tune hearts and revives, combat logging and how much RAM you need.
Towny on Your Minecraft Server: Towns, Nations, Plots and Taxes
Install Towny on your Minecraft server and build towns and nations: claiming land, selling plots, permissions, taxes and the most used commands.
How to Make a Minecraft Factions Server with FactionsUUID
Set up a Factions server with FactionsUUID: install it on Paper, power and land, raiding, a safe zone at spawn and the /f commands players use most.
How to Make a Hardcore Minecraft Server to Play with Friends
Turn on hardcore mode on your Minecraft server: why you need a new world for it, what happens when you die and how to revive a player.
How to Set Up a Minecraft SMP with Friends
What an SMP is and how to set one up properly: the server, Paper or Fabric, the whitelist, the plugins you need, the rules and backups before you open.
Economy on a Minecraft Server: Money, /pay and Sign Shops
How to add money to your Minecraft server with EssentialsX and Vault: starting balance, /pay, /sell and chest shops with ChestShop, step by step.
Multiple Worlds on a Minecraft Server with Multiverse: Survival, Creative and Minigames at Once
Run survival, creative and a resource world on the same Minecraft server with Multiverse-Core: create, import, move between them and how much RAM it needs.
Minigames and events
Games for an afternoon with friends or a server event, with built-in commands or a plugin.
How to Run a UHC on Your Minecraft Server with Friends (No Plugins)
Run a UHC or Hunger Games on your Minecraft server with commands only: no regeneration, a shrinking border, teams, PvP on a timer and spectators.
How to Make a Minecraft SkyWars Server, Step by Step
Set up your own SkyWars to play with friends: Paper 1.8.8, the free SkyWarsReloaded plugin, the islands, the chests and the spawns, command by command.
How to Make a Minecraft BedWars Server, Step by Step
Set up your own BedWars to play with friends: the free Screaming BedWars plugin, the map, teams, beds, generators and the shop, command by command.
How to Make a Minecraft Hunger Games Server
Run your own Hunger Games in Minecraft: the free HungerGames plugin, the arena, chests, spawn points, kits and the shrinking border, step by step.
Must-have plugins
LuckPerms: Ranks and Permissions on Your Minecraft Server, Step by Step
Create ranks (player, vip, moderator), give and remove permissions with LuckPerms and use the web editor, hassle-free. For friends' or community Paper servers.
EssentialsX on Your Minecraft Server: /home, /tpa, /spawn, Warps and Kits
Install EssentialsX on your Minecraft server and set up /sethome, /tpa, /spawn, /warp, /back and kits, with the permissions your players need to use them.
WorldEdit on Your Minecraft Server: How to Install It and the Most Used Commands
Install WorldEdit on your Minecraft server and learn to select with the axe, //set, //replace, //copy, //paste, //undo, schematics and permissions.
How to Lock Chests on Your Minecraft Server: Bolt, /lock and Access for Friends
Lock chests, furnaces and doors on your Minecraft server with Bolt: /lock, /unlock, giving friends access, mailboxes, passwords and what ops can see.
GriefPrevention: Let Every Player Protect Their Base with a Golden Shovel
Install GriefPrevention on your Minecraft server: claim land with the golden shovel, trust friends, claim blocks and the admin commands you'll need.
WorldGuard on Your Minecraft Server: Protect Spawn and Other Areas with Regions
Protect your Minecraft server's spawn with WorldGuard: define the region, no PvP or mobs, let players open doors, members, priorities and the usual mistakes.
DiscordSRV: Connect Your Minecraft Server Chat to Discord, Step by Step
Connect your Minecraft server to Discord with DiscordSRV: creating the bot, the permissions it needs, the channel ID, the console and what to do if it's silent.
How to Add a Web Map to Your Minecraft Server with BlueMap (and Dynmap)
Put a 3D map of your Minecraft world in the browser with BlueMap: the separate port it needs, accept-download, how to open it and what to do if it won't load.
How to Set Up Simple Voice Chat on Your Minecraft Server (Proximity Voice Chat)
Install Simple Voice Chat on your Minecraft server: the plugin or mod, the UDP port it needs, voice_host and what to do if it says “not connected”.
ViaVersion: Let Friends Join Your Minecraft Server on Another Version
“Outdated client” or “Outdated server”: with ViaVersion, ViaBackwards and ViaRewind, players on other versions can join your Minecraft server. Step by step.
Quality of Life Plugins for a Minecraft Survival Server
One player sleeping is enough (no plugin), graves on death, chopping whole trees, mining the whole vein, right-click harvesting and sitting down.
CoreProtect: See Who Broke What on Your Minecraft Server and Roll It Back
Install CoreProtect on your Minecraft server, find out who broke or stole things with /co i and /co lookup, and undo griefing with /co rollback.
Setting it up and running it
Minecraft server.properties Explained: the Settings That Matter
What each important server.properties option does (motd, max-players, view-distance, online-mode…), where to edit it, when to restart and where pvp went.
Minecraft Gamerules: keep_inventory and the Rules Servers Ask for Most
Why gamerule keepInventory no longer works, the new name of every rule and how to set the popular ones on your server: inventory, sleeping, PvP and fire.
How to Put Your Minecraft Server in Creative (and Change the Difficulty)
Put your Minecraft server in creative, survival or adventure for everyone or one player, lock it with force-gamemode and change the difficulty so it sticks.
Your Minecraft Server's Spawn: Change It and Remove the Protection That Stops Block Breaking
Change your Minecraft server's spawn with /setworldspawn and fix “I can't break blocks at spawn” (spawn-protection), step by step.
Superflat World on Your Minecraft Server: Custom Layers, No Villages and No Slimes
A superflat world on your Minecraft server: level-type, the generator-settings JSON with your layers, no villages or slimes, and large biomes or amplified.
Minecraft Server Admin Commands: op, whitelist, gamemode and More
How to give yourself admin rights (op), lock the server to your friends with the whitelist, and the commands you'll use most to run a server.
How to Op Someone on Your Minecraft Server (and Deop Them): Levels and Errors
How to op yourself or a friend on your Minecraft server, what each level allows, the ops.json file and what to do if you get “That player does not exist”.
Minecraft Server MOTD and Icon: How to Set Them
Change your Minecraft server's message (MOTD) and icon: colours with §, two lines, the 64×64 server-icon.png and why sometimes it doesn't show up.
How to Use Your Own Domain for a Minecraft Server with an SRV Record
How to let your players join with mc.yourdomain.com without typing the port: the SRV record step by step, Cloudflare, Bedrock and the usual mistakes.
How to Protect Your Minecraft Server from Griefers: Whitelist, CoreProtect and Backups
Prevent and undo griefing on your Minecraft server: a whitelist, GriefPrevention to protect areas, CoreProtect to see who broke what, and backups.
How to Password-Protect Your Minecraft Server
Minecraft servers have no password: how to really lock yours with the whitelist, what to do if it's cracked, and the other passwords in the panel.
Cracked Minecraft Server (online-mode=false): What It Is, the Risks and How to Protect It with AuthMe
What happens with online-mode=false: anyone can join with your name, UUIDs change and skins vanish. How to protect it with AuthMe, and the alternatives.
Minecraft Server Whitelist: How to Turn It On and Add Your Friends
Turn on your Minecraft server's whitelist and add or remove players: with commands, from the panel, and for friends who play on Bedrock.
Anticheat for Your Minecraft Server: Grim and Paper's Anti-Xray
Stop hacks on your Minecraft server: install Grim (free), get its alerts, decide when to kick someone and turn on the anti-xray that Paper already includes.
Anti-Xray on Your Minecraft Server: Turn On Paper's and Catch Cheaters
Paper has a built-in anti-xray, but it ships turned off. How to enable it in paper-world-defaults.yml, which mode to pick, the Nether, and catching X-rayers.
Ban, Kick and Unban Players on a Minecraft Server
How to kick, ban and unban (pardon) a player on your Minecraft server, by name or by IP, temporary bans and who is allowed to do it.
How to Back Up a Minecraft Server and Restore It
How to back up your Minecraft server: which folders to save, how often, and how to restore the backup without losing your world.
How to Download Your Minecraft Server World and Play It in Singleplayer
Download your Minecraft server world to your PC and open it in singleplayer: which folder to take, Paper's Nether and End, and why your inventory is empty.
How to Reset Your Minecraft Server World and Start Over (or With a New Seed)
Start a new map on your Minecraft server without losing the old one: back up, move the world folder aside, pick a seed and what happens to the Nether and End.
Your Minecraft Server's Seed: How to See It, Choose It and Protect It
How to see your Minecraft server's seed, set one when creating the world, what happens with text seeds and how to make it hard for anyone to guess it.
How to Pregenerate Your Minecraft Server World with Chunky
What pregenerating the world is, why it removes stutter when exploring and how to do it with Chunky on Paper, Fabric and Forge: commands, radius, time and disk.
How to Get Players for Your Minecraft Server (and Keep Them)
How to get your Minecraft server known: what to prepare first, server lists and votes with NuVotifier, Discord and social media, and how to bring people back.
How to Make Money with Your Minecraft Server Without Breaking Mojang's Rules
What Mojang lets you sell on a Minecraft server (access, ranks, cosmetics, donations), what can get you into trouble and how to set up a shop with Tebex.
Commands, one by one
What each command does, with examples to copy into the console.
Minecraft versions
What changes on a server with each version, which Java it needs, and how to update, downgrade or stay on an old one.
How to Update Your Minecraft Server to a New Version Without Losing Your World
What to check before updating (backup, plugins, mods and players), how to do it in the panel and why you can't go back without a backup.
How to Downgrade a Minecraft Server (and Why Not on the Same World)
Why an updated world won't go back to an older Minecraft version, and the three real ways out: ViaBackwards, restoring a backup or a new world.
What Java Version Does Your Minecraft Server Need? From 1.8 to 26.x
Java 8, 17, 21 or 25: which one each Minecraft version needs for the server, what “class file version 65.0” means and how to have several Java versions at once.
Minecraft Server on an Old Version (1.8, 1.12.2, 1.16.5, 1.20.1): Why and How
Why 1.8, 1.12.2, 1.16.5 and 1.20.1 are still alive, how to set up a Minecraft server on an old version, which Java it needs and what stops working.
Minecraft 26.3 (and 26.2) on Your Server: the Whitelist Is On by Default and Other Changes
Since Minecraft 26.3 a new server starts with the whitelist on and nobody can join. How to turn it off, the 26.2 anti-spam change and what else is new.
Minecraft 26.1 on Your Server: What Changes (Version Numbers, World Folders, Java 25 and Plugins)
What changes on a Minecraft 26.1 server: why there's no 1.22, Java 25, the Nether and End inside world/dimensions, and which plugins stop working.
Minecraft 1.21.9 to 1.21.11 on Your Server: PvP as a Game Rule, No Spawn Chunks and a Code of Conduct
What changed for servers between Minecraft 1.21.9 and 1.21.11: PvP and the Nether as rules, no spawn chunks, a code of conduct and renamed gamerules.
Java and Bedrock
How to Play Minecraft Java and Bedrock Together on One Server
Crossplay between Java (PC) and Bedrock (mobile, console, Windows): Geyser and Floodgate, which port to use, how each player joins and the limits.
How to Make a Minecraft Bedrock Server (Mobile, Console and PC)
Two ways to get a Minecraft Bedrock server: the official one on your PC (port, allowlist, permissions) or one always there without a PC, free, no card.
How to Join a Minecraft Server on PS4, PS5, Xbox or Switch
Consoles don't let you add servers in Minecraft. How to join your own from PlayStation, Xbox or Switch with BedrockConnect, step by step and for free.
When something goes wrong
Can't Connect to a Minecraft Server: Connection Errors and Fixes
“Failed to connect”, “Incompatible client!”, “You are not white-listed”: what each error means when joining a Minecraft server and how to fix it.
Kicked From a Minecraft Server: What Each Message Means and How to Fix It
“Flying is not enabled”, “Timed out”, “Kicked for spamming”: why a Minecraft server kicks you while you play, and what to do about each message.
Minecraft Server Won't Start or Keeps Crashing: Causes and Fixes
Wrong Java, clashing mods, out of memory, port in use or a corrupted world: how to read the console and fix a Minecraft server that won't start.
Why Your Minecraft Server Is Lagging and How to Fix It
Server lag or connection lag, memory, world generation, farms and heavy mods: how to tell what's going on and what to do in each case.
“Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?” in Minecraft: What It Means and How to Fix It
What “Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?” means in your Minecraft server console, when it's normal and how to find and remove the cause.
spark: How to Find What's Causing Lag on Your Minecraft Server
Use spark to check TPS and MSPT, find the plugin, mod or farm lagging your Minecraft server and read the report without being a programmer.
Optimize a Minecraft Paper Server: The Settings That Really Reduce Lag
What to change in server.properties, bukkit.yml, spigot.yml and paper-world-defaults.yml to raise your Minecraft server's TPS, and what to leave alone.
High Ping on a Minecraft Server: What It Is and How to Lower It
What ping is in Minecraft, how much is too much, how to tell if it's your connection or the server, and what to do: wifi, distance, downloads, VPN, settings.
Chat Errors on a Minecraft Server: Signatures, Validation and the Profile Public Key
Why your Minecraft server kicks people or won't let them type over chat signing, what enforce-secure-profile is and how to fix it safely.
Mobs Not Spawning on Your Minecraft Server: Monsters, Animals and Farms That Don't Work
Why monsters and animals don't spawn on your Minecraft server: difficulty, game rules, light, a full mob cap and plugins, and how to check each one.
Corrupted World on Your Minecraft Server: How to Recover It
Chunks that regenerate, builds that vanish or a server that crashes in one area: how to find the damaged file and recover it, with or without a backup.
By version
Minecraft 26.2 and 26.3
Since 26.3, a new server starts with the whitelist on, and nobody who isn't on the list can join (on NapNodes it comes switched off). 26.2 split the chat spam filter from the command one.
Explained in: Minecraft 26.3 (and 26.2) on Your Server: the Whitelist Is On by Default and Other Changes
Minecraft 26.1 and later
Version numbers are now year.update (there is no 1.22) and the server needs Java 25. The Nether and the End are no longer the separate world_nether and world_the_end folders: they live inside world/dimensions/minecraft (overworld, the_nether and the_end), and so do Multiverse worlds. Keep it in mind when you upload, copy or reset a world.
Explained in: Minecraft 26.1 on Your Server: What Changes (Version Numbers, World Folders, Java 25 and Plugins) · What Java Version Does Your Minecraft Server Need? From 1.8 to 26.x · How to Move Your Minecraft World to a Server (or Switch Hosts) · How to Reset Your Minecraft Server World and Start Over (or With a New Seed) · Multiple Worlds on a Minecraft Server with Multiverse: Survival, Creative and Minigames at Once
Minecraft 1.21.9 and 1.21.11
Since 1.21.9, PvP, monsters, the Nether and command blocks are no longer changed in server.properties: they're game rules (/gamerule). There are no always-loaded spawn chunks either. Since 1.21.11 the rules are in snake_case (keep_inventory) and many were renamed.
Explained in: Minecraft 1.21.9 to 1.21.11 on Your Server: PvP as a Game Rule, No Spawn Chunks and a Code of Conduct · Minecraft Gamerules: keep_inventory and the Rules Servers Ask for Most · Minecraft server.properties Explained: the Settings That Matter · Always-Loaded Chunks on a Minecraft Server: /forceload and Farms That Work with Nobody Around · Disable PvP on a Minecraft Server: Everywhere, Only in Some Areas or Between Teammates
Old versions: 1.8, 1.12.2, 1.16.5 and 1.20.1
Still alive thanks to 1.8 PvP and modpacks. Up to 1.16.5 the server runs on Java 8, and a world opened in a newer version can't go back to an older one.
Explained in: Minecraft Server on an Old Version (1.8, 1.12.2, 1.16.5, 1.20.1): Why and How · How to Downgrade a Minecraft Server (and Why Not on the Same World) · ViaVersion: Let Friends Join Your Minecraft Server on Another Version
Frequently asked questions
Which Minecraft server type should I choose: Paper or modded?
Paper if you want plugins (ranks, homes, protection) and the game to stay the normal one; Fabric, Forge or NeoForge if you want mods or a modpack. Mods and plugins at the same time only with hybrid servers, which have their drawbacks.
How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?
With Paper and plugins for a group of friends, 4 GB is sensible; a medium modpack (about 100 mods), 6 GB, and heavy ones like All the Mods, 8 GB or more. The RAM guide and the calculator fine-tune it for your case.
Which Minecraft version does my server run, and which Java does it need?
On NapNodes, the latest Paper, which today needs Java 25 (since 26.1). If you choose another version, the panel sets the right Java: Java 21 from 1.20.5 to 1.21.11, Java 17 from 1.17 to 1.20.4 and Java 8 for older ones.
Can you get a Minecraft server for free?
Yes: on your own PC, or at NapNodes, which gives you a free server that starts when you want to play and stops by itself when nobody is on. Every option, in free Minecraft server.
Create your free Minecraft serverNo card needed. Or see the Minecraft plans.