How to Make a Minecraft Bedrock Server (Mobile, Console and PC)

The two ways

The first is the official Bedrock server (Bedrock Dedicated Server), which Mojang gives away for free on minecraft.net for Windows and Ubuntu. It runs on your computer: the world is only open while the PC is on, and for friends outside your home to join you have to open a port on your router.

The second is a Minecraft Java server with Paper and two plugins, Geyser and Floodgate, which let Bedrock players join without buying Java. That way phone, console and Java PC players all play in the same world (how it works). It's what almost every host uses, NapNodes included, because it supports plugins and the official Bedrock server doesn't.

And Realms, Mojang's own, is a subscription: it isn't your own server and it doesn't allow plugins (Realms or your own server).

The official Bedrock server on your PC

1. Download it

   On minecraft.net, the Bedrock server download page: pick Windows or Ubuntu and unzip the .zip into its own folder (not on the desktop or in a folder synced to the cloud).

2. Edit server.properties before starting it

   It opens with Notepad. The basics: server-name (the name people see), gamemode, difficulty, max-players and allow-list=true if you only want your friends to join. The port is server-port=19132.

3. Start it

   On Windows, double-click bedrock_server.exe; on Ubuntu, LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ./bedrock_server from the folder. The window that stays open is the console: if you close it, the server shuts down.

4. Join from home

   From a device on the same wifi it usually shows up by itself under “Play” → “Friends”, in the local network games. If not, “Servers” → “Add Server” with the PC's local IP (the one starting with 192.168…) and port 19132.

5. For friends outside, open the port

   On the router, 19132 over UDP to the PC's local IP, and you give them your public IP. If your provider uses CG-NAT, there's no port to open and nobody gets in from outside (how to tell and what to do).

Allowlist and permissions on the official server

With allow-list=true, only the names in allowlist.json can join. You add them from the server console with allowlist add Name (the Xbox gamertag, exactly as it is) and remove them with allowlist remove Name. On old servers the file was called whitelist.json: if both are there, delete the old one so they don't get mixed up.

What each person can do is in permissions.json, with three roles: operator (can use commands), member (plays normally) and visitor (only watches). To make yourself an admin, the quickest way is op YourName in the console with the server running.

What the official server doesn't do

It doesn't support plugins like Java's (protection, economy, ranks): only add-ons (behavior packs), which are much more limited. And it doesn't let Minecraft Java players in.

Consoles don't let you add external servers, whether the official one or any other: from Xbox, PlayStation and Switch you join by changing the DNS to BedrockConnect (step by step).

And the world lives on your PC: if it shuts down, restarts for an update or the power goes out, nobody plays, and the backup is up to you (copy the worlds folder with the server stopped).

Without a PC: a server that's always there

1. Create the free server

   At NapNodes, a free Minecraft server with no card and no end date: you create the account and in a couple of minutes it's ready. It's a Paper server, so it supports plugins (what the free server is like).

2. Turn on Bedrock

   In the panel, “Mods & plugins” → “Bedrock” tab → “Turn on Bedrock”. It installs Geyser, Floodgate and ViaVersion and restarts the server twice: a couple of minutes.

3. Join from your phone or Windows

   “Play” → “Servers” → “Add Server”, with the same address and the same port shown in “Address to play”. You have to type the port: it isn't 19132.

4. From a console

   With BedrockConnect, as with any external server, and you add the address and the port to its list.

5. If you only want your friends

   Turn on the whitelist and add Bedrock players with fwhitelist add Name in the “Console”, not with whitelist add (the whitelist, step by step).

Which one suits you

If you're going to play for a while and always with your PC on, the official one works fine and it's free. If your friends want to join when you're not around, if any of them play on Java or if you want plugins, a Java server with Bedrock turned on is better.

The NapNodes free server shuts down after 20 minutes with nobody on and you start it from the panel; if you want it always online, with daily backups, a plan is: the Stone plan (4 GB) is enough for 10–20 players (how much RAM you need).

Frequently asked questions