Open to LAN in Minecraft: Playing with Friends at Home, and What to Do When They Can't See It

Opening your world to LAN

1. Load your world

   Open the singleplayer world you want to share, as usual. The world stays on your computer: everyone else plays inside it.

2. Press Esc and «Open to LAN»

   In the pause menu, the «Open to LAN» button takes you to the «Settings for Other Players»: the game mode they join in and «Allow Cheats» (commands, for you too, for as long as the world stays open).

3. Pick the port, if you like

   In «Port Number» you can leave the box empty (the game picks a random one every time) or type a fixed one between 1024 and 65535. With a fixed one, the address to join doesn't change from one day to the next.

4. Open it

   Press «Start LAN World» and a message shows up in chat with the port number. Write it down: if the world doesn't appear on its own in the others' list, you'll need it.

How your friends join

In their Minecraft, «Multiplayer». Below the server list it says «Scanning for games on your local network» and, after a moment, your world with your name: double-click and they're in.

If it doesn't show up, they join by hand with «Direct Connection» and your home address followed by the port, for example 192.168.1.35:51234. On Windows you find your address by opening the command prompt (cmd) and typing ipconfig: it's the «IPv4 Address» of the connection you're using (Wi-Fi or cable). The port is the one in the chat message.

Everyone joins with their own Minecraft Java account. Whatever they do (inventory, houses, whatever they break) is saved in your world, on your computer.

The world doesn't show up or won't let them in

In order, from most to least common:

1. Windows Firewall

   The first time you open a world to LAN, Windows asks whether to let Java use the network. If that window got closed, or only «public networks» was ticked while your home network is private (or the other way round), nobody can see you. Fix it in Control Panel → Windows Defender Firewall → «Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall»: find the Java entries (they show up as «Java(TM) Platform SE binary» or «OpenJDK Platform binary») and tick the network you use. The person who opens the world is the one who has to do this.

2. The same version

   Everyone on the exact same version of the game. If not, joining shows «Incompatible client!» with the version you need: in the launcher, «Installations», create one with that version. If the world has mods, the same mods and the same loader (Fabric, Forge or NeoForge) for everyone.

3. Really the same network

   Being in the same house isn't enough if someone is on the guest Wi-Fi or on an extender that creates its own network: many routers don't let those devices see each other (client isolation). Connect everyone to the main network, by cable or Wi-Fi, and try again.

4. The list can't find it, but the address works

   Automatic discovery uses a network broadcast that some routers and antivirus programs filter. If «Direct Connection» with the address and the port gets in, there's nothing else to fix: save it with «Add Server» and, if you set a fixed port, it'll work every time as long as your home address doesn't change.

What LAN doesn't do

It only works for people on your network. A friend at their place won't see you in «Multiplayer» or get in with your 192.168… address, which only exists inside your house.

The world lives while you play: if you quit or switch off your computer, everyone gets kicked and nobody can join without you. At most 8 players get in. And Java and Bedrock can't see each other over LAN: to play together you need a server with Geyser (how it's done).

What about playing online without a server in 26.2?

In May 2026, a 26.2 snapshot brought Java an option to open your world «Online» to friends, without LAN, ports or a server. Mojang removed it two weeks later, in 26.2 Pre-Release 1, because it didn't consider it ready. 26.2 shipped with the friends list (adding them and chatting), but without joining someone else's world, and 26.3 is still the same. If you read guides from those weeks saying you already can, they were about the test version.

If your friends are at their place

There are three ways. A virtual private network (Radmin VPN, Hamachi, ZeroTier) makes Minecraft think you're in the same house and LAN works as is; a tunnel like playit.gg gives your computer a public address; and forwarding a port on your router works if your ISP doesn't use CG-NAT. All three, with their catches, in playing with friends without port forwarding and forwarding port 25565. With all three, the world still depends on your computer being on.

The other way out is a server outside your house: your friends join with a normal address, whether you're there or not, and your computer is free. At NapNodes there's a free Minecraft server that switches on when you're going to play, and you can take the world you already had on LAN there: it's uploading the world folder (how to move your world to a server).

Frequently asked questions