How to Set Up Simple Voice Chat on Your Minecraft Server (Proximity Voice Chat)

What you need before you start

On the server: the Simple Voice Chat plugin (if it's Paper or Purpur) or mod (if it's Fabric, Forge or NeoForge), for the server's Minecraft version.

On each player: the Simple Voice Chat mod installed in their Minecraft, with a mod loader (Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or Quilt) of the same version. Even if the server is Paper, the player needs the mod: without it they can join and play, but they can't hear anyone and nobody hears them.

A free UDP port for voice, different from the game port. At home you have to open it on your router; with a host, the host has to give it to you.

Installing it on a NapNodes server

1. Install the plugin or mod

   In the panel, inside your server, open “Mods & plugins” (in the server menu), search for “Simple Voice Chat” and install it. Only versions that work with your server's type and version show up.

2. Restart once

   Click “Restart”. On startup, the plugin creates its config: plugins/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties on Paper and Purpur, or config/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties when modded.

3. Check your extra port

   Every NapNodes Minecraft server comes with a second port, meant exactly for this or for a web map. It's under “Advanced settings” → “Ports”: the one that isn't the primary. Write down its number.

4. Put that port in the config

   In “Files”, open voicechat-server.properties and change port= to your extra port's number. Leave bind_address empty.

5. Set voice_host

   On the voice_host line, type your server's address followed by a colon and the extra port, for example abcd1234.play.napnodes.com:25570 (with your address and your number). That way each player's game knows where to send voice even if they joined without typing a port.

6. Save and restart

   Save the file and click “Restart”. In the console, on startup, Simple Voice Chat says which port it's listening on: it should be yours.

Checking it works

Join with a Minecraft that has the mod. By default the V key opens its menu: there you choose your microphone, volume and whether you talk all the time or only while holding a key. If the speaker or microphone icon is crossed out or has an X, voice hasn't connected to the server.

Test it with someone: close by you can hear each other, far away you can't. You can also make groups (with their own key) to talk to your team wherever you are.

If it says voice isn't connected

Check the port: port= has to be exactly the extra port from “Ports”. If you leave the default 24454, nobody connects, because that port isn't your server's.

Check voice_host: address and port, with no http:// in front and no spaces.

Check the console on startup. If it says the port is already in use, another plugin (a web map, for example) has taken it: each one needs its own. A server with a web map and voice at the same time needs two extra ports.

Versions: each player's mod and the server plugin have to be compatible. If you update Minecraft, update Simple Voice Chat on both sides too.

Bedrock: Geyser uses the game port, not the extra one, so it doesn't clash with voice. But Bedrock players can't use Simple Voice Chat: the mod only exists for Java.

Does it use a lot of RAM or CPU?

Not much. The server only passes audio between nearby players; the heavy lifting (microphone, compression) is done by each player's computer. With a few players you won't notice it; if the server is already tight, check the RAM guide before blaming voice chat.

Frequently asked questions