How to Make a Minecraft Server: The Complete Guide

Realms or your own server?

Realms is Mojang's own subscription server. It is the easiest way to play with a few friends: no setup, and it lives inside the game. The trade-off is control. Realms Plus and Java Realms allow up to 10 players online at once, and you cannot add your own mods or plugins, upload a custom server jar or change most server settings.

Your own server (on your PC or hosted) has no player cap beyond what your hardware handles, runs any modpack or plugin you like, and gives you every setting in server.properties. It is the right choice once your group outgrows 10 players or wants mods.

The question we hear most often is whether you can mod a Realm. The short answer is no; our guide Minecraft Realms mods: what you can and cannot do explains the workarounds and when a server is the better route.

Java or Bedrock: which server do you need?

The server edition has to match the game your players own. Java and Bedrock cannot join each other's servers without help.

Crossplay: if your friends are split between editions, run a Java server with the Geyser plugin (on Paper or Spigot) or mod (on Fabric). Geyser translates between the two, so Bedrock players can join the Java server; its companion Floodgate lets them join without owning a Java account. Mods that add new blocks will not show for Bedrock players, so crossplay works best on plugin servers.

Console players on Bedrock: Xbox, PlayStation and Switch cannot type in a server address; they only see Mojang's featured servers. Players use community workarounds such as BedrockConnect to reach other servers. Phones, tablets and Windows can add a server by address directly.

Hosting for each edition: Java Minecraft server hosting and Bedrock Edition server hosting. Want ready-made worlds for console? Try our Minecraft PS4 seeds.

Free on your PC or hosted: an honest comparison

You can make a Minecraft server for free. Mojang gives away the Java server (server.jar) and the Bedrock Dedicated Server for Windows and Ubuntu Linux. Running one at home is a good way to learn, and for two or three friends on the same Wi-Fi you may not need a server at all: Open to LAN in the pause menu does the job.

What hosting it yourself involves

1. Install the right Java: Minecraft Java 26.x needs Java 25; 1.20.5 to 1.21.11 need Java 21; 1.18 to 1.20.4 need Java 17; 1.16.5 and older need Java 8.
2. Run the server once, then set eula=true in eula.txt to accept Mojang's EULA, and start it again.
3. Give it enough memory (for example -Xmx4G for 4 GB) and leave enough for your own game if you play on the same PC.
4. For friends outside your home: forward port 25565 (Java, TCP) or 19132 (Bedrock, UDP) on your router to your PC, and give them your public IP address. If your provider uses CGNAT, port forwarding will not work at all.

Our view after hosting game servers since 2008: start at home if you are learning or playing with one or two friends. Move to hosting when the server needs to be up while you are offline or when more than a handful of people play. If that is you, see our Minecraft server plans.

Setting up your server in the GTX game panel

On GTX, Minecraft servers run on our own game panel at gamepanel2.gtxgaming.co.uk (separate from the panel our other games use). After you order, the server is online within about two minutes. This is the order we tell new customers to work in:

1. Log in and open your server. Sign in to the game panel and click Manage Server. The top bar shows the server's address (IP and port), its status, CPU, memory and disk use.
2. Connect from the game. Copy the address, then in Minecraft go to Multiplayer, Add Server, and paste it. Port included, for example 203.0.113.10:25565.
3. Choose server type and version on the Versions page (next section).
4. Match the Java version on the Startup page: pick the Docker image for your Minecraft version (set the Java version). A wrong Java version is the most common reason a server will not start after a version change.
5. Edit your settings in Files: server.properties holds the server name (motd), difficulty, game mode, max-players, white-list and view distance. Your plan has no player slot limit, but Minecraft's own max-players starts at 20, so raise it if you expect more.
6. Make yourself admin on the Players page and set up backups (both below).

Larger uploads such as an existing world are easier over SFTP: connect to your Minecraft server with SFTP (FileZilla works well, with the same password as the panel). Need to start over? Reinstall your Java server, or on Bedrock reinstall your Bedrock server.

Versions and server types: Paper, Fabric, Forge and more

The server type decides what you can add later, so choose it first. You cannot mix plugins and mods on a normal server.

Changing the version on GTX

Open Versions, pick a launcher (Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, NeoForge and the rest), then pick the Minecraft version. A confirmation box offers Wipe Server Files: turn it on only when you want a clean start, and take a backup first either way. Full steps: change the Minecraft version on a Java server.

Mods, modpacks and plugins

Plugins (Paper, Spigot) run only on the server: players join with a normal, unmodded game. Mods (Fabric, Forge, NeoForge) usually need the same mods on every player's game too, so with modpacks everyone installs the same pack and version through a launcher such as CurseForge, Modrinth or Prism.

Installing a modpack on GTX

1. Open Modpacks in the game panel and choose the provider (CurseForge, Modrinth, FTB, Technic or ATLauncher).
2. Search for the pack and click download.
3. Pick the pack version that matches what your players install, tick Delete files for a clean install, then Install modpack.
4. If the server will not start afterwards, set the Java version the pack needs on the Startup page.

Step by step with screenshots: install a modpack on your Minecraft Java server. Packs that are not in the list can still be uploaded by hand: install any modpack from its server files. Heavy packs need more memory, so check the RAM guide before you install.

Looking for mods to try? Our picks: survival mods for hardcore players, magic mods, furniture mods, building mods and animal mods. No mods at all? Data packs change the game on a vanilla server.

Players and admin: OP, whitelist and helpers

Do these before you share the address. Server scanners find public Java servers without a whitelist quickly, sometimes within hours.

• Make yourself OP (operator). On GTX Java servers, open Players and click the add-OP button next to your name; click it again to remove. Or type op YourName in the panel console. Guides: OP a player on Java and OP a player on Bedrock (Bedrock players must be online, or you add their XUID to permissions.json).
• Turn on the whitelist. whitelist on, then whitelist add Name for each friend. Only listed players can join: admin and whitelist on Minecraft, or for Bedrock, whitelist on your Bedrock server.
• Kick and ban from the same Players page: kick and ban players.
• Give a friend panel access without your password: invite them as a sub-user and tick only what they need, for example console and restart but not files. Create a sub-user.

Running a bigger community? Ideas for what to host: the best Minecraft minigames and tips for PvP on Minecraft servers.

Commands and game rules every server owner uses

Type commands in game with a /, or in the panel's Console without it. You need to be OP to use them in game.

Not sure of a game rule's name on your version? Type /gamerule and a space, and the game lists every rule it knows.

Backups, RAM and performance

Back up before every big change

A version change or modpack install without a backup is the easiest way to lose a world. On GTX, open Backups and click Create backup; the server can keep running. Name it, and switch on Locked for a backup you never want overwritten by scheduled ones. Backups are stored offsite.

• Back up your entire Minecraft server
• Back up single files and folders (just the world, for example)
• Restore a full server backup
• Create a scheduled task: a daily restart at a quiet hour (for example 1 am) and regular backups, set like a cron timer

How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

On GTX every plan has unlimited player slots; memory is the real limit. These are the ranges we recommend from the servers we host:

Plans in between (3 GB to 15 GB) and prices are on the Minecraft server hosting page; you can upgrade or downgrade your RAM at any time.

Lag? Check these first

• Run Paper (or Purpur) instead of vanilla Spigot for plugin servers; it is noticeably lighter on the same hardware.
• Lower the view distance. view-distance and simulation-distance in server.properties default to 10; 6 to 8 is often enough and saves a lot of CPU and RAM.
• Pre-generate the world with a plugin or mod such as Chunky, so new chunks are not generated while people explore.
• Watch the live graphs on the panel dashboard: memory near the top of your plan means it is time to trim mods or upgrade; high CPU with low memory usually points to farms or too many entities.
• Restart daily with a scheduled task; long-running modded servers in particular stay smoother.

Things to do on your server

Once the server runs, these guides from our blog help your players get the most out of it: building and redstone, farming and resources, mobs and villagers, combat, enchanting and exploring. They are all in one list: browse the 57 play guides.