How to Make a Minecraft Server

What you need before you start

First, know which edition your group plays. This guide covers Minecraft: Java Edition — the PC version where dedicated servers, plugins and mods live. If your friends play on consoles, phones or the Windows app from the Microsoft Store, that is Bedrock Edition, and the server works differently: see our Minecraft Bedrock hosting page instead. Java and Bedrock players cannot join the same vanilla server.

For the self-hosted route you will need:

• A PC with spare RAM. The server runs alongside your game, so if you play on the same machine, plan for at least 8 GB total — roughly 2-3 GB go to the server, the rest to Minecraft itself and your OS.
• Java 25. Current Minecraft servers require Java 25. Older game versions need older Java releases (1.20.5 through 1.21 run on Java 21) — a Java/version mismatch is one of the classic reasons a server refuses to start.
• Access to your router. Friends outside your home network can only join after you forward a port, which means logging into the router's admin page.
• 30-60 minutes the first time through.

For the hosted route you need none of the above — just a browser. We will get to that in Path B.

Path A: Make a free Minecraft server on your own PC

This is the classic way, and it costs nothing. Here is the full sequence for Windows; macOS and Linux follow the same steps with their own installers and terminal.

1. Install Java 25. Download the free Temurin 25 build from adoptium.net and run the installer. To confirm it worked, open a terminal (Windows: search for "cmd") and type java -version — you should see version 25.
2. Download the server file. Get the official server.jar from the minecraft.net server download page. Put it in a new, empty folder — the server will create a dozen files around itself, and you do not want that happening on your desktop.
3. Run it once to generate the files. In a terminal opened inside that folder, run:

   java -Xmx2G -Xms2G -jar server.jar nogui

   The -Xmx2G part is how much RAM you are giving the server (2 GB here — adjust it later using the RAM guide below). The first run stops immediately on purpose: it writes the config files and asks you to accept the license.
4. Accept the EULA. Open the new eula.txt in any text editor, change eula=false to eula=true, save, and run the same command again. This time the world generates and the console reports Done.

   

5. Join your own server. Start Minecraft (same version as the server), go to Multiplayer, then Add Server, and enter localhost as the address. If you spawn in, the server works — now let's get your friends in.

   

6. Set your server's basics. Stop the server (type stop in the console) and open server.properties. The lines worth touching on day one: motd (the name shown in the server list), max-players, difficulty, and view-distance (lower it to 8 if the server feels heavy). Give yourself admin rights in the console with op YourUsername.
7. Forward port 25565. This is the step where most people get stuck, because every router's menu is different. Log into your router (the address is usually printed on its label), find "Port Forwarding", and forward TCP port 25565 to your PC's local IP address. Setting a static local IP for your PC first (or a DHCP reservation) stops the rule from breaking every time the PC reconnects.
   Heads up: forwarding a port publishes your home IP address. Anyone you give the address to — and anyone they pass it to — can see it, and a griefer with a stress-testing tool can knock your whole home connection offline. Only share the address with people you trust.

   

8. Share your public address. Your friends connect to your public IP (search "what is my IP" to see it), not to localhost. If your provider gives you a dynamic IP, that address will change every so often — a free dynamic-DNS name works around it.

That is a complete, working server. Before you commit to it as a permanent setup, weigh what you are signing up for:

Path B: Rent a hosted Minecraft server (online in minutes)

A hosted server is the same Java server software running in a datacenter instead of your bedroom — online around the clock, on hardware built for it, behind real DDoS protection. Everything from Path A (Java versions, eula.txt, port forwarding, keeping the machine awake) is already handled. Here is the whole setup:

1. Pick a size. On the Minecraft hosting page, choose how you play — vanilla with friends, a modpack, or a fully custom setup — and pick the RAM using the slider. The plan copy tells you what each size comfortably runs, and the RAM guide below applies here too.

   

2. Check out. The server is provisioned automatically — it is installed and online within moments of the order, no ticket or waiting for a human. Your panel access arrives by email.
3. Pick your version and software. In the GameCP panel, the version changer switches between Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Forge, Fabric or NeoForge and any Minecraft version in a couple of clicks — the matching Java version is selected for you automatically, so the "wrong Java" failure from Path A simply does not exist here.

   

4. Want a modpack? The built-in installer searches CurseForge, Feed The Beast, Modrinth and Technic, and sets up the pack — loader, Minecraft version, Java — in one click.

   

5. Invite your friends. Share the server address (we can set up a free subdomain like play.yourname.com so it is easy to remember). Friends who help you run the place can get their own free panel sub-user login — no password sharing.
6. Set up backups. One-click backups live in the panel; snapshot the world before you experiment with a new plugin or pack, restore in seconds if it goes sideways.

What you are paying for, concretely: the server stays online with a target of 99.9% uptime whether your PC is on or not, Voxility DDoS protection absorbs attacks that would flatten a home connection, worlds sit on NVMe SSD storage with high-clock CPUs, and if you get stuck, live chat support is available 8 AM – 11 PM (Chișinău time). Already running a self-hosted world? Migration is free — see the FAQ.

How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

RAM is the number one sizing question, and the honest answer depends on two things: how many players you expect, and whether you run mods. Vanilla is light; every plugin adds a little; modpacks are the real RAM eaters, because each mod loads its own code, items and world-generation into memory.

One more thing RAM cannot fix: Minecraft runs its world mostly on a single CPU thread, so single-core speed matters as much as memory. That is why throwing 32 GB at a lagging server often does nothing, and why hosted plans here run on high-clock Ryzen and Intel i9 CPUs rather than many slow cores.

Vanilla, Paper, Forge or Fabric: which server type should you run?

The server.jar from Path A is the vanilla server, but it is rarely what communities actually run. Four names cover almost every server in the wild:

• Vanilla — the official, untouched experience. Zero setup surprises, but no plugins and weaker performance at scale. Right for a handful of friends who want pure survival.
• Paper — the de-facto standard for public servers. Same gameplay as vanilla but dramatically better performance, plus support for plugins (ranks, protection, minigames) that install server-side only — players do not download anything. If you outgrow vanilla, this is the next step.
• Forge / NeoForge — the loaders for classic mods and the big kitchen-sink modpacks (All the Mods, RLCraft, FTB). Players must run the same mods on their side, which is why packs are the practical way to distribute them. NeoForge is the community fork that most new Forge-style development targets on recent versions.
• Fabric — a lightweight, fast-updating mod loader, home of performance mods like Sodium and Lithium. Best for smaller or performance-focused modded setups.

You do not have to get this right on day one. Switching software on a hosted plan is a couple of clicks in the version changer (your world survives the switch), and self-hosters just swap the jar. For a deeper dive into loaders and modpack sizing, see the modded Minecraft hosting page.

Keep your server safe and online

A few settings separate a server that lasts years from one that dies to the first griefer:

• Use the whitelist. For any private server, turn it on so only invited players can join — set white-list=true in server.properties, then add friends from the console:

  whitelist add TheirUsername

• Keep online-mode=true. It verifies every player against their real Mojang account. Turning it off ("cracked" mode) lets anyone impersonate anyone — including your admins.
• Back up before you experiment. The world folder is the only thing you cannot re-download. Self-hosted: copy the world folder somewhere else on a schedule. Hosted: use the one-click backups in the panel before every plugin or pack change.
• Take DDoS seriously if you go public. The moment a server address circulates publicly, attacks stop being hypothetical. A home connection has nothing in front of it — one angry player with a booter takes your whole household offline. Datacenter hosting puts dedicated filtering (Voxility, in our case) between the internet and your server.