Make a Minecraft Server for Free

When it comes to online gaming, hosting a server that allows dozens or even hundreds of people to play at once can get expensive. Thus, some Minecraft game hosts actually pay hosting companies to maintain their servers for them — sometimes, the cost is even passed on to the players. However, with a few tricks, it is possible to host a Minecraft server completely free of charge — generally, however, these improvised servers are best for small games between friends.

Steps

Using a VPN

Note: This method requires everyone who wants to play on the server to install Hamachi, a free server-hosting program (or a similar program.

1. Create a network on Hamachi. After Hamachi is downloaded and installed, open the program. Use the following steps to create a VPN (virtual private network) with Hamachi:
   • Go to Networks > My Networks.
   • Click Add Network.
   • Give the network a name, type, and description (optional).
   • Click continue. Select an option for join requests — if you're playing with friends in a safe location, "Accept Automatically" is usually fine.
   • Set a password.
   • Follow the remaining prompts to create the network.
2. Have the other players join your network. Once your VPN is up and running, get the other players (who should also have Hamachi installed) to connect. If you are using the free version of Hamachi, you are limited to five connections. Players can join the network via the Hamachi client itself or via the internet with these steps:
   • Log in to your account at secure.logmein.com/.
   • Click the computer you want to access.
3. Download and install the official Minecraft server files. Now that you have a functioning VPN, you need the right equipment to start an in-game server. Luckily, this is available for free from the official Minecraft site ([www.minecraft.net minecraft.net]) from the "Download" page.
   • Installing the server files requires you to run the .exe several times. The first time, it will generate a "EULA" file in its directory — you will need to open this and change the "false" field to "true" to continue.
   • In addition, you may be directed to download the latest version of Java.
4. Open the server file. Once the server files are completely installed, open the "server" file in the installation directory. You will see a variety of options. Use these steps to set up the server:
   • Look for the "server-ip" field.
   • Copy and paste your Hamachi IP address after the equals sign (you can find this by clicking the "Info" option under your computer in the Hamachi client.)
   • Save your file.
5. Start a Minecraft multiplayer game. Now, you are ready to host a game and have your friends connect to it. Open the game client, log in, and click "Add Server." Name the server and enter the Hamachi IP address you used earlier. Have the other players connect to this IP address.
   • You can also start the game, open the pause menu, go to the options/settings menu, and open the game to LAN connections. If the other players are on your Hamachi network, they should be able to see your server on the "Join Server" page.
   • Leave your Hamachi network running throughout the setup process and during the game itself.

Using Port Forwarding

Getting Started

1. Download either the vanilla or bukkit server files. You have two options for setting up a Minecraft server manually: vanilla and bukkit. Vanilla servers are created with the server tools provided by Mojang, the developers of Minecraft. Bukkit servers, on the other hand, use modified tools created by third-party developers. As a general rule, most players will want to use vanilla servers for small private games with friends and bukkit servers for large public games.
   • The vanilla server files are available at minecraft.net.
   • The bukkit server files are available at dl.bukkit.org.
2. Create a new directory for your server files. Once you have the server .exe file pf your choice downloaded, create a new folder named "Minecraft Server" or something similar and put the .exe file in this folder. The installation process will cause new files to be generated in the .exe's directory, so it's usually easiest to keep track of them if they're in their own folder.

Vanilla Servers

1. Run the server file. Follow any prompts you are given to proceed. The setup client will create the game world and load any additional files it needs. It should notify you when the installation process is complete.
   • You may need to install the latest version of Java for the server .exe to be able to run.
2. Set yourself up as an op. In Minecraft, ops ("operators") have administrative powers over the servers they run. To give yourself this designation, open the ops.txt file and enter in your Minecraft username (spelled exactly correct).
   • You may also add the usernames of any friends you want to be ops.
3. Optionally, customize your game. To change the rules of the game you'll be hosting, open the server.properties file in the server directory with WordPad or a similar text editor. Each line in the file specifies a different game parameter — editing the lines allows you to change how the game will play. Some of the most important options are listed below; a complete list is available here.
   • gamemode: 0 for survival, 1 for creative.
   • spawn-monsters/animals: "true" will cause these entities to spawn in the map; "false" will cause them not to spawn.
   • allow-nether: if "true," players can access the Nether, a hell-like dimension within the map.
   • difficulty: 0 for peaceful, 1 for easy, 2 for normal, 3 for hard.
4. Set up port forwarding for your computer. This is the difficult part of setting up a Minecraft server manually. Unfortunately, if you don't do this, other players won't be able to connect to your game, so it's essential. Port forwarding is a somewhat complex process that can vary depending on the hardware you are using for your router. Luckily, there are numerous guides available online to help you do this. One great place to start is at portforward.com, which has a comprehensive list of port forwarding guides for hundreds of router models (available here.)
   • See also our article on the subject.
   • Another great guide is available on the official Minecraft forums here.
5. Start a server using your IP address. Launch the Minecraft server, then log in to Minecraft and start the game. From the multiplayer menu, select "Add Server." Enter your router's IP address into the "Server Address" field and give your server a name. Connect to the server from the list of options on the "Join Server" page. Congratulations! Your game should be up and running.
   • Other players can join your server with your IP address in the same way.
   • One easy way to find your IP address is to visit portforward.com and look in the top right corner.

Bukkit Servers

1. Rename the file to "craftbukkit.jar." Bukkit servers don't have the convenient interface that vanilla servers do, so it's actually necessary to create a program to open them manually. Start by renaming the main bukkit file so that it is in the .jar file format — this will allow us to run it with a separate .bat file.
2. Create a .bat file to run craftbukkit.jar. Open notepad or a similar text-editing program (not a word processor like Word, etc.) Paste the text below into the window, making sure that the line breaks are the same. Save the file with a name like "startserver.bat" (the .bat file extension is the important part.)
   • @ECHO OFF
     SET BINDIR=%~dp0
     CD /D "%BINDIR%"
     java -Xmx1G -Xms1G -jar craftbukkit.jar
     PAUSE
3. Open the .bat file. When you open your new .bat file, it will run craftbukkit.jar, which will start the server setup process for creating the world and loading the game components. Follow the prompts as directed to launch the server.
4. Set up port forwarding and connect as with vanilla servers. Setting up port forwarding on your computer for bukkit servers is done the same way as with vanilla servers. Once again, port forwarding guides for various router models are available here. You may also want to visit our port forwarding article or the official Minecraft forums guide.
   • Once you've set up port forwarding, you and the other players can connect to the server with your IP address as directed above.

Notes for Macs

1. Download the .jar versions of the files. On Mac computers, the process for creating both vanilla and bukkit servers is mostly the same. However, there are several differences, which will be highlighted in this section. To start, you'll want to download either the vanilla or bukkit file specifically labeled as being for Mac computers.
   • The vanilla file for non-Windows computers will come in the .jar format. The bukkit file for Macs will need to be renamed with a .jar extension.
2. Create .command files to run the server files. To run the .jar server files for macs, you'll need to use a separate .command file. To make this file, open Textedit, click Format > Make Plain Text, and paste the strings below into the window, keeping the spacing exactly the same. Save the file as "startserver.command" or something similar (the .command extension is the important part.)
   • For vanilla:

     #!/bin/bash
     cd "$(dirname "$0")"
     exec java -Xmx1G -Xms1G -jar minecraft_server.jar

   • For bukkit:

     #!/bin/bash
     cd "$( dirname "$0" )"
     java -Xmx1G -Xms1G -jar craftbukkit.jar

3. Use Terminal to open the .command files. Now, use the .command files you've created to launch the server files themselves. To do this, open Terminal (you can do this by typing "terminal" in the spotlight search) and pasting "chmod a+x " into the window. Don't forget the space at the end of the string. Then, just drag your .command file into the window and it should run immediately.

Tips

• Note that you need to leave your server programs running (including your .bat or .command file) if you want the server to stay up.
• Making yourself an op is important if you're leaving your server open to the public — this way, you'll have administrator privileges to ban cheaters, griefers, and other annoying or abusive players.

Things You'll Need

• Access to your routers config
• A computer with at least 1 GB or more of RAM
• Router's password

Sources and Citations

See also

• Survive in a Desert in Minecraft Beta
• Change Your Minecraft Skin with MC SkinEdit
• Build the Choedan Kal in Minecraft
• Build a Bunker in Minecraft
• Change Your Minecraft Skin Using the Launcher
• Make Snow Golems Useful in Minecraft
• Add an Entity to a Team in Minecraft 1.11
• Survive Your First Night in Minecraft
• Make a House in Minecraft
• Play Minecraft

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