Hi! I want to selfhost a minecraft server for my kid and hjs friends. I havent played minecraft in quite a few years …
Where do I start to self host one?
I am already seflhosting lost of stuff from 'Arrs to Jellyfin and Immich and more, so I am not asking on how to do it technically, but where to look for and what to host for a proper Minecraft server!
Edit: choosed to setup this https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-bedrock-server and so far, super smooth and easy peasy!
In addition to other advice here just be aware that Minecraft servers are prime targets for griefing and abuse.
I recommend setting it to whitelist mode and then each kid your friend wants to join just has to send their username to him so you can add the username to the whitelist. Its an added overhead but it’s much less painful than reverting to a backup for a griefed server - and your kid won’t have to worry about other kids on-sharing the server address.
Easy way to avoid this: choose a different port. I think it’s a safe bet the crawlers are just checking 25565. I’ve had a server up for months with zero issues.
Quick version:
- Install latest Java
- Install latest Minecraft Java server
- Play vanilla Minecraft
Rabbit hole:
- Bedrock / Java version differences
- Modpacks, mods and Minecraft version differences (1.12, 1.20) require different Java versions.
- Official server vs 3rd party software (papermc, purpur…)
- Publicly open server vs firewalled
Why is everyone suggesting random third party shit?
Straight from Mojang/Microsoft:
Bedrock: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock
Java: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server
Follow the instructions and go.
I mean the common thing I see in this thread is just people recommending a docker container that hosts the server. Not really what I would call “3rd party bullshit” and I would absolutely recommend running a game server in a docker container. It makes a lot of things easier.
