{"id":19602,"date":"2018-11-01T11:30:36","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T11:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/?p=19602"},"modified":"2018-11-01T11:30:36","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T11:30:36","slug":"how-to-set-up-a-minecraft-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/how-to-set-up-a-minecraft-server\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up a Minecraft server"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minecraft<\/a> has sold over 144 million copies as of early 2018, making it the second best-selling video game of all time, behind Tetris.<\/p>\n

Why is it so popular? Because it\u2019s not just a video game. It\u2019s an educational tool that teaches kids how to code, how to solve problems and how to exercise creativity. And it\u2019s also an open platform to be expanded by mod developers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re new to the game, go and buy the game and start playing. But if you want to enjoy the full Minecraft experience, you\u2019ll need to set up your own private Minecraft server.<\/p>\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll walk you through the steps to setting up your very own Minecraft server on Windows, Mac and Linux. If you already have a dedicated server<\/a> from us, you can use these steps to set up your server and start playing.<\/p>\n

How to set up a Minecraft server on Windows, Mac, or Linux<\/h3>\n

At the very core, these are the steps you\u2019ll need to follow to set up a Minecraft server:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Update to the latest version of Java<\/li>\n
  2. Choose a location for your server<\/li>\n
  3. Download the Minecraft server software<\/li>\n
  4. Start the Minecraft server<\/li>\n
  5. Check to ensure that your server is accessible<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Consider your options<\/h3>\n

    If you want to run a Minecraft server from home, make sure you have a powerful system that allows it to run smoothly.<\/p>\n

    If, for security reasons or any other reason, you don\u2019t want to host your server at home, you can use a game server hosting provider instead. A Dedicated Server from Heart Internet<\/a> is a good choice as it keeps you from exposing your home network to the world, while saving you the hassle of managing server hardware.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

    \"Setting<\/p>\n

    Setting up a Minecraft server on Windows<\/h3>\n

    Get the latest version of Java<\/h4>\n

    Since Minecraft is a Java-based game, the first step is to make sure you have the latest version of Java. So go to java.com\/en\/download<\/a> and download and install the latest version of Java.<\/p>\n

    Choose a location for your Minecraft server files<\/h4>\n

    Next, you\u2019ll need to choose the location where you\u2019d like to set up and run the server from. To keep everything organised, we recommend creating a dedicated folder to store all these files.<\/p>\n

    Download the Minecraft server software<\/h4>\n

    Once you\u2019ve chosen a location, go ahead and download the latest Minecraft server setup software from the official site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    This will download as a .jar file. Move it to the location you chose in step two and double-click it to start the server.<\/p>\n

    You will also need to accept the EULA agreement. You can do that by editing the eula.txt file and changing eula=false<\/code> to eula=true<\/code>.<\/p>\n

    Start the server<\/h4>\n

    Now you\u2019re ready to start the Minecraft server.<\/p>\n

    Go to the Minecraft server folder where you installed the server files and initiate the server by executing this command:<\/p>\n

    java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui<\/code><\/p>\n

    Another option is to double-click the .jar file again to start the server. In this case, you might need to allow the Minecraft server through the firewall.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s it. Now that your server is running, you can start inviting people to connect to your server via your local IP address or via your external\/ public IP address.<\/p>\n

    Check to ensure that your server is accessible<\/h4>\n

    Enter your IP address into the Minecraft Server Status Checker<\/a> to check if your server is accessible.<\/p>\n

    \"Setting<\/p>\n

    Setting up a Minecraft server on Mac<\/h3>\n

    Install or update Java<\/h4>\n

    Java is included by default if you\u2019re using a newer version of MacOS. If you\u2019re using an older version, you may need to download and install a legacy Java version from the Apple website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Choose a location for your Minecraft server files<\/h4>\n

    Create a dedicated folder for all your Minecraft server files so everything is organised and easy to find.<\/p>\n

    Download the Minecraft server software<\/h4>\n

    Download the Minecraft server setup software<\/a> from the official website.<\/p>\n

    This downloads as a .jar file, which you should save in the location you chose in the previous step.<\/p>\n

    Next, open TextEdit and set the format to plain text. Copy and paste the following into the file:<\/p>\n

    #!\/bin\/bash<\/code><\/p>\n

    cd \"$(dirname \"$0\")\"<\/code><\/p>\n

    exec java -Xms1024M -Xmx1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui<\/code><\/p>\n

    Save the file as start.command<\/code> in the same folder where the other Minecraft server setup files are located.<\/p>\n

    To make it work, you\u2019ll need to grant permission.<\/p>\n

    Open the Terminal and type chmod a+x<\/code>\u00a0with a space after the command. Now simply drag and drop the start.command file into the terminal window and press enter.<\/p>\n

    Start the server<\/h4>\n

    Double-click the start.command file and a new terminal window will open.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re running the server for the first time, you\u2019ll probably get a few error messages and\/ or missing file warnings. This is normal so it\u2019s nothing to be alarmed about.<\/p>\n

    There you go! Now your server is running which means you can start inviting people to connect to it via your local IP address or via your external\/ public IP address.<\/p>\n

    Check to ensure that your server is accessible<\/h4>\n

    Don\u2019t forget to enter your IP address into the Minecraft Server Status Checker<\/a> to check if your server is accessible.<\/p>\n

    \"Setting<\/p>\n

    Setting up a Minecraft server on Linux<\/h3>\n

    As mentioned before, if you don\u2019t want to take on the risks or the hassle of hosting a server at home, you can always get a game server hosting plan like a Dedicated Server from Heart Internet.<\/p>\n

    For these next steps, you\u2019ll need to connect to your hosting with SSH. This support article explains the steps<\/a> if you\u2019re not familiar with the process.<\/p>\n

    Download and install Java<\/h4>\n

    While SSH’d into your host as the root user, enter the following command:<\/p>\n

    apt-cache search openjdk<\/code><\/p>\n

    This will return a list with the available OpenJDK packages that can install Java. Let\u2019s select openjdk-7-jdk, which is the OpenJDK 7 Development Kit.<\/p>\n

    Use the following command to update the list of packages from the remote repositories:<\/p>\n

    apt-get update<\/code><\/p>\n

    Next, install the selected software package:<\/p>\n

    apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk<\/code><\/p>\n

    Now simply press \u201cY\u201d to authorise the required storage space for installation.<\/p>\n

    Choose a location for your Minecraft server files<\/h4>\n

    Create a new folder on your host where you\u2019d like to save all your Minecraft server files. Then go to that folder.<\/p>\n

    mkdir minecraft<\/code><\/p>\n

    cd minecraft<\/code><\/p>\n

    Download the Minecraft server software<\/h4>\n

    Run the wget<\/code> command to download the Minecraft server files:<\/p>\n

    wget -O minecraft_server.jar https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/Minecraft.Download\/versions\/1.12.2\/minecraft_server.1.12.2.jar<\/code><\/p>\n

    Install and run \u201cscreen\u201d so that your server continues to run even when you\u2019re not connected:<\/p>\n

    yum install screen<\/code><\/p>\n

    screen <\/code><\/p>\n

    Start the server<\/h4>\n

    Start the server using the following command:<\/p>\n

    java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.1.13.1.jar nogui<\/code><\/p>\n

    Check to ensure that your server is accessible<\/h4>\n

    Enter your IP address into the Minecraft Server Status Checker<\/a> to check if your server is accessible.<\/p>\n

    There you have it: the key steps to setting up a Minecraft server on Windows, Mac and Linux.<\/code><\/p>\n

    And if you want to dig deeper, these in-depth guides are very useful:<\/p>\n