Tutorials/Setting up a server

In this tutorial I will explain how to set up a server on your own home computer. This is not a professional tutorial, it will explain the very basics on how to install a working Minecraft server.

= Windows = Setting up a Minecraft server under Windows is very easy.

Verifying Java version
First of all make sure that you have Java 6 installed. To do so first we need to open up CMD.

In Vista/7 open the start menu and enter cmd in the search field, followed by enter. In XP open the start menu and click Run, then enter cmd and press enter.

You can also hold the Windows key down and press R to open Run.

In CMD enter the following command followed by enter:

If everything goes well it should look something like this:

Make sure that you got version 1.6 (marked with a red box in the image)

Installing Java
If you got a previous version (it doesn't say 1.6) or you get this error: " ", then you need to install/update the computers java version. You can do so at java.com download page

After you installed the latest java try again with.

Setting up the Minecraft server
Start by downloading the latest Minecraft server here and save it to anywhere on your computer.

Create a new folder called "Minecraft Server" or something similar, Vista / 7 user should note that some locations require administrator to write files and if you install the server to a location that requires administrator the server will require administrator to work. I recommend

Open the file you just downloaded, you should see a lot of files in it. Drag all files to the folder you created in the last step. (Note: WinRAR users will see this as a WinRAR compressed file, though WinRAR is not required to open the file)

Now the server is installed! All you need to do now is edit your settings, which you can do in Server.properties.

Starting the Minecraft server
To start the Minecraft server simply run start server.bat and it should start up.

For more information about how to run and maintain a server check Maintaining a server

= Linux = This tutorial for how to set up a Minecraft server on Linux was designed for people who don't have a lot of experience with Linux. There is a more advanced tutorial in the forums. This tutorial was tested on Ubuntu 9.10 32-bit but should work with most Linux distros.

Verifying Java version
This step is pretty much the same as in Windows. Open the terminal from Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Enter. It should look something similar to this screenshot from Windows:

Make sure that you got version 1.6 (marked with a red box in the image)

Installing Java
If you get  (which may be followed by more text) or if you do have another java version than 1.6 then you need to install java. Simply type this in terminal and press enter:

(Note: In Fedora and Red Hat you use )

If it asks for a password enter your password. If you get asked "Is this OK [y/n]" Enter Y and press enter if required.

Java is now installed

Setting up the Minecraft Server
Download the latest Minecraft server here.

Create a new folder in your home folder (Places > Home) called "minecraft_server" or something similar. Extract the contents of the .zip file to this folder.

To change the server settings edit the Server.properties file.

Start the Minecraft server
Open the terminal again (Applications > Accessories > Terminal). Enter the following commands: (change minecraft_server to the same name of the folder you extracted the server to)

= Mac OS X = Setting a server up in Mac OS X is more difficult than in Windows, but is still relatively easy.

Installing Java
Mac OS X comes with it's own version of Java that is updated via Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) This is all that is needed to be done to get the lastest version of Java.

Setting up the Minecraft Server
Download the latest version of minecraft_server.jar from here

Create a folder for the mincraft_server.jar to go into and name is appropriately also put this new folder somewhere where it will not be accidentally deleted such as the desktop. Then double click minecraft_server.jar.

Files should be created in the folder.

When the GUI for the server is open. You may get a warning about low RAM. To fix this: First close the server GUI then open Terminal. cd into your folder. For the folder used above then type

This will give the server software 1GB of RAM.

To change the server settings edit the Server.properties file.

= Maintenance =

For more information about how to run and maintain a server check Maintaining a server

= Reporting problems in the forum = Before you can ask for help in the forums make sure that your problems is not listed in the Common Problems

If your problem is not listed you can create a new thread asking for help in the Server Administration Make sure to include as much information as possible:
 * Operating system
 * What you were trying to do
 * What you did so far
 * Any errors you encountered
 * Screenshots of the problem (if possible)

= Other tutorials = Here are some other tutorials on how to set up a Minecraft server. Linux tutorial for more advanced users Windows tutorial with focus on how to forward a port Guide to setting up an alpha server using Virtualbox.