Server

Minecraft servers allow players to play online with other people. They may either be run on a hosted Minecraft server service, a dedicated server, a Virtual Private Server or a home machine.

Server installation and configuration
For a full tutorial on setting up a Minecraft server, please read the installation and configuration guide.

General recommendations

 * Setting up a server takes some time, and some technical knowledge. Don't try to set up a server unless you have some basic computer and networking abilities. Your best bet is to look on the internet for a guide on how to set up a server.
 * Hosting and playing on the same machine does not usually matter, unless you have a slow computer.
 * Netbooks and Notebooks don't usually make for good server machines. They typically have lower end hardware in comparison to desktops and dedicated server machines.
 * Hosting a server with many players in a wireless network (WLAN and especially WWAN) is not recommended. Use wired network instead, such as Ethernet.
 * If you decide you don't want to host, but still want to play online, check out the public server options in the Minecraft servers area of the Minecraft forum.
 * If you still want to manage a server, but not from home, check out the Minecraft server hosting area of the Minecraft forum or other websites. Expect to pay monthly for this type of server since finding free hosting is a rarity.

Server requirements
Please see server requirement comparison tables for more information.

Server commands
The server commands page has a list of useful commands.

See the known bugs page for known single/multiplayer issues.

Special note: Atheros and Realtek network adapters are known to not work well with servers in general. If you experience a total loss of internet (requiring a reboot), or constant disconnects, check and see if you have either brand of network adapter installed. If you do, you can try updating the driver for the device directly from the manufacturer. If a driver update does not fix the issue, the general solution is to buy a new adapter (anything from Intel is recommended as a replacement).

Types of servers
There are numerous kinds of Minecraft servers, usually distinguished by the level used in them or how players in them are supposed to behave. Many special types of servers rely on the use of map editors.

Adventure
Sometimes a server will completely stop any way to break or build blocks, not letting them do anything on their own. It stops griefing but then they cannot do anything. Most of the time this is because they are given a pre-made house and they have to work for the op to rank themselves up if the ops want to run their server this way.

Survival
Standard servers usually have relatively regular maps, allowing players to build or destroy whatever they want (though griefing is often against these servers' rules.) No pvp and no destroying villages.

Creative
Usually a server that allows players to make whatever they want, more focused on building and griefing is not allowed. Unfortunately griefing is very easy to be done on creative servers. (This often is dealt with by protecting builds via systems like WorldGuard.)

Roleplay
A server with a certain story-line and setting where players must act as a character instead of their normal self. They may take on roles such as a knight, peasant, maybe even a thief. Roleplay servers vary from medieval all the way to sci-fi. Things to remember while on a roleplay server is to not power-game (force actions upon another player without them responding) or meta-game (use out of character information and use it to benefit your character's knowledge), and to leave your inner self behind. You are your character, not you.

PvP
A server where players are encouraged to fight versus other players (thus the appellation PvP, meaning Player versus Player). Stealing is sometimes allowed. Some servers do not have pvp.

Hardcore PvP
A type of server which is like PvP, but fully allows griefing. Also, stealing is fully allowed. So Players can blow up people's homes and steal their items and gear. Users are usually not allowed to report / spam that they were griefed, as it may result in a ban or mute.

Prison
In prison servers, there typically is no wilderness, and players must earn money in order to advance in the prison. There are servers that allow you to gain freedom as you advance in the ranks of the prison, in which you can gain or earn your freedom or there are other servers from which you can escape and be free. Sometimes PvP is allowed in this type of gameplay.

Faction
Faction Servers are like a clan or guild server, create your Faction or join one and fight or raid other factions. Usually griefing is allowed, but some servers do not allow it. The leader of the faction is able to choose the name of the faction. The moderator of the faction is able to claim land for the faction.

When choosing people to join your faction, follow the "talk" rule. Only let people into your faction that you can talk to in person at lest once a week, and obviously, only invite people who you can trust! This not only lets you communicate more easily and keep an eye on all your team members, but also helps you strengthen your friendship with your minecraft partners.

Once you have your faction and faction members, it's time to get a home base. This is the place where you and your group get store items, plan raids, build a farm, and build a home. This place is your faction's home so make it feel like home! Nether portals, farms, and living quarters all are great ideas! Make sure though that there is always room to expand (underground bases are great for this) and is not easy to raid. Finally, always expand, customize, and improve!

Challenge
Usually these servers have some sort of a challenge, such as surviving underwater, living on a small island with few materials, or a block in the sky.

Economy
These servers often use a plugin that allows you to have a type of currency. You can usually buy and sell and make your own shops. Many servers also allow you to buy land plots or even ranks in the server.

City
A server that has a city-like region where you make a house on your own protected land. Mostly these servers have in some area a free place where anyone can build/take. The main point is usually to try to get many natural resources so you can have the best house and possibly rank up. iConomy is a typical plugin on these servers.

Delete player
If you want to delete a player from the game, you can remove the player's .dat file. Navigate to the Minecraft server directory, open the world folder, open the player's folder, and delete the PLAYERNAME.dat file. In Minecraft version 1.4.6, this folder is at "minecraft\world\players", where "minecraft" is the folder where minecraft was installed on the server. This will cause the player to start over at the spawn point with no inventory. The player's changes to the world will be untouched, along with any inventory stored in chests. This will not ban the player that has been deleted.

Ban player
If you want to ban a player from playing on your server, edit the minecraft\banned-ips.txt", where "minecraft" is the folder where minecraft was installed on the server and add the user you want to ban to this banned-ips.txt file. Bans an IP address from the server, the full IP address must be specified; wildcards are not valid. Players who are banned through this method will see "Your IP address is banned from this server!" when attempting to connect.  Alternatively an operator can use the "ban-ip" command via "ban-ip ipaddress" where "ipaddress" is the IP address of the user you wish to ban.  This can be undone via the operator issuing the "pardon-ip ipaddress" command or editing the server's banned-ips.txt file

Edit player
If you don't want to delete a player completely, but want to remove something from him or move him to a different spot, or even give him an enchanted item, you can edit the PLAYERNAME.dat file with NBTedit similar to how you would a level save. (Only the player needs to be offline. No server restart needed.)

Creating backups
Enter save-all into the console or /save-all in Minecraft (as a server op). Enter save-off into the console or /save-off in Minecraft (as a server op). Copy the world folder to create the backup. DO NOT MOVE IT! (No server restart needed) Enter save-on into the console or /save-on in Minecraft (as a server op).

Resetting the Nether or the End
Ensure there are no players in that dimension, stop the server. Delete the "DIM-1" folder to reset The Nether, delete the "DIM1" folder to reset The End. Any builds inside those dimensions will be lost, the Ender Dragon will also reappear for The End. Restart the server.

Setting the server's texture pack
You can set a default texture pack for your server and the client will download it and use it for your server. (Please note: the client can turn off the texture pack)
 * 1) Choose a texture pack.
 * 2) Upload the texture pack to Dropbox, or similar. The important thing is that you can have a DIRECT link to the .zip file.
 * 3) Set the file to public. (at least on dropbox)
 * 4) Open your server.properties file.
 * 5) Find   and edit it like this:  . For example:
 * 6) Restart the server & log on to check the texture pack

Death messages
Death messages are broadcast to everyone on the server upon a player's death. These messages relate to how the player died and some are intended to be humorous. Death messages were added in Beta 1.8 Pre-release.

Drowning Falling
 * [player] drowned
 * [player] hit the ground too hard

Player versus Player (PvP)
 * [victim] was slain by [killer]
 * [victim] was shot by [killer] Only happens for kills using a bow
 * [victim] was killed by [killer] Only happens for kills using a splash potion

Void
 * [player] fell out of the world

Lava
 * [player] tried to swim in lava

Fire Block
 * [player] went up in flames

Fire Effect
 * [player] burned to death

Explosion Creepers and Ghasts also cause this message.
 * [player] blew up

Hostile Mob
 * [victim] was slain by [mob]
 * [victim] was shot by [mob] Only caused by mobs with projectile attacks
 * [victim] was fireballed by [mob] Only caused by Blazes and Ghasts
 * [victim] was killed by [mob] Only caused by Witches

Potion of Harming
 * [player] was killed by magic When shot from a dispenser

Suffocation
 * [player] suffocated in a wall

Cactus
 * [player] was pricked to death

Starvation
 * [player] starved to death

Dispenser when using arrows (previously [player] was shot by Herobrine) (replaced in Minecraft 1.0)
 * [player] was shot by arrow

Other (also caused by /kill command)
 * [player] died

Wither effect
 * [player] withered away

Thorns Enchantment
 * [player] was killed while trying to hurt [mob] Only caused by mobs that can wear armor

Unused This message is rarely used since snowballs, chicken eggs and ender pearls do not cause any damage to players, it will only hit them.
 * [victim] was pummeled by [killer] Happens when killed by a Snowball, a Chicken Egg or an Ender Pearl

Anvil
 * [player] was squashed by a falling anvil

Renting a server
While you can build your own server, sometimes renting a server can be a better option if your Internet or computer can't handle the amount of players you want on the server. You can search for hosts on the Internet, or find them in the Minecraft Server Hosting section of the Minecraft Forums or Similar websites. Avoid sites that don't have good reputation or look suspicious, as this can lead to hackers and griefers that are hard to deal with.