Want to make a free Minecraft server? You can create your own private server on Minecraft Java edition using free server software provided by Mojang. You can download this through the Minecraft website, but the initial process and how to run your server needs some more explaining.
To get started, make sure you have the latest version of Java edition installed. To check whether you have this, simply use the control panel in Windows and update or install the latest version. Once you’ve set up a free Minecraft server, you can invite your friends online and even create your own rules, gameplay, and community within your own blocky creation.
Here’s how to get started on making a free Minecraft server, as well as the options for hosting a server for free. For a thorough breakdown of common questions and answers, be sure to check out the Microsoft help article and Minecraft’s recommended hosting guide. Follow the steps below or check out the video for a walkthrough on how to set up a Minecraft server.
How To Make A Minecraft 1.18 Server (Hosting A Vanilla Server is EASY)
A simple installer script (also installs Java)
Note: this is a very early project, designed with offline installation in mind, and will be updated periodically to make it more user friendly.
This part was tested with FreeBSD 10.0 amd64 and jre-7u65-linux-i586.tar.gz
Due to performance and crash issue with OpenJDK and Minecraft server, we will install Oracle JRE made for linux.
Before installing this JRE, you have to install the linux binary compatibility on FreeBSD, you can follow this documentation. Jave requires some information about the proc. You have to mount linprocfs, type:
and add this line to /etc/fstab:
The Oracle JRE has a dependency marked as forbidden and the installation will fail. Go to /usr/ports/textproc/linux-f10-expat2.0.1/ and in the Makefile remove the line which starts with FORBIDDEN=.
Next you have to manually get the linux tarball due to licence issue (like `jre-7u65-linux-i586.tar.gz) from java official web site and copy the file to /usr/ports/distfiles. Then to install the JRE, go to /usr/ports/java/linux-sun-jre17/ and run make install distclean.
Note: The previous version of this part, tested on FreeBSD 9.2 amd64, was explained like this: You may have to set JRE_UPDATE_VERSION variable in your Makefile to the actual number (e.g. 45 like in this example) and run make install NO_CHECKSUM=1.
Try running java -version. You may end up with a message that it cannot find libjli.so. One way to fix it is to add your java paths to the search explicitly. Make a symlink:
And in /compat/linux/etc/ld.so.conf.d/java.conf add:
Run /compat/linux/sbin/ldconfig. Now java -version should work.
Launching Minecraft Server
Create a folder and copy the Minecraft server jar in it. In the actual version you will get this exception syscall epoll_create not implemented if you run the server in the usual way, so we add this line to the command to fix that -Djava.nio.channels.spi.SelectorProvider=sun.nio.ch.PollSelectorProvider. The command to launch is like:
Hostman is an application hosting provider to host apps in the cloud. Minecraft is available as a one-click app package on Hostman. Installation takes about 2 minutes, theres an instruction on how to configure the server and start playing. You can have multiple Minecraft services on one server. Try a free demo here.
Cloudron is a platform to self-host apps on your server. Minecraft is available as a one click app on Cloudron. It comes with a web interface to manage Minecraft from the browser. You can also have multiple installations of Minecraft on the same server. You can try a demo here (username: cloudron password: cloudron)
Docker is a free container based platform which helps to isolate instances of a Minecraft Server from each-other and from the host system. Docker and the owner of the repository of the container are not affiliated with Mojang.
Download the Minecraft server software.
Download the server software from the Minecraft website. It comes as a Java .jar file. Save it to the location you chose in the previous step.
Open TextEdit. Set the format to plain text. Enter the following:
exec java -Xms1G -Xmx1G -jar {server file name} nogui
(Replace {server file name} with the actual server file name.)
Save the file as start.command in the same folder where the server’s .jar file is located.
Open the Terminal and grant permissions for the new start.command file so it can be run. Type chmod a+x with a space after the command. Drag and drop the start.command file into the terminal window. Press Enter.
FAQ
How do you host your own server in Minecraft?
- Verify the Latest Version of Java. …
- Download Minecraft_Server. …
- Save as a Batch File to Run Server. …
- Agree to the EULA. …
- Launch Your Server. …
- Join Your Server. …
- Forward Your Ports. …
- Find Your External IP Address.
Can you still host a Minecraft server for free?
How much does it cost to host your own Minecraft server?
Can you host a private Minecraft server?