How To Make A Minecraft Server Public



A simple 10-step guide to create a world for you and your friends-in less than 10 minutes!



Today, I will be showing you the easiest way to set up a public vanilla Minecraft server for you and your friends, without spending a single dollar. Let's get to it!



#1-Create a folder server



Create a new folder in whatever directory you choose. This folder will house all server files.



#2-Download JAR File



You can download the official Minecraft Server .jar file here. It should be saved to your newly created server folder.



#3-Create a run script



In order to actually host the server, you will need a script to run the .jar file. Open a new text file, and copy the following command into it:



The minecraft_server.1.16.4.jar is the current Minecraft server version available at the time of writing this. You can change the name of the.jar file you downloaded to reflect the new version.



The -Xmx and -Xms flags are allocating the memory used for the server. You can increase these values by multiplying them by 1024.



If you are on Windows, save this file as run.bat. If you're using Linux, save this file to run.sh. Make sure you change the extention from .txt so that the file can be properly executed.



#4-Run your script



Windows users can simply double-click on the newly created run.bat.



If you are on Linux, you will first have to make the file executable. First, type the command chmod +x run.sh. This makes the script you just created executable. Then, you can run the script with ./run.sh.



#5-Accept EULA



After running this script, you will be prompted for your acceptance of the EULA agreement. Close this window. If you look back in your server folder, you'll see a few new files.MINECRAFT SERVERS Open the file "eula.txt", change the line eula=false into eula=true, then save and close it.



#6 - Test the server locally



After the EULA agreement has been accepted you can run the script again to start the server (run.bat/run.sh). You should see more new files that were generated in the server folder. Once the configuration is set up and the world is generated, you can test to see if your server works.



Click on multiplayer in Minecraft. In the server URL bar, enter localhost. Click connect.



Congratulations, you now own your very own Minecraft server! But now, you want to be able to play with friends, so you will have to open up the server to incoming connections.



#7-Find internal and external IP addresses



You will need to find the IP address of your internal IP address to port forward in step 2. Additionally, you will need the IP address of your external IP address to allow others to connect to your server.



First, locate your internal IP.



Enter cmd into the search box and hit enter to open the command prompt. Enter the command "ipconfig" to display a list of Ethernet adapters or Wi-Fi card options.



If you are on Linux, open a terminal with ctrl + alt + t. Type the command ifconfig and you will see the list of Wi-Fi cards and Ethernet adapters.



Depending on your internet connection type (WiFi or Ethernet), you will find the IPv4 address (which starts at 192.168) under the internet connection type. This is your private IP address.



To find your external IP



Google will give you your public IP address if you just type "my IP" into Google. Alternatively, you can go to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ and it will also tell you your public IP address.



#8- Port Forwarding



Port forwarding is the process of opening up a specific port on your local network, so that incoming traffic can connect to a service. In this instance, we will open the default Minecraft port, which is 25565.



Port forwarding requires admin access to your local network. You can access many home routers simply by entering 192.168.1.1 on a web browser. Enter your admin credentials. Next, look for "port forwarding" settings. This is usually under an "advanced settings", "advanced setup", or "networking" tab.



For example, port forwarding on a NetGear router can be found under "Advanced",-> "Advanced Setup",-> "Port Forwarding/Port Triggering".



Click here to add a custom service. Give the service name anything recognizable, like "Minecraft Server". Make sure TCP/UDP has been selected under the service type. Enter the default Minecraft port "25565" for the internal and exterior port ranges. Finally, enter the private address you found in step 7 for the interal Ip address. Click Apply and your changes are saved.



#9-Edit the server configuration files



Open the server.properties folder with the text editor you prefer, and scroll down until you see server-port. Make sure you set the server port to the port that was opened for port forwarding. The server-ip value is your internal (private), IP address.



These two fields should look something like:



(192.168.1.88) is whatever your private IP number is.



You can also change other Minecraft settings in this file, such as difficultly, game mode, PvP, etc. Save and close the file after you have made all your changes.



#10-Test your server's public IP



Now that the port is open and the settings have been configured properly, you can launch the server again. You can either click the run.bat File (Windows) oder run the command./run.sh for Linux. After the server finishes loading, you can test whether your server works using your public IP address (found in step #7). Voila! Now you and your friends can play on the server together by entering the same public IP address in their Minecraft clients.



Thank you



Minecraft is a big part of my gaming history. I feel so nostalgic every time I create a new environment. This guide was created to allow everyone to enjoy the same experience. There are so many ways to create a Minecraft server, but I wanted to write a guide to provide the simplest and quickest way to help you get started. If this if your first time creating your own Minecraft server, or you've done it a hundred times before, I hope this guide was easy to follow, and I wish you the best of luck.