A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.
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In addition to other advice here just be aware that Minecraft servers are prime targets for griefing and abuse.
I recommend setting it to whitelist mode and then each kid your friend wants to join just has to send their username to him so you can add the username to the whitelist. Its an added overhead but it's much less painful than reverting to a backup for a griefed server - and your kid won't have to worry about other kids on-sharing the server address.
Easy way to avoid this: choose a different port. I think it's a safe bet the crawlers are just checking 25565. I've had a server up for months with zero issues.
It isn't on the default port either, it's on a random high number port which is why I thought it was extra odd they found it.
Huh, that is funky. Fingers crossed mine survives. I think I'll go and set up some backups, now that I think about it.
I've had a server up for almost 9 years never had any randoms even join. Don't think I've ever used the default port tho
It isn't on the default port either, it's on a random high number port which is why I thought it was extra odd they found it.
Its been a long time since I played, wouldn't the best protection from that just be not broadcasting the server to the open internet? Never had an issue with servers that were technically fully open but only telling friends about it. I suppose whitelist is better than security through obscurity though.
I had My minecraft server scanned by at least 3 different bots, and I even had some friendly guy join my server that apparently found it using a bot he wrote. I'm now using a whitelist lol. One of the account names that scanned my server was "Fifth Column, which is a griefing group.
I've had a server running without whitelist because a friend hadn't bought the game yet, within 2 weeks it was griefed. It was just the two of us playing.
There are crawler bots just searching for unprotected Minecraft servers and it's just a matter of time before they find yours.
It's a shame the server lacks a pretty basic feature such as password protection.
Like the other commenter said, I dunno how the heck the griefers find the servers - but if it's on the open Internet, they do.
I set up a server for me an a handful of mates - advertised the address nowhere. They told nobody. A month in a friend and I were playing as usual, and a player with a Russian username joined. I'm like "uh hi who are you?". They stayed another minute or two while saying nothing, then left.
I think they left when they realized i had an anti-griefer permissions mod that protects the blocks in an area around the spawn point from being modified (its called 'Flan'). So they joined, saw the server had some protections, and decided it wouldn't be much fun for them.
Whitelist immediately enabled - no more random Russians.
Quick version:
Rabbit hole:
It's really only downloading the executable and java, starting it and opening the required port. See the official documentation for instructions.
If you want to get more involved there are some convenient docker containers which automate some stuff:
You can actually host a bedrock server yourself with Geyser no problem
My kids and I use https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-bedrock-server and I would recommend it.
Why is everyone suggesting random third party shit?
Straight from Mojang/Microsoft:
Bedrock: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock
Java: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server
Follow the instructions and go.
Why is everyone suggesting random third party shit?
Cause the official stuff runs like shit
Because paper and others don't run like garbage, unlike vanilla MC.
I've had zero issues running vanilla in a basic VM.
Try paper or fabric, add Aikar's Flags (https://docs.papermc.io/paper/aikars-flags) and marvel at the high ticks!
With the current Minecraft monthly updates, paper is always behind on the latest features. There are also minor problems that paper introduces with its performance improvements.
Years ago paper was critical for a good Minecraft experience, but a newer PC (newer than 6 years old) runs great on vanilla.
OK, I respect your opinion.
I'm coming from a place of administering a server and I attest to this:
I run 7th gen Intel hardware for my server cluster. Minecraft VMs run totally fine.
I ran a server on a raspberry pi 3, paper was the only real option on that kind of hardware.
Main reason for me is Realms limits the view distance to 16 rather than 32 on Java
This is probably not what you are looking for, but if everyone is going to be playing at the same time and they are on java, you can use a mod like World host or e4mc
Also, if someone is using pirated minecraft, you have to set to false online_mode in the server.proprities file on the server(this will also remove skins, but that can be fixed using a plugin/mod if you are using custom software for the server; and will allow anyone to log into anyone elses account, which can be exploited if a player has operator permissions)
Just chiming in to include that hosting a modded Minecraft server is relatively easy as well. You use a modded version like Fabric and put the mods in the mods folder in the MC directory on your host. Users have the same mods in their mods folder and it just works normally. Some mods are server-side only
Minecraft really needs a mod system like ARK: Survival Ascended. I really hate Forge/Fabric so much because of this requirement that host/server match all their version numbers, but no mechanics to be able to do it within the client.
Download PaperMC and Java. Run it. Open the port in your FW. Reverse proxy it to a domain. Boom, done.
First you need to understand the difference between Bedrock edition and Java edition. Bedrock is for consoles, phones and Windows, it's the default version that Microsoft pushes now. It's not compatible with Java clients or Java servers. So if you're planning to have the kid play on Switch or something like that, it's not going to work.
Assuming you're clear on all that, you have a few options for Java servers, you can run a plain jane vanilla server (the one that Microsoft provides) fairly easily but it has some limitations, and it's not the most manageable solution. Modded servers are much more capable and flexible but also can be a little more complex in some cases. Overall, I've found Purpur the easiest and most sustainable choice at least a few years ago when I was looking for the right choice it seemed like most people agreed this was the best option. Fabric is another great option, especially if you want to use mods! Fabric has a huge modding ecosystem, second only to Forge.
However I also need to mention that I've got a heavily modded Forge-based server running right now and I really didn't find that any more difficult to set up than any of the others. Even though people usually complain about forge being "difficult" somehow. So take that for what it's worth. I think it doesn't really matter THAT much which server software you use unless you have specific requirements around things like mods, spawn protection, and other kinds of configuration that are probably most useful for large, public servers.
If you do want to run a bedrock server, it gets a little more complicated as you might have to break some things out of the walled garden. I haven't had a lot of success with that but I understand it is possible.
So if you're planning to have the kid play on Switch or something like that, it's not going to work.
You can run Geyser (a modified Minecraft server) to let bedrock clients play on your Java server.
Yes but doing it on a Nintendo Switch is cumbersome. It requires you to edit the DNS settings on the console itself. Nintendo doesn't support unofficial multiplayer services.
If you're familiar with Docker and want something with UI for easy management of configs, plugins and server console, you might like Pterodactyl Panel, Pelican Panel or Pufferpanel. The easiest one to setup is Pufferpanel. Pterodactyl is more involved but you're flexible to host other game servers too if you want to.
You should only need to have Java and then download the server and open the port if they want to play vanilla mc. If they want modded then idk.
You might also want to check this out, haven’t used it myself but it looks cool if you don’t like wasting server resources: https://github.com/timvisee/lazymc
You can run it in a container
Just don't expose it to the public internet.
As others mentioned, running a minecraft server by itself is pretty easy. If you want additional features like a Web UI, multiple servers at the same time etc. you might take a look at Crafty Controller.
That's a solid 3rd party use case. I'm setting it up on my cluster right now.
Java edition is easy to selfhost, did it as a docker stack a while ago. Apart from that, it really depends on what addons etc. your players are usually playing. Most things can be done with not too much effort, but that's probably the thing you need to find out.
Minecraft is actually a super easy setup, especially if you're okay with only running it on the local network.
If my memory's alright, this page will have all you need, as well as being the best server software currently out for Minecraft https://purpurmc.org/