How to Make a Minecraft Server for Your Friends

Java or Bedrock?

Check what your friends play on first.

• Everyone on PC with Java Edition: run a Java server. It has the most plugins and mods.
• Some friends on phone, console or Windows Bedrock: run a Java server with Geyser, so Bedrock players can join it too. This is what most mixed groups do.
• Everyone on Bedrock: a Bedrock server is the simplest choice, and it supports Bedrock add-ons.

How big a server do you need?

Count how many friends are online at the same time, not how many are in the group chat. Then:

• Vanilla or a few light plugins, up to about 10 players online: 4 to 6 GB is a good start.
• A modpack of about 100 to 200 mods, a few players: about 8 to 10 GB on Premium+, which has faster cores.
• A busy SMP with 10 to 25 players and 15+ plugins: 8 GB on Premium+.

You can grow later, so there is no need to buy big on day one. More detail is in Which plan and size do I need?

Your own PC, or a hosted server?

You can run a server on your own computer, and for a quick test with one friend that is fine. For a world your group plays every day it gets hard:

• The PC has to stay on whenever anyone wants to play, and the game uses its CPU and RAM while you also play on it.
• Many home internet connections cannot accept players from outside without extra router setup, and some cannot do it at all.
• Everyone's ping depends on your home upload speed and Wi-Fi.

A hosted server stays online on its own, has one address for everyone, and keeps backups for you. For players in the Philippines, a server in Singapore keeps ping low: from Metro Manila it is usually 40 to 80 ms, a bit higher from Cebu and Davao (typical numbers, not a guarantee; your ISP and Wi-Fi matter too).

Get the server

1. Pick a size on our Budget+ page (₱35 per GB of RAM a month, from 4 GB) or, for big modpacks, Premium+.
2. Check out and pay. GCash, Maya, Philippine banks that send to GCash or Maya, PayPal, cards and crypto all work; see payment methods.
3. The server is created as soon as the payment is confirmed, and a "Your server is ready" email arrives with your panel login.
4. Log in at panel.atbphosting.com. The panel and the billing site are separate accounts with separate passwords.

Choose the version and server software before you build

Decide this while the world is still new. A world opened on a newer Minecraft version cannot go back to an older one.

• Paper, Purpur or Leaf for plugins. Players install nothing.
• Fabric, Forge or NeoForge for mods. Every player needs the same mods in their game.
• Plugins and mods do not mix on a normal server, so pick one path.

See Server software overview and Updating or changing versions.

Give your friends one address

Your server has an IP address and a port in the panel. That works, but a name is easier to share:

1. In the panel, open More > Subdomain and create one, for example mysmp. It is free and points at your server by itself.
2. Java players add the subdomain in Multiplayer > Add Server. No port needed.
3. Bedrock players always type the address and the port in their own boxes. See Join your Bedrock server.

Rules for names are in Custom domains and free subdomains.

Make yourself admin

In the panel Console, type op YourName (no slash). A Bedrock player who joins a Java server through Geyser has a dot in front of the name, so use op .YourName. Only op people you really trust. See Make yourself an operator.

Keep it private with a whitelist

Anyone who finds your address can try to join, so turn on the whitelist before you share it:

1. Run whitelist on in the console (in game, with a slash: /whitelist on).
2. Add each friend with whitelist add Name, and add yourself too.
3. Remove someone with whitelist remove Name.

More in Setting up a whitelist.

Backups and a smooth start

• Set a backup schedule in the Backups tab, and make a backup before every version change or big plugin install. See Backups.
• Pre-generate the world with Chunky while nobody is online, so exploring does not lag the server later.
• Only download plugins and mods from official sources. Leaked or "cracked" premium plugins often carry backdoors.

Let a friend help run it

Never share your panel password. Add your co-admin as a sub-user in the panel instead, and give them only the permissions they need. See Sub-users.