How To Make A Minecraft Server in 2024
You might remember how hyped and popular Minecraft was when it went viral years ago. It was everyone’s favorite video game, and even though you might not hear about it much these days, Minecraft is still extremely popular. In fact, Microsoft ended up acquiring Minecraft when they bought the developer, Mojang, in 2014 for $2.5 billion dollars. As of today, there’s been over 120 million copies of Minecraft sold worldwide, making it one of the most popular video games in the world.
The game can be a lot of fun, allowing you to build your own worlds with different blocks and materials you can acquire. The game can get even more fun when you go online and play with other people — there are all sorts of custom maps with fun mini games and astounding worlds that people have built.
But, what about if you want to create your own online Minecraft server? Is that even possible for the layman? Maybe you have an idea for a world, and you want to share it with the online Minecraft community. Well, you’re in luck! It’s actually quite easy to create your own Minecraft server, and it won’t cost you too much money either.
Download The Software
To get started creating your own Minecraft server, you’ll first need to download the official Minecraft server software. Microsoft actually makes it really easy to download the software, keeping it freely accessible straight from the Minecraft website. You can download it here for free. Once you have it downloaded, move the files to the disk and folder that you want to run your Minecraft server from — this could be something like C:\MyFirstMinecraftServer. You’ll want to make sure that the JAR file sits here, but don’t run it quite yet, as we’re not ready to start up the Minecraft server.
Download the latest version of Java
Minecraft is primarily run with the Java programming language, and as such, you’ll need to make sure that you’re computer is running the latest version of Java. Most Windows-based PCs have Java already installed and even supply automatic updates, but in the event that you don’t have it, you can go ahead and download it for free at www.java.com. Note: The machine that you’re hosting the server on must have Java downloaded. There is no exception.
To check what version of Java you’re on, or even if you have Java, open up the Command Prompt in Windows. In Windows 10, you can simply search for in the Search bar by typing in cmd. Or, you can try and press Windows Key + R and then type cmd in the box. The Command Prompt will appear, and you’ll simply type java -version to see what version of Java you’re running. If you see that your version is out of date, grab the latest version from the website.
Terms and Conditions
Next, we need to accept the EULA licensing agreements of the Minecraft server software. Go to the folder you created for your Minecraft server files, and double click on the JAR file to launch your first Minecraft server.
Once it runs, a new file should be created in your MyFirstMinecraftServer folder called eula.txt. Open this file with your preferred text edit, and then locate the line where it says “eula=false.” Change this line to say “eula=true.” Save the file. This accepts the Terms and Conditions of using Mojang’s Minecraft server software, and will allow you to run it.
Now that the licensing agreements are accepted, just double-click the JAR files to launch the Minecraft server again. A basic GUI will appear giving you server statistics, information on players connection, and then a console log.
Finally, we just need to tell the server how much memory is allocated to it. Close the server window and create a new file in MyFirstMinecraftServer called resources.bat. In the file, type the following line in: java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar
Now, change the value of minecraft_server.jar with the value of the server file you downloaded or created. This allocates all the proper memory to the server, and in this example, that’s 1GB of memory.
Launch your Minecraft server by double-clicking on that JAR file. Congratulations, you just successfully created your first Minecraft server, and at no cost to you!
Verdict
We outlined above how you can create your own Minecraft server with a home computer, but keep in mind that there are easier (and more expensive) ways to do this. For example, you could purchase a Minecraft server from GoDaddy, and have them get it up and running and even manage it for you.