The good news is that the most common issues aren’t severe enough to put you off hosting your own server altogether. Here are some common issues you could run into, as well as how to solve them.
5Make Sure You Open the Correct Ports on Your Router
Port forwarding can be a tricky subject. All routers support it, but not all ISPs allow it. If you can’t port forward, then it’s likely you won’t be able to (easily) host aMinecraftserver from home.
However, if you’re able to port forward, then make sure things are pointed in the right direction. The ports on yourMinecraftserver and the outside world don’t have to match, but it can sometimes be easier if they do.
It’s possible to forward port 26845 on the outside to port 25565 on the inside, but it makes things a little harder to remember. However, whatever port you have set as your external port, be sure that’s the one that you give out for people to connect to.
The internal port is for internal use only. That’s what your computer runs the server on. The external port is what people actually connect to when they’re accessing theMinecraftserver.
Having the ports configured incorrectly is a simple mistake to make. One I’ve made all too many times. So, if yourMinecraftserver isn’t accessible from outside your local network, double-check that your port forwarding settings are configured properly and match yourMinecraftserver preferences.
4Be Sure to Set Your Server Up as Allow List Only
Minecraftservers can work in one of two ways: as an allow list or block list. A block list server bans specific users from joining but allows everyone else to log in without a problem. An allow list is just the opposite. Everyone is banned unless their username is on a specific list that allows them through a filter.
The reason I recommend setting your server up as an allow list-only server is that it keeps your server safe from those who would wish to do it harm. If yourMinecraftserver is set to block everyone but those you allow, then the only people logging into your world are those you personally know and approve of.
If, at any time, that approval needs to be revoked, then you can just remove their username from the allow list, and they can no longer log into the server anymore. It’s that simple.
There are two ways to make aMinecraftserver allow list only. The first is through the chat box in-game, using the command"/allowlist on" (Bedrock edition) or “/whitelist on” (Java edition) and then “/allowlist add username” or “/whitelist add username” depending on which edition. The other way is to make awhitelist.json fileat the root of your server, and add the username and UUID of a player to the file.
Making your server allow list-only is one of the quickest and easiest ways to secure it from those who wish to do you (or the in-game you) harm.
3Minecraft Servers Can Sometimes Require a Lot of RAM
There are many reasons aMinecraftserver might not start up when you tell it to. Bad mod files, corrupt world save, missing files, the list goes on. One reason, that’s simpler than others to fix, is not enough RAM.
While you can run a smallerMinecraftserver on a very small amount of RAM, sometimes servers can grow and get quite bloated. I’ve had heavily modded servers use 6GB or more of RAM, with some peaking at over 8GB of RAM used just to run a single server.
This is more of an edge-case, as the server had over 200 mods on it and lots of chunk loading, but it’s something that could absolutely happen to your server. For a rule of thumb, modded servers should have a minimum of 4GB of RAM dedicated to running, and vanilla servers can sometimes get away with as little as 2GB.
The other thing to note is that, the more people you have in your world, the more RAM you’ll need. Two people on a vanilla server shouldn’t require much RAM. However, 10 people on a modded server will.
So, if yourMinecraftserver is refusing to start up, make sure you’re dedicating enough RAM to it. When in doubt, add more RAM.
2Be Sure to Set Up Backups So You Can Restore if Things Go Wrong
It’s inevitable that your server will eventually experience some form of corruption. Whether a world file gets corrupted, you attempt to run a mod that breaks things, or the entire server simply goes down, something is going to break. And that’s where having a backup is crucial.
MostMinecraftserver software supports automated backups, so be sure to leverage that. I had myMinecraftservers backing up to Google Drive when I used a Windows desktop to run them. This meant that, not only did I have a backup of the server on the computer, but my backups were also stored in the cloud.
Depending on how you have yourMinecraftserver set up, storing backups in the cloud might be easy or might be super difficult. However, regardless of whether you’re able to store them in the cloud, you should absolutely store the backups somewhere. On the same server that you use to runMinecraftis a great start, but having them back up to the cloud really is ideal.
Be sure to poke around yourMinecraftserver manager’s settings to see how to set up backups. Do this now because by the time you need the backup it’ll be too late to set one up.
1Don’t Forget to Make Yourself an Op
This is one step that I forget far more often than I’d like to admit. Becoming an op on your server is crucial. With op powers, you can do just about anything in theMinecraftworld.
You can change your game mode from survival to creative, which is useful if you’re constantly dying in a bout of lava, and you want to get your items back. You can use op to teleport to specific coordinates (or to a specific player). With op, you can even give yourself any item inMinecraft.
However, as a server owner, op comes in handy for far more than a few in-game tricks. If there’s someone abusing something on the server, you may kick them. Is someone misusing chat? Mute them. The list goes on.
To make yourself an op, simply type “/op username” in-game, or edit theops.json fileat the root of yourMinecraftserver.
Using op powers on aMinecraftserver can be overpowered in the wrong hands but is absolutely crucial in the hands of the server owner. So don’t forget this one crucial step.
Have you ever wanted toswitch aMinecraftworld from survival to creative or hardcore? It’s actually pretty simple to do. Bonus tip: it even works on servers.
