{"id":1943,"date":"2026-08-15T03:51:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kwikserver.com\/tutorials\/how-to-make-a-minecraft-server\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T12:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T06:39:04","slug":"how-to-make-a-minecraft-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kwikserver.com\/tutorials\/how-to-make-a-minecraft-server\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Minecraft Server on Windows, Linux, and macOS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minecraft is one of the most-played games in the world, and running your own server gives you full control: invite friends, install mods, set your own rules. It’s less complicated than it sounds, you mainly need a bit of command-line comfort and a machine to run it on. Here’s how to set one up on Linux, Windows, and macOS.<\/p>\n

Linux (Ubuntu or CentOS)<\/h2>\n

You’ll need root SSH access to your server (check your welcome email or client area for credentials) and, at minimum, Ubuntu 16.04 or CentOS 7.<\/p>\n

1. Install Java and Screen<\/h3>\n

Connect over SSH, then check whether Java is already installed:<\/p>\n

java -version<\/pre>\n
If it’s missing, install it:<\/p>\n
# Ubuntu\nsudo apt-get update\nsudo apt-get install default-jdk\n\n# CentOS\nsudo yum update\nsudo yum install java -y<\/pre>\n
Then install Screen, which lets the server keep running after you disconnect:<\/p>\n
# Ubuntu\nsudo apt-get install screen\n\n# CentOS\nsudo yum install screen -y<\/pre>\n
2. Download and run the server<\/h3>\n
Create a dedicated folder and move into it:<\/p>\n
mkdir minecraft\ncd minecraft<\/pre>\n
Install wget if you don’t already have it, then download the server jar (check Minecraft’s official download page<\/a> for the current version link):<\/p>\n
wget https:\/\/launcher.mojang.com\/path\/to\/server.jar<\/pre>\n
Run it once to generate the EULA file (drop nogui<\/code> if you want the graphical console):<\/p>\n
java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar server.jar nogui<\/pre>\n
Open eula.txt<\/code> and change eula=false<\/code> to eula=true<\/code>, then save. Start a detachable Screen session so the server survives after you log out:<\/p>\n
screen -S minecraft-server\njava -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar server.jar nogui<\/pre>\n
1024M is the minimum recommended RAM allocation, bump it up to 2048M or higher if your plan has the headroom. To detach from Screen without stopping the server, press Ctrl+A<\/code> then D<\/code>; to reattach later, run screen -r<\/code>. Server settings live in server.properties<\/code> if you need to tweak them, though the defaults work well for most setups.<\/p>\n
Windows<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Check your Java version with java -version<\/code> in Command Prompt; install or update it from the official Java site if needed.<\/li>\n
  2. Download the server .jar<\/code> file and place it in its own folder.<\/li>\n
  3. Double-click the jar once to generate eula.txt<\/code>, then edit it to set eula=true<\/code>.<\/li>\n
  4. Run the server by double-clicking the jar, or from Command Prompt: java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar server.jar nogui<\/code>. You may need to allow it through Windows Firewall.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    macOS<\/h2>\n
    Recent macOS versions include Java by default (check with java -version<\/code>).<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. Create a folder for the server and drop the downloaded jar into it.<\/li>\n
    2. In TextEdit, switch to plain text mode (Format \u2192 Make Plain Text) and paste:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      #!\/bin\/bash\ncd \"$(dirname \"$0\")\"\nexec java -Xms1024M -Xmx1024M -jar server.jar nogui<\/pre>\n
        \n
      1. Save it as startmc.command<\/code> in the same folder as the server jar.<\/li>\n
      2. Make it executable: chmod a+x startmc.command<\/code><\/li>\n
      3. Double-click startmc.command<\/code> to launch the server in a new terminal window. A one-time “missing file” warning on first launch is normal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        Whichever platform you use, a private server built on real dedicated resources feels noticeably smoother than one squeezed onto a shared home connection. KwikServer’s Linux VPS and Windows VPS plans both work well for hosting a Minecraft server.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
        A step-by-step walkthrough for setting up your own Minecraft server on Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows, or macOS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t