How to Join a Friend's Minecraft Server
The address you type depends on where you are relative to the host — LAN IP, public IP and port, a Realms invite, or a Tailscale tunnel. Here's each one.
Minecraft Server Guides & News
Guides, roundups and tips for players and server owners.
How to Make a Minecraft Server for Free
Make a free Minecraft Java server on your PC — install the right JDK, run the jar, set eula=true, allocate RAM, and let friends in over LAN or a tunnel.
How to Port Forward a Minecraft Server
Port forward a Minecraft server step by step — set a static local IP, open TCP 25565 (or UDP 19132 for Bedrock) on your router, and fix the two usual mistakes.
How to Set Up a Paper Minecraft Server (Java)
Set up a Java Paper server step by step — install a matching JDK, run the jar, tune server.properties, keep it online, and let friends connect.
Minecraft Server vs Realm: What's the Difference?
A Realm is Mojang's small invite-only world for friends; a server runs plugins, holds far more players, and gets ranked. Here's how to pick.
How to Run a Minecraft Server Without Port Forwarding
Let internet friends onto a self-hosted Minecraft server with no port forwarding, using tunnels like playit.gg, mesh VPNs like Tailscale, or Realms.
How to Protect a Minecraft Server From DDoS Attacks
A practical DDoS guide for server owners: route traffic through a filtering proxy, hide and firewall your origin IP, forward real player IPs, add rate limits.
How to Set Up a Crossplay Server With Geyser and Floodgate
Set up Java-Bedrock crossplay: install Geyser and Floodgate on Paper, switch auth-type to floodgate, open the 19132 UDP Bedrock port, and link accounts.
What Are Geyser and Floodgate?
Geyser is a free proxy that lets Bedrock players join Java servers, and Floodgate drops the Java-account requirement — here's how they fit together.
What Is an Anarchy Server in Minecraft?
An anarchy server is a Minecraft server with almost no rules — griefing, PvP, hacking, and exploits are all allowed, and the world never resets.
What Is Griefing, and How Do Servers Stop It?
Griefing is when other players wreck or steal what you built on a server. Here's the layered stack owners use to stop it, and how you protect your base.
Best Crossplay Survival SMP Servers for Xbox and PC (Same World)
How Geyser-bridged crossplay lets Xbox and PC survival SMP players share one world, what to verify before joining, and where to find a live ranked server.
Best mcMMO Servers for Players Who Love Skill Grinding
How to pick an mcMMO server for serious skill grinding — which skills are enabled, how XP rates are tuned, leaderboard population, party features, and uptime.
Best Minecraft Roleplay Servers for Immersive Storytelling Communities
A guide to character-driven Minecraft roleplay servers — why whitelists, active staff, engaged population, and proximity chat make a community worth joining.
Best Creative Servers for Plot Building and Sharing Builds
How to pick a creative server for plot building: judge plot size and limits, WorldEdit access, population for feedback, grief protection, uptime, and ping.
Best Parkour Servers for Solo and Co-op Runs
How to pick a Minecraft parkour server worth your time — judge course variety, checkpoints, leaderboards, ping, and anti-cheat, then use the live rankings.
Best Hardcore Survival Servers
Pick a hardcore Minecraft server for a one-life run: read its death rule, grief protection, anti-cheat, population, and uptime, then the live rankings.
Best Survival Games (Hunger Games) Servers
How to pick a populated, well-moderated Survival Games server — judge lobby fill speed, anti-cheat, ping, and pacing, then use the live rankings.
Best UHC Servers: Finding a Good One
How to spot a UHC server that fills matches with legit players — judge population, anti-cheat, scheduling, ping, and scenarios, then use the live rankings.
Best Vanilla Survival Servers for Purists Who Hate Plugins
A guide for purists who want unmodified survival: how to spot truly vanilla servers, and why whitelists and small populations keep a world stable.
What Does Whitelisted Mean on a Minecraft Server?
Whitelisted means a server only lets approved players in. Learn what the "not whitelisted" message means, why SMPs use it, and how to get added.
Best Low-Ping Survival Servers for Players in Australia
How Australian and Oceania players find low-ping survival servers — why server location drives latency, how to read ping in a listing, and the live picks.
How to Find a Minecraft Server's IP Address and Port
Where to find a Minecraft server's address and port, when to add :port, why big servers show none, and how to paste the address without a single typo.
How to Lower Your Ping on Minecraft Servers
Lower your Minecraft ping by picking a closer server and switching to a wired connection — plus how to tell your own latency apart from the server's lag.