How to Host Minecraft Server for Friends on VPS

Wetin you dey build

A Minecraft Java Edition server wey dey stay up: Paper for Ubuntu 24.04, wey dey run as dedicated minecraft user under systemd with Restart=on-failure, whitelist dey on, and port 25565 open for both firewalls wey dey between your players and the JVM. Backups dey happen in a way wey no go corrupt the world wey dem suppose protect. The server itself na one jar and one java command. Everything wey separate server wey your friends fit play for one year from server wey go die for the first weekend dey around that command, and na wetin this guide cover.

Two honest warnings before you spend money. First, Minecraft dey use plenty memory and e mostly dey run for one thread: 1 GB VPS no go run playable server, and one fast core better pass four slow ones. Second, na Java Edition be this. Bedrock players, consoles, phones, and the Windows Bedrock app no fit join Java server. Bedrock need different server software for UDP 19132, or the Geyser plugin, but that one no dey inside this guide.

You need fresh Ubuntu 24.04 KVM VPS with root or sudo, plus about thirty minutes.

Sizing: wetin friends server really need

RAM na the number wey matter, and the honest figures dey lower than wetin modpack forums suggest:

• 2 GB fit run vanilla for 2–5 players with modest view distance. E dey playable, but no spare capacity.
• 4 GB na the comfortable size for friends server: around ten concurrent players on Paper with some plugins, plus enough memory for the OS.
• 8 GB and up na modpack and 20-plus-player territory. For this level, you suppose also care about single-core CPU speed, because the main game loop dey run for one thread.

The world go still grow for disk as players dey explore. A survival world wey players don travel well fit reach several gigabytes, so leave spare capacity for the world and its backups.

Vanilla or Paper? Paper na drop-in replacement for the official jar: e use the same worlds and clients, and e no need client-side mods. E rewrite the slowest server paths, including chunk loading, entity ticking, and hoppers, and e add plugin API. The only reason to run vanilla na if you need bit-exact vanilla mechanics for technical redstone farms wey Paper optimisations fit change. For everybody else, Paper fit support more players per gigabyte. Everything below work for both.

Step 1: install Java 21

Minecraft 1.20.5 and every release since (all of 1.21.x) need Java 21. Ubuntu 24.04 get am for default repos, and the headless build dey skip desktop libraries wey server no go ever use:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y openjdk-21-jre-headless
java -version

Correct result: the first line go read openjdk version "21.0.x". If e read 17 or 11, another JRE dey installed and e dey win; fix am with sudo update-alternatives --config java and pick the entry wey contain java-21.

If you skip this check, you go later get the Minecraft server error wey people search for pass. With Java 17, the server jar go die immediately with:

Error: LinkageError occurred while loading main class net.minecraft.bundler.Main
	java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: net/minecraft/bundler/Main has been
	compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime (class file version 65.0),
	this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 61.0

The numbers show the mismatch: class file version 65.0 na Java 21, 61.0 na Java 17, and 60.0 na Java 16. Any pair wey you see, the fix still be the same: install the newer JRE and run update-alternatives again.

Step 2: dedicated user, never root

The server dey execute plugin code and parse network input from anybody wey fit reach the port. If anything go wrong, compromise wey dey run as root go control your VPS; the one wey dey run as minecraft go control one game world.

sudo adduser --system --group --home /opt/minecraft minecraft

--system dey create account wey no get password and no fit log in through SSH, with /opt/minecraft as the home and working directory. From this point, every command wey dey touch the server go run as this user.

Step 3: download server jar from official source

Only two places suppose ever give you server jar: official server download page for minecraft.net for vanilla, and downloads page for papermc.io for Paper. Third-party "download hubs" wey dey repackage server jars na malware channel wey don dey operate for long. Server jar na arbitrary code wey you wan run 24/7 for box wey internet fit reach.

Copy download link for current build from official page. URL dey change with every version and build, so if we hardcode one here, e go become useless. Then:

cd /opt/minecraft
sudo -u minecraft wget -O server.jar 'PASTE-THE-COPIED-URL-HERE'

Correct result: one server.jar of roughly 50 MB wey minecraft own, confirmed with ls -lh /opt/minecraft/server.jar.

Step 4: first run, the EULA, and op-ing yourself

Run the server interactively once before you touch systemd, because only live console fit do two important jobs for the first run.

cd /opt/minecraft
sudo -u minecraft java -Xms1G -Xmx1G -jar server.jar nogui

E go stop within seconds. Paper go spend some extra moments apply patches first, then the log go end with the line wey everybody dey see:

[ServerMain/INFO]: You need to agree to the EULA in order to run the server. Go to eula.txt for more info.

This no be error; na license gate. The run write eula.txt beside the jar. Read the linked EULA if you never read am, then change the flag:

sudo -u minecraft sed -i 's/eula=false/eula=true/' /opt/minecraft/eula.txt

Run the same java command again. This time e go generate the world, wey fit take one or two minutes for first boot, then e go settle for:

[Server thread/INFO]: Done (9.204s)! For help, type "help"

You don get live console now. Use am for the second job: type op YourMinecraftName (your exact in-game username), and the server go write you into ops.json. So later, when no console dey attached, you fit run every admin command from inside the game. Then type stop to save and exit cleanly.

Step 5: server.properties, and why online-mode dey stay true

The first run still write server.properties. Most defaults dey okay; na these lines you suppose decide intentionally:

online-mode=true
white-list=true
enforce-whitelist=true
view-distance=8
max-players=10
motd=A private server for people I actually know

online-mode=true make the server verify every username wey dey join against Mojang's session servers, to prove say the player own the account. If you set am to false, the "cracked server" toggle, the server go believe any client about who dem be: anybody fit join with any name, including your own, and because ops and whitelists dey use name, person wey impersonate you fit enter with your operator permissions. The only valid reason to set am false na when server dey behind authenticating proxy like Velocity, wey verify players by itself. For normal server, e stay true, no argument.

view-distance na the biggest performance control for the file. CPU and RAM cost dey increase roughly with the square of the value. 8 na sensible VPS default; 10 na the vanilla default and e dey use noticeably more resources.

white-list=true plus enforce-whitelist=true close the server to strangers. The security section below explain why this one no be optional. Add players with /whitelist add TheirName in-game as an op.

Step 6: memory flags, wetin make -Xms and -Xmx suppose match

The JVM dey allocate heap between -Xms (starting size) and -Xmx (ceiling). For dedicated game server, set both to the same value: heap go reach the ceiling anyway, and to dey grow am in steps just dey add garbage-collector churn during play. For 4 GB VPS, the correct pair na:

/usr/bin/java -Xms3G -Xmx3G -jar server.jar nogui

-Xmx no be the total memory wey the process dey use. JVM dey add off-heap overhead, thread stacks, JIT caches, and direct buffers, wey fit reach roughly half gigabyte or more. Ubuntu sef need space. The working rule be say: -Xmx no suppose pass VPS RAM minus 1 GB. If you overshoot, one of two failures fit happen. If allocation fail from the beginning, server go refuse to start with:

Error: Could not reserve enough space for object heap

That one clear and immediate. The more dangerous one fit start well, then stop after some hours when heap full under load and kernel OOM killer pick the biggest process for the machine, wey be the JVM. Nothing go show for server log; the evidence dey inside sudo dmesg | grep -i oom, with line like Out of memory: Killed process 1234 (java). If your service dey restart "randomly", check there first, then reduce -Xmx.

For Paper, the project documentation get Aikar's flags, na tuned G1GC set (-XX:+UseG1GC -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 and about twelve other flags) wey dey reduce garbage-collection pauses for bigger heaps. Generate the complete line from Paper documentation; for 2–4 GB heap, the improvement small, but the flags no dey cause problem.

Step 7: systemd unit wey get Restart=on-failure

Server wey you start by hand go die together with your SSH session, and e go remain down after reboot. Write /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service:

[Unit]
Description=Minecraft server (Paper)
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=minecraft
Group=minecraft
WorkingDirectory=/opt/minecraft
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xms3G -Xmx3G -jar server.jar nogui
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
TimeoutStopSec=120

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now minecraft
systemctl status minecraft
journalctl -u minecraft -f

Correct result: status go show active (running), and journal, wey now dey carry the server console output, go end for Done line again.

Two deliberate choices dey for that unit. Restart=on-failure go bring the server back after crash, but e no go do am after clean stop, so maintenance still fit happen. And TimeoutStopSec=120 important pass as e fit look: systemctl stop dey send SIGTERM, the Minecraft server dey catch am and save every world before e exit, and that save fit take time for big world. Systemd default timeout fit send SIGKILL to the JVM while e still dey save, and na exactly this one dey corrupt region files. Give am two minutes.

If the service dey flap and journal show:

[Server thread/WARN]: **** FAILED TO BIND TO PORT!
[Server thread/WARN]: The exception was: io.netty.channel.unix.Errors$NativeIoException: bind(..) failed: Address already in use
[Server thread/WARN]: Perhaps a server is already running on that port?

then something already dey hold 25565, almost always na your earlier foreground run wey still dey alive for another SSH session. Find am with sudo ss -tlnp | grep 25565 and stop that copy; never run two servers for one port.

Step 8: open 25565 for both firewalls

Minecraft Java dey use TCP 25565 only (UDP na optional query protocol, and e dey off by default). For the VPS:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Na firewall one be that. Plenty VPS providers get second, network-level firewall for the control panel, and na the one people dey forget. Open TCP 25565 there too. If only one of the two firewalls open, the symptom no dey clear at all: client go hang for "Connecting to the server..." and fail with Connection timed out: no further information. E no go show refusal, server error, or anything for the journal, because the packets never reach the server. Verify from machine wey dey outside the VPS with nc -vz your.server.ip 25565. succeeded mean say both firewalls dey open; if e hang, at least one no dey open.

As you dey inside ufw, remember say the same box dey run SSH on public IP, and brute-force log noise go start within hours. set up Fail2ban for SSH on Ubuntu 24.04 before you forget.

Now connect: Multiplayer, Direct Connection, the server IP. Since you op'd yourself for step 4, in-game commands go work immediately, /whitelist add FriendName for each player, /gamemode creative if na the plan.

Step 9: whitelist, because internet dey find port 25565

To leave Minecraft server open to internet no be theoretical risk: mass scanners dey sweep the whole IPv4 space continuously for port 25565, hobbyist griefing projects don map hundreds of thousands open servers this way, and server wey no get whitelist go receive visitors wey nobody invite within days, sometimes hours. The whitelist from step 5 na the fix: online-mode=true dey prove identity, while the whitelist restrict entry to identities wey you choose. This pair na the complete security model, and e enough for server wey your friends dey use.

For console access without the game, scripted backups, or cron job, enable RCON inside server.properties (enable-rcon=true, use strong rcon.password, port 25575) and build the small mcrcon client from its GitHub source directly on the VPS; Ubuntu repos no get am. Do not open 25575 for any firewall: RCON dey send password as cleartext, so e must remain loopback-only.

Step 10: backup wey no go corrupt everything

The one rule be say: never copy world directory while server dey write inside am. Region files dey rewrite continuously during play; a tar wey race with a write go produce archive wey get half-written chunks. When you later restore am, na the exact time backup suppose work, log go full with chunk-loading errors and terrain go get holes. Two methods fit prevent this.

Stop-copy-start na the simple one, but e go cost one minute of downtime:

sudo systemctl stop minecraft
sudo mkdir -p /opt/backups
sudo tar czf /opt/backups/world-$(date +%F-%H%M).tgz \
  -C /opt/minecraft world world_nether world_the_end
sudo systemctl start minecraft

(Paper dey split the dimensions into world, world_nether, and world_the_end; vanilla server dey keep everything for world, so put the other two there.)

Save-off dey back up live: through RCON, issue save-off (stop the autosaver), then save-all flush (force everything go disk and wait), take the tar, then save-on. Na this version you suppose put for cron at 5 a.m.

Any method you use, backup wey dey the same VPS with the server no be backup. scp or rclone the archives comot from the box, and keep more than one copy. Since you no go dey watch the console when something spoil, put external check on the port: Uptime Kuma for another box wey dey do TCP check against 25565 go tell you say server don go down before your players notice am.

Plugins and upgrades

For Paper, plugin na jar wey you drop inside /opt/minecraft/plugins/, then restart, and installation don finish. Get plugins only from their official project pages (Hangar, Modrinth, SpigotMC), for the same reason as the server jar: each one na arbitrary code wey dey run as the minecraft user.

To upgrade the server, stop am, back am up, replace server.jar with the build for the new Minecraft version, then start am. Two things matter. World upgrades na one-way process. World wey newer version don open no go open for older version again, so backups dey important for this kind work. Plugins fit take days or weeks before dem support new Minecraft release, so check compatibility before you upgrade on day one.

If you prefer manage everything as a container, including version pinning, EULA acceptance, and memory flags as environment variables, the widely used itzg/minecraft-server image go run the same Paper server with Docker Compose on your VPS and the same firewall and backup discipline.

FAQ

How much RAM Minecraft server need?

2 GB fit run vanilla for 2–5 players; 4 GB dey comfortable for friends server wey get around ten players on Paper with small number of plugins; modpacks and 20-plus players need 8 GB or more. No matter the VPS size, set -Xmx to maximum total RAM minus 1 GB, because JVM dey use memory outside the heap, and if you pass the limit, e fit end with Error: Could not reserve enough space for object heap or silent OOM kill.

Why my friends no fit connect to my Minecraft server?

When client hang and end with Connection timed out: no further information, almost always na firewall cause am, and two firewall dey involved: ufw for the VPS and your provider network firewall for the control panel. TCP 25565 must open for both. Confirm say server dey actually listen with sudo ss -tlnp | grep 25565 for the machine, then test from outside with nc -vz your.server.ip 25565.

I suppose set online-mode=false for server.properties?

No. With online-mode=false, server go skip Mojang authentication completely, so anybody fit join with any username, including op username, and inherit the permissions. Skins and stable UUIDs go also spoil. The only valid use na behind authenticating proxy like Velocity wey dey verify players by itself. For normal server, e go remain true.

Paper better pass vanilla Minecraft server?

For almost everybody, yes: Paper na drop-in jar wey dey load vanilla worlds, accept unmodified clients, tick entities and load chunks much more efficiently, and add plugin ecosystem. The exception na technical-redstone communities wey need bit-exact vanilla behaviour, because some Paper optimisations dey change am. For small VPS, Paper efficiency be like extra RAM wey you get free.

How I fit back up Minecraft world without corrupting am?

Never archive world directory while server dey write to am, because copy wey race with region-file write fit produce corrupted chunks wey you go only discover when you try restore. Either stop server, tar the world directories, then start am again, or keep am running with save-off, save-all flush, tar, save-on over RCON. Then move the archive comot from the VPS.