Getting Started with Minecraft

So you purchased a server and now you're here to find out the ins and outs about running a Minecraft server. We've got you covered.

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The Most Common Questions

Some of our Quick FAQ.
How do I make myself an Op so I can use cheats and commands on my server? We have an article on that here.
I got this error. Why can't I connect? We have a list of common Minecraft errors and how to handle them here.

Getting Started

This is the biggest moment for the life of your Minecraft server: What version of Minecraft do you want to play?

A. Vanilla Minecraft - If you want to play Vanilla Minecraft in all of it's original glory, then it's quite simple. All you need to do is create a server and make sure to choose Minecraft and then choose Minecraft again. Don't choose Custom Minecraft. Don't choose a modpack. Just choose Minecraft. Here's a quick link for it if you're logged into to Command Center: Create a Minecraft Vanilla Server

B. Modded Minecraft or Minecraft with Plugins - This is where things get more complicated. However, we have hundreds of modpacks in our system that you can install instantly and our support team is ready when you need help.

How to Join Your Server

When you created your server, you filled out some information about the server including the friendly address. This is one of the server addresses you can use to connect to your server. It may take a few minutes for it to work properly because it needs to reach your DNS server first. That would look something like this:

myfriendlyaddress.g.akliz.net

When you click on manage next to your server in Command Center, you'll see that address at the top and an ip:port (every server receives a unique one) address that looks like this:

12.34.56.789:1234

In your Minecraft client, all you need to do is click on Multiplayer, then Add Server and then fill in one of those addresses. You should then be able to connect to your server and enjoy your game.

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Some modded Minecraft clients change the wording of that button from Multiplayer to something else. But it should be easy enough to figure out which button to click to find where to input your server address.

Optimizing Your Server

Our hardware is amazing. However, there are still things you can do to make your server run better. Although this fits the troubleshooting, our article on server lag has tons of ideas in it for making sure your server run at tip top condition. So make sure to go read it whether you have lag or not. You'll be happy to know the information in it.

Security and Permissions

You decide the security of your server when it comes to who is allowed to play on it and who has admin powers:

• How to OP a Player on a Minecraft Server - One of the first questions we're asked when you've bought your server is, "How do I make myself an admin on my server?" In Minecraft, that is called making a player an "Op," short for operator.

• How to Setup the Whitelist On a Minecraft Server - The next thing people want to know is how to keep out random people from joining their server. In Minecraft, the easiest way to do so is to create a whitelist. This is a list of people who are allowed on your server. Anyone else will not be able to join.

World and Data Management

World and data management is another large part of running your own Minecraft server. Here are some of the common things you'll be doing with your world and data:

• Creating an Additional World - Sometimes you want more than one world to play in. You can flip back and forth between worlds pretty easily by creating a new one and just changing a simple setting in your server.properties file.

• Uploading a World You Already Have to Your Server - What if you purchased a server so your friends could play with you and you wanted to use a world you already started on? You can upload that world directly to your server. Also great for uploading a backup of your world that you downloaded previously.

• Downloading a Copy of Your World - Do you want a copy of your world on your own computer for safe keeping? Then download it with these simple instructions.

• Resetting Your World to a New World - Sometimes you want to just start over with a brand new world. Resetting your world would be the way to go.

• Changing the Seed of Your World - What if you saw someone else playing the game and liked what their world looked like? Or maybe you found some good seeds for worlds you'd like to try. You can set the seed of your world in the config files.

• Resetting The Player Data for Yourself or Your Other Players - Sometimes the player data gets corrupted. A player may have picked up an item that they shouldn't have. For those and many other reasons, you can reset their data.

• How to Agree to the Eula on a Minecraft Server - Most of our Minecraft installs have the EULA set to agree. But in those rare cases when it is not, this is how you would agree to the EULA on your server.

Updating Your Server or Changing Versions

• How to Change the Minecraft Version - So you want the newest version of Minecraft but you're still running the older one? You can easily change the version of Minecraft you're using on your server.

Everything Else

Is that everything you can do with Minecraft? Definitely not. But this page would be miles long if we talked about everything here. So here's a few other places to find more information about your server:

Server Configurations - There is more to configs and commands than a whitelist, seed, or using the /op command.

Troubleshooting - "Every server is perfect and will never have any problems," said no server administrator, ever. There may be problems. But there are also solutions. Don't forget to take advantage of our support team if you get stuck.