The short version
A Minecraft server is just a program that runs the world and lets other players connect to it. Anyone can run one. The real decision is where it runs: on a computer in your home, or on a machine in a datacentre that you rent by the month.
Running it at home is free and fine for trying things out. Renting is what most groups end up doing, because the world stays online when your PC is off and nobody needs to touch a router.
- Your own PC: free, but only online while your computer is, and you have to open a port on your router
- A hosted server: a few euros a month, online around the clock, with backups and a control panel
- Either way you can move the world later, so the first choice is not permanent
Option 1: host it on your own computer
This is the classic route and it costs nothing. You need a computer with a few gigabytes of free memory and a wired connection if possible, because everyone else's experience depends on your upload speed.
The step that stops most people is port forwarding. Your router blocks incoming connections by default, so friends outside your home cannot reach the server until you forward the port. Some internet providers, especially mobile and some fibre connections, do not give you a public address at all, and then this route simply does not work.
- Install a current version of Java. Minecraft 1.20.5 and newer need Java 21 or later
- Download the official server file from minecraft.net and put it in an empty folder
- Start it once from a terminal with: java -Xmx2G -jar server.jar nogui
- Open the eula.txt file it creates, change eula=false to eula=true, and start it again
- In your router, forward TCP port 25565 to the computer running the server
- Give your friends your public IP address; you connect using localhost
Option 2: rent a hosted server
A hosted server runs the same software on hardware that is built to stay online. There is no port forwarding, your home address stays private, and the world is available whether or not you are at your desk.
On StormNodes the whole process happens in the browser. You do not install Java or edit startup scripts unless you want to.
- Pick a plan that matches the server you are running today; you can move up later
- Choose the server software: Paper, Purpur, Fabric or vanilla
- Once the order is paid, the server appears in your panel with its own address
- Start it from the console page and share the address with your friends
- Use the file manager, backups and scheduled tasks from the same panel
The settings to change on day one
A fresh server works out of the box, but a handful of settings in server.properties are worth a minute of your time. On a hosted server you can edit the file from the panel; at home it sits next to the server file.
Then make yourself an operator by typing op followed by your player name in the server console. Operators can run every command, so keep that list short.
- white-list=true, so only players you have added can join
- difficulty and gamemode, to match how your group wants to play
- max-players, set a little above the number you actually expect
- view-distance, where 8 to 10 is a sensible start for a small server
- motd, the line of text players see in their server list
Keeping the server safe
Public Minecraft addresses get scanned constantly, and an open server with no whitelist will eventually be found by someone who wants to break things. A whitelist costs nothing and prevents nearly all of it.
Backups are the other half. Worlds get lost to griefing, to a bad plugin update and to plain mistakes far more often than to hardware. Take a backup before every big change and keep at least one copy from a few days ago, not only the most recent.
- Turn the whitelist on before you share the address anywhere public
- Give operator status only to people you would trust with the whole world
- Back up before updating Minecraft, plugins or mods
- Only download plugins and mods from their official pages
When to move from your PC to a host
Most groups start at home and move once the server becomes something people rely on. The usual triggers are friends wanting to play while you are asleep or away, lag whenever you use your own computer for something else, or a router that makes port forwarding painful.
Moving is not a restart. The world is a folder: upload it to the new server through the file manager, point the server at it and everyone continues where they left off.