Minecraft Server Setup on Windows

Minecraft requires Java 21 or newer. Download and install the latest Java JDK.

1. Download Java from Adoptium (Eclipse Temurin)
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts
3. Verify installation by opening Command Prompt and running:

java -version

You should see Java version 21 or higher.

Download the official Minecraft server JAR file from Mojang.

1. Create a folder for your server, e.g., C:\MinecraftServer
2. Download the latest server.jar from the official Minecraft website
3. Save the file to your server folder

Run the server once to generate configuration files, then accept the EULA.

cd C:\MinecraftServer
java -Xmx2G -Xms1G -jar server.jar nogui

The server will stop and create an eula.txt file. Edit it:

eula=true

Edit the server.properties file to customize your server settings.

server-port=25565
max-players=20
motd=My Minecraft Server
difficulty=normal
gamemode=survival
online-mode=true
white-list=false

Use our Config Builder to generate a customized configuration file.

Open the required ports in Windows Firewall to allow connections to your server.

# Run these commands in PowerShell as Administrator

# Allow Game Port (TCP 25565)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Minecraft Server" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 25565 -Action Allow

Navigate to your server folder and run the server with optimized memory settings.

cd C:\MinecraftServer
java -Xmx4G -Xms2G -jar server.jar nogui

Create a batch file to easily start your server with proper settings.

@echo off
title Minecraft Server
cd /d "%~dp0"

:start
echo Starting Minecraft Server...
java -Xmx4G -Xms2G -jar server.jar nogui

echo Server stopped. Restarting in 5 seconds...
timeout /t 5
goto start