Tutorial

Your own Minecraft server

Never hosted a server before? This page walks you through it – from the first download to friends joining over the internet.

What you need

A Mac

Apple silicon or Intel. It has to stay on while people play.

Java

Minecraft servers run on Java. Lotus checks which version your Minecraft version needs and can install it for you.

Memory

2–4 GB for a few friends. Keep at least half of your Mac's memory for macOS.

Your router

Only needed for friends outside your home. Playing on the same Wi-Fi needs no router changes.

The quick way

Open Terminal and type:

$ /minecraft

Lotus asks eight short questions and does the rest:

  1. Server type

    Vanilla is the official server. Paper is faster and supports plugins.

  2. Version

    The newest release is suggested. It must match the version your friends play.

  3. Java

    Lotus reads the required Java version from Mojang and offers to install Eclipse Temurin if it is missing.

  4. Folder

    Each server gets its own folder in ~/Minecraft.

  5. Memory

    Pick how much RAM the server may use.

  6. Download

    From Mojang or PaperMC only. Lotus verifies the checksum, so a broken or changed file is never used.

  7. EULA and settings

    You read and accept the Minecraft EULA yourself. Then name, player limit and difficulty.

  8. Start script

    A start.command file you can double-click. Lotus itself starts the server in its control center.

The control center

Open a server with /mc → Open a server, or straight away with /mc <name>. The server runs in the background: leave the control center and it keeps running, open it again and you are back. Tab switches between three pages, all in the colors of your Lotus theme.

1 · Stats

Whether the server runs and for how long, players online with their ping, TPS and tick time, memory, CPU, the size of the world and the address friends join with – next to a little Minecraft world that drifts by, with a day and a night and one figure for every player online. Enter on a player: op, kick, ban, game mode, whitelist.

2 · Settings

The server icon (drag in any picture – Lotus cuts the middle square to 64 × 64), the description under the name in the server list, the folder in Finder, and plugins. A preview shows the server the way your friends see it in their list.

3 · Log

The console, colored: chat, joins, warnings and errors. f shows only chat and players, or only problems. Type / for a command like in Minecraft, t to chat as the server; ↑ brings earlier commands back.

Plugins

On a Paper server: search Modrinth – it lists only plugins for your server's version, the most downloaded first – and install with Enter. Required plugins come along, every file is checked against its SHA-512. Your own .jar: press d and drag it into the window. x removes one.

Delete a server

Settings → Delete server, or /minecraft → Delete a server. You type the server's name to be sure; a running server is stopped first, then its folder – world, plugins, settings, log – goes to the Trash, where you can still get it back until you empty it.

Ping and TPS: only the server knows them. For Paper servers Lotus builds a tiny plugin, LotusBridge, on your Mac (it writes one file with the numbers, nothing else). Vanilla servers do not tell them. Keys: s stop or start, r restart, o open the folder, q leave. While the server runs, your Mac stays awake (the display may still sleep).

Step by step, without Lotus

  1. Install Java

    Download Eclipse Temurin from adoptium.net, or run brew install --cask temurin. Check with java -version.

  2. Make a folder

    mkdir -p ~/Minecraft/my-server and open it: cd ~/Minecraft/my-server

  3. Download the server

    Get server.jar from minecraft.net/download/server (Vanilla) or papermc.io/downloads (Paper). Put it in the folder.

  4. First start

    java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar server.jar nogui – it stops and creates eula.txt.

  5. Accept the EULA

    Read it at aka.ms/MinecraftEULA, then change eula=false to eula=true in eula.txt.

  6. Start again

    Run the same command. When you see Done, the server is running.

The most useful settings in server.properties

SettingWhat it does
motdThe name in the server list
max-playersHow many people can join at once
difficultypeaceful, easy, normal or hard
white-listtrue = only players you added can join (recommended)
online-modeKeep it true: players must own Minecraft and are verified
server-port25565 by default – the port you forward later

Play on the same Wi-Fi

  1. Find your Mac's local address

    System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details next to your network → IP address. It looks like 192.168.x.x.

  2. Join

    In Minecraft: Multiplayer → Add Server → enter that address followed by :25565. On the Mac itself, use localhost.

Allow the firewall

The first time the server starts, macOS may ask whether java may accept incoming network connections. Choose Allow.

Missed it? System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options → find java and set it to allow incoming connections.

Play over the internet: port forwarding

Your router hides every device at home behind one public address. Port forwarding tells it: “Minecraft traffic goes to this Mac.”

Friend
anywhere
→
Internet
→
Your router
public address
→TCP 25565
Your Mac
local address

  1. Give your Mac a fixed local address

    In the router settings look for “DHCP reservation” or “static lease” and reserve your Mac's current local address. Otherwise it can change and the forwarding breaks.

  2. Add the forwarding rule

    Look for “Port forwarding”, “Virtual server” or “NAT”. Forward TCP port 25565 to your Mac's local address, port 25565.

  3. Find your public address

    Your router's status page shows it (often called WAN or Internet IP). Friends join with that address and :25565.

  4. Test it

    Ask a friend outside your home to join. Testing from inside your own network often does not work, even when everything is right.

Your public address points to your home. Share it only with people you trust. Lotus never looks it up or stores it.

Stay safe

Use a whitelist

Set white-list=true and add friends in the server console with whitelist add Name.

Keep online-mode on

It makes sure every player is who they claim to be.

Back up your world

Stop the server and copy the world folder now and then.

No router changes at all

Tools like Tailscale create a private network for you and your friends – nothing to open on the router.

Troubleshooting

You seeTry this
Unsupported class file versionThe Java version is too old. Run /minecraft again – it installs the right one.
Outdated server / clientServer and game versions must match. Set up a server with your friends' version.
Connection refusedIs the server running? Same Wi-Fi: check the local address. Internet: check the forwarding rule and the firewall.
Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?Give it more memory or use Paper.
Friends from outside cannot joinSome internet providers share one public address between customers (CGNAT). Then forwarding cannot work – use Tailscale instead.