How to host a Minecraft server with friends.
Hosting a Minecraft server for your friend group takes about 30 seconds on Pixly: sign in with Google, name your world, and share its address — nothing to install or configure. This guide walks through creating a server, joining it, inviting friends, adding mods, turning on Bedrock crossplay, and how pay-as-you-go billing works.
~10 hours to try · no card · instant setup
Create your first server
Region is the only choice fixed at creation, so pick the one nearest your players. Everything else — name, size, server type, version, and settings — can be changed later.
1. Sign in with Google
Go to pixly.gg and sign in. You'll confirm you're at least 13 and accept the Terms, Acceptable Use, and Privacy policies. New accounts start with a trial — about 10 hours of play.
2. Choose Create world
From the dashboard, select Create world. Give it a name (this becomes part of your address), pick the region closest to your players for low latency, and choose a size — live per-region prices are shown as you pick. Every world runs on fast NVMe SSD storage so saves and chunk loads stay snappy.
3. Follow the setup wizard
On the new server, a wizard walks you through Type (server software + Minecraft version), Owner, Friends, Mods, and Share. You can pickVanilla, Paper, Purpur, Pufferfish, Leaf, Folia, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, or Quilt on any version, or Skip for now and finish later.
Join the server and invite friends
Your world gets a permanent address like cozyglade-7x.pixly.gg that never changes — even across restarts. A sleeping world wakes the moment someone connects.
Copy the address
The Connection card on the server page shows the address with a one-click copy button. In Minecraft: Java Edition, open Multiplayer → Add Server and paste it in.
Whitelist your friends
Worlds are whitelisted by default, so add each friend by username in the Players tab before they connect. Pixly verifies names against Mojang. You can promote ops or ban players from the same tab.
Share and play
Send friends the same address — they add it under Multiplayer → Add Server and join. The very first connection builds the server — give it a few minutes — and later joins wake it in 15–30 seconds.
Install mods and enable Bedrock crossplay
Mods and Bedrock support are built in — no manual downloads or config files. Both apply on the next start of the world.
Add mods from Modrinth
On a moddable type (anything except Vanilla), open the Mods tab — it's labeled Plugins on Paper — and paste a Modrinth link or grab one of the popular picks, right in the dashboard. Pick a release channel, pin a version, or mark a mod optional, then save. See Minecraft modpack hosting for how whole packs install.
Turn on Bedrock crossplay
Flip the Bedrock cross-play switch in the Settings tab and Pixly auto-installs Geyser + Floodgate on the next start. It works on Paper, Fabric, Quilt, or NeoForge; on other types the switch shows why it's unavailable. See Java and Bedrock crossplay hosting for how the bridge works.
Share the Bedrock address
After enabling and restarting, the Connection card shows a second Bedrock Edition address with a port. Players on mobile, console, or Windows add that address and port under Servers → Add Server.
Manage your server
The server page has everything in tabs, plus quick actions to Start, Stop, Restart, take a Backup, or open the live console. Every world sits behind DDoS protection, so you can manage it without worrying about attacks.
Overview & console
See status, players, and the connection address, plus a live console. Read logs any time; the command input is active while the server is running.
Settings
Change server type, version, MOTD, max players, difficulty, game mode, online mode, and more. Some changes apply on the next restart — the page tells you which. The Minecraft MOTD generator previews your styled server-list lines exactly as players see them.
Backups
Daily backups are included on every plan with a 7-day history. Restore a day, export a world, or upload an existing save to bring it in.
Players
Manage online players, the whitelist, operators, and bans — by name or IP — all in one place.
Reset or delete
The Danger zone tab holds Reset world (wipes the world after backing it up — do this when downgrading a version or switching type) and the delete action.
Quick actions
Start, Stop, Restart, or Backup the world, or pop open the console, straight from the server page without digging through tabs.
Hosting with Hamachi vs a hosted server
Before hosted servers, friends shared one world by turning a player's PC into the server itself. Hamachi existed to make that PC reachable. It still works, but it asks a lot of whoever hosts.
The Hamachi-era workflow
One player runs the world on their own computer while everyone installs Hamachi, a virtual-LAN tool that makes the group look like one local network — the classic dodge around router port forwarding. Every session needs that host PC on, and every new player needs the client set up and signed in.
What a real address changes
A server that lives online is reachable by itself, so there's nothing for your friends to install and no router settings to touch. Everyone — including the former host — simply joins, and the world keeps its progress whether or not any one PC is on.
When each one wins
Hamachi remains a fine zero-budget trick for two people on one evening. Once schedules drift or the group wants mods, backups, and crossplay handled, a hosted pay-per-hour Minecraft server costs cents per active hour and removes the babysitting.
Hosting your server: common questions
Host your Minecraft server now
Sign in, name your world, share the address — setup is instant. Start with ~10 hours to try, then pay for the time you play.
No card to start