How to host a Minecraft server on Windows 10

Windows 10 runs a Minecraft server just as well as Windows 11 does. The app installs like any other program, gets the right Java by itself and runs Java or Bedrock servers. There's nothing to change in the BIOS and no virtualisation or WSL to turn on.

Updated October 2026

What your PC needs

MC Server Manager runs on 64-bit Windows 10, version 1809 or newer. That's the October 2018 update, so if Windows Update has run on the PC in the last few years you're already well past it. To check, press Win + R, type winver and press Enter. The window that opens shows the version, something like Version 22H2.

Memory matters more than anything else. A server needs at least this much on top of what Windows and your other programs are using:

Server	RAM to give it
Vanilla or Paper	2 GB
A Bedrock server	1 to 2 GB
A modded server (Forge, Fabric, NeoForge)	4 GB or more
A big modpack with lots of players	6 to 8 GB

Don't give a server more than half the PC's memory. An 8 GB laptop is fine for a vanilla or Paper world with a few friends, a heavy modpack wants 16 GB in the machine. You set the RAM on the server's page in the app and can change it any time.

What you don't need

A lot of server guides start with steps that don't apply here. You don't need to:

• Turn on virtualisation in the BIOS. The app is a normal Windows program and each server runs as a normal Windows process. Nothing runs in a virtual machine.
• Install WSL, Linux or Docker. Java and Bedrock servers both run on Windows itself.
• Install Java. Every Java server needs Java and each Minecraft version wants a particular one. The app asks Mojang which Java a version needs, downloads it into its own folder and uses it for that server. Any Java you already have installed is left alone.
• Use the command line. Creating, starting, stopping, backing up and editing settings are all buttons. There's a console if you want to type server commands.

For reference, this is the Java each version runs on. The app picks it for you, the table is only useful if you're fixing a Java error on a server you run by hand.

Minecraft version	Java
26.1 and newer	Java 25
1.20.5 to 1.21.11	Java 21
1.17 to 1.20.4	Java 17
1.16.5 and older	Java 8

Java or Bedrock

Pick the edition your friends play. Java Edition is the PC version with mods and plugins. Bedrock is the one on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, phones and Minecraft for Windows. The two can't join each other's servers on their own.

Both run on Windows 10. A Java server can be vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Spigot, Forge, NeoForge, Fabric or Quilt. Whole modpacks from CurseForge or Modrinth install as a new server. A Bedrock server is Mojang's own Bedrock Dedicated Server, which the app downloads and sets up. If your group is a mix, a Java server with Geyser lets Bedrock players in too, see the Bedrock guide.

Lite or Standard

They're the same app. Lite is free, from the Microsoft Store or the website. Standard is £1.99 once and takes the limits off.

	Lite	Standard
Price	Free	£1.99 once
Servers	Up to 3	Unlimited
Sessions	6 hours, then a 2 hour wait	No limit
Every server type, mods and modpacks	Yes	Yes
Automatic backups when a server stops	No, backups are one click	Yes
Scheduled restarts and the web dashboard	No	Yes

Try Lite first. If a six hour evening is enough you may never need Standard. A relay subscription (Starter or Plus) includes everything Standard does while it runs, so don't buy both. The full list is on the pricing page.

Setting up the server

1. Install MC Server Manager from the Microsoft Store or the download section on the home page
2. Press + New server under the server list
3. Pick the type and the Minecraft version. If you're not sure, Paper is a good start for plugins and Fabric for mods
4. Press Create. The app downloads the server files and the Java it needs, which can take a minute
5. Press Start and watch the Console tab until the server says it's done loading

A new server gets a card on its Overview tab that walks you from pressing Start to your first friend joining. The longer version, with server types and settings, is in making a Minecraft server on Windows.

The firewall prompt

The first time a server starts, the app asks Let players through Windows Firewall? Press Add the rules and Windows asks for admin permission once. It adds two inbound rules named MC Server Manager, Java on TCP 25565 to 25599 and Bedrock on UDP 19132 to 19159. They cover every server you have and every one you make later. You can see or remove them in Windows Firewall any time.

If you press Not now, Windows shows its own box the first time each server listens for players, titled Windows Defender Firewall has blocked some features of this app. Tick both Private and Public networks before you allow it. It's an easy one to miss. If Windows has your home network down as Public and only Private is ticked, even a friend in the same house can't get in. You can add the app's rules later from Settings, on the Network tab, with Open the Minecraft ports.

How friends join

The Overview tab has a How people join card with an address for each kind of player, with Copy beside each.

On the same wifi

Give them the On your wifi address, something like 192.168.1.100. Java players add it under Multiplayer, Add Server. Bedrock players on Windows or Xbox add it under Servers with the port. Nothing on the router needs changing.

Over the internet, with port forwarding

Friends in other houses need your router to pass the Minecraft port through to your PC. On the Network tab, Automatic port forwarding opens the port on your router when the server starts and closes it when it stops, as long as UPnP is turned on in the router (most home routers have it on). If it isn't, the port forwarding guide has the router menus by hand. Friends then join on your public IP. That address is your home connection, so only give it to people you trust.

Over the internet, with the free relay

If the router won't cooperate or your provider uses CGNAT, port forwarding can't work at all. The free relay gives the server an address on play.mcservermanager.com that works on any connection and keeps your home IP hidden. It's for you and three friends, with 10GB of data a month on an address we pick. It needs a free account and no card. On the Network tab, press Get a free relay for this server. Starter (from £1.50 a month) and Plus take more players and a name you choose, see the relay.

Not sure which you need? Press Check if players can join on the Overview tab. It tells you whether the internet address works and, if not, what's in the way. The friends can't join guide goes through every cause.

Keeping it running

• Stop Windows sleeping. A PC that goes to sleep takes the server with it. In Settings, System, Power & sleep, set Sleep to Never while you're hosting, on mains power at least.
• Sleep when empty. On the Schedule tab, a Java server can stop itself after a while with nobody on. Its port stays held and the first player to join wakes it, with a minute's wait while it starts. The PC itself still needs to be on.
• Back up. One click on the Backups tab copies the whole server. Standard also backs up every time a server stops. Backups can go to a folder on another drive, so a dead disk doesn't take them with the server.
• Read the crash. If a server stops on its own, the Console tab offers to diagnose it. Why a server keeps crashing covers the usual causes.