Learning how to start a Bukkit server in Minecraft can open you up to so much. From simply adding the ability to install plugins like World Edit to the ability to setup Buycraft and start actually making money from a Minecraft server, getting a Bukkit server up and running is a must for anyone who is looking to take their Minecraft server to the next level. Thus, let's go ahead and get on into how you can make a Bukkit server in Minecraft.
How To Start A Bukkit Server in Minecraft
Step 1) Download Bukkit
In order to get a Bukkit server up and running, you first need to actually download Bukkit. In order to this, simply click here or the link download button above to go to the Bukkit download page. Once you're there, you want to find the version of Bukkit you want to install. Once you've found that, simply click on the yellow ‘Download' button located towards the right side of the screen on the version you want.
This will take you off to another page that will have the version of Bukkit you are downloading in the header. Scroll down the page a bit, and you will see a bunch of ads. In the center of all these ads, there will be a little grey box that says ‘You're about to download: Craftbukkit-version.jar'. Click on ‘Craftbukkit' in this box, and your Bukkit server file will begin downloading. You may have to confirm you want to ‘Keep' the file in your browser in order to finish the download.
Step 2) Create A New Folder For Your Server
Now that you have downloaded the Bukkit server file, you need to create a folder to host your server in. I typically do this on the desktop so it is easily accessible. You can call this new folder whatever you want just make sure it is easily identifiable so you don't accidentally delete it and lose your entire server. After you have created the new folder, drag the CraftBukkit file you downloaded into it.
Step 3) Create Your run.bat File
Once you've got your CraftBukkit file in its own folder, you will then need to create a file to actually get it up and running. To this, we will create a new text document with notepad. In this new text document paste the following code with your server version in place of ‘1.13'. For example, if you are starting a 1.12 Bukkit server, you would replace 1.13.jar with 1.12.jar. If you do not do this, it will not work.
java -Xmx1024M -jar craftbukkit-1.13.jar -o true
PAUSE
After you've pasted the above code into the notepad document, you want to click ‘File' and then ‘Save As'. This will then open up the save dialogue box where you want to name the file ‘run.bat'. After that, you want to make sure you change ‘Save as type:” from ‘Text Documents' to ‘All Files'. Once that is done, you can click save. You can now close out of all the Notepad documents you have open.
Step 4) Run Your Server & Accept The EULA
Now that you have created the ‘run.bat' file it is time to double-click on it. When you do this, a CMD box will open, do somethings, and then tell you to press any key to continue. When do this, the command prompt will close. You'll notice, however, some folders and text documents have magically appeared in your Bukkit server folder. You want to click on the one title ‘EULA' and open it in Notepad. Once it has opened, simply find the line that says ‘EULA=false' and change it to say ‘EULA=true'. This says you are agreeing to the Minecraft EULA, so be sure you have read it and accept it before making this change. Next, click save and move on to step 5!
Step 5) Run The Server Again & Let Everything Download
Now that you have accepted the EULA, you'll want to double-click on the ‘run.bat' file again. This will then cause everything else in regards to the server to download. This make take server minutes. Just watch the CMD until it says ‘Done'. Once it finally says that, you can go ahead and type ‘stop' and hit enter. This will then close out the server. You should now have tons of different folders and files in the Bukkit server folder you created earlier. This is good. At this point, you and anyone else on your own network, think in the same house as you, can join your server using ‘localhost' as the IP address. Just start the server and you're done. If however, you want to allow people from across the street or across the world to join your server, you'll need to press on!
Step 6) Find Your IPv4 Address & Default Gateway
Your server is setup, but to be able to actually play with people online, you need to do a few more things. First off, you need to open up your command prompt. To do this, go to the Start Menu and search ‘CMD'. A program will show up, and you need to right click on it and select ‘Run As Administrator'.
After you've opened command prompt, simply type ‘ipconfig' and hit enter. This will make a bunch of random information come through the command prompt. Once it is done, find your IPv4 address and default gateway. You will need both of these numbers in order to make your server publicly available. Take note of them by either copying them to a notepad document or just leave the CMD open. Once you've got these numbers, you can move on.
Step 7) Login To Your Router
Now, we need to login to your router. In order to do this, simply take your default gateway and type it into your browser as a website. A login box will appear on your screen. Here you want to enter your router's username and password. This is different from your wifi password. There are many different methods to find this information, and you can find our in-depth guide by clicking here.
Check out our in-depth guide to getting your router's password.
Step 8) Port Forward Your Router
Now that you are logged into your router, it is time to port forward it. This is actually really simple once you find the correct place to go. Just look for ‘Port Forwarding', ‘Apps & Gaming', ‘Single Port Forward', or something similar. It could also be in ‘advanced' or ‘security', so just click around your router until you find it. You aren't going to mess anything up, so don't worry about that.
Once you've found the port forwarding section of your router, it is time to actually port forward. You are going to want to add a new port forward with a starting/internal port of ‘25565' and ending/external port of 25565. You want the protocol to be ‘UDP/TCP', ‘UDP & TCP', or ‘Both'. No matter what option you have, you are going to want to make sure that both TCP and UDP protocols are selected. For your IP address, this is going to be the IPv4 address that we found earlier. After you've entered all of that information, save the port forward. Congrats! The hard part is done.
Step 9) Launch Into Your Server
All you need to do now is launch your server! To do this, go back to the folder you created in step 2, and double-click the ‘Run.bat' file we created in step 3. A command prompt window will open up, and the server will start up. To join the server, simply open up Minecraft, click ‘Multiplayer', and then click ‘Direct Connect' in the bottom center of the screen. Here, you will enter your IPv4 address, and click “Join Server'. You will then launch into your Bukkit server!
Note: If you want your friends or family to play on your server, they will need to join with your public IP address. To find this, simply click here, and you will see your public IP address in the center of the screen. Give this IP address to your friends to join your server. If your friends have any issues joining off your public IP, check to make sure your port forward was done correctly. Then, if they still can't join, disable your router's and computer's firewalls. This is not recommended, but it may let your friends join if they can't.
Step 10) Install Some Bukkit Plugins
It's kind of pointless to start a Bukkit server if you don't get any plugins on it. Thus, you need to get some plugins installed! Luckily for you, we've got an in-depth video on how to do exactly that! You can watch it above or click here to check it out! It will show you everything that you need to know about downloading and install Bukkit plugins in Minecraft.
Step 11) Have Some Fun!
Congratulations! You now have a Bukkit server up and running in Minecraft! Bukkit servers are absolutely awesome, and if you set up a plugin like Buycraft, you can actually monetize your server and start making money from it! You can also get incredible plugins like WorldEdit, PermissionsEx, and Essentials in order to improve Minecraft and make it even more fun.
If you do have any more questions or issues getting your Bukkit server up and running in Minecraft, please post in the comment below. We are more than happy to help you out in any way we can. Our goal is to help you get your Bukkit server up and running! Also, be sure to check out our video tutorial on how to start a Bukkit server in Minecraft by clicking here. Nevertheless, thanks for reading, and we hope you love your Bukkit server!
