Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server: What It Is, How to Set It Up, and Self-Host vs Game Host

A Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS) is Mojang’s official server software for hosting a multiplayer Bedrock Edition world, and it’s free to download from minecraft.net. It runs on Windows 10 (version 1703 or later), Windows Server 2016 or later, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later. Ubuntu is the only Linux distribution Mojang supports. You unzip it, run bedrock_server, and players connect on port 19132. After that comes the real decision: run it on your own hardware, or pay a game host to run the same software on a machine that never turns off.

What Bedrock Dedicated Server Is

BDS comes from Mojang as a ZIP file containing the server executable and its default configuration files. There’s a release build and a Preview build for each operating system. Use the release build unless your players are on the Preview version of the game, because a Preview server needs Preview clients.

Where it differs from a Java server:

• It’s for Bedrock Edition players. If part of your group plays Java Edition, you need a different setup. Our Java and Bedrock crossplay guide covers it.
• You customize it with add-ons, not plugins. BDS loads behavior packs and resource packs, either shared across every world on the server or tied to one world. Microsoft also documents a JavaScript scripting API for BDS, and its more powerful server modules are still experimental. Community plugin loaders exist, but there’s nothing close to the size of Java’s Paper and Spigot ecosystem.
• Players sign in with their Microsoft account. online-mode is on by default, and turning it off doesn’t change that: anyone joining from outside your LAN always needs Xbox Live authentication.

Requirements and Download

Mojang’s download page lists these minimums:

Requirement	Mojang’s listed minimum
Operating system	Windows 10 version 1703 (build 15063) or later, or Windows Server 2016 or later. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later; other Linux distributions aren’t supported
Processor	64-bit Intel or AMD. Intel Core i3-3210 or AMD A8-7600 APU, or equivalent
Memory	4 GB RAM (Mojang’s FAQ says small servers need at least 1 GB)
Disk	180 MB to 1 GB free
Network	Broadband internet connection

There’s no macOS build, and ARM boards like the Raspberry Pi aren’t on the list. Only download from the official BDS page: tick the box to accept the Minecraft EULA and Privacy Policy, then choose Windows or Ubuntu (Linux).

How to Set Up a Bedrock Dedicated Server Yourself

1. Unzip into an empty folder. For example, C:\MinecraftServer on Windows or ~/MinecraftServer on Ubuntu.
2. Start the server. On Windows, open PowerShell or Command Prompt in that folder and run bedrock_server. On Ubuntu, run LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ./bedrock_server. The first start creates a world plus the worlds, behavior_packs, and resource_packs folders.
3. Allow it through the firewall. On Windows, Defender asks whether to allow the server on private networks (for LAN play) or public networks (for internet play). On Ubuntu with ufw enabled, run sudo ufw allow 19132, sudo ufw allow 19133, then sudo ufw reload.
4. Forward the port for internet play. Bedrock uses UDP: port 19132 for IPv4 and 19133 for IPv6. Players outside your home network can only reach the server if your router forwards that port to the machine running it.
5. Connect. In Minecraft, go to Play, open the Servers tab, select Add Server, enter the server’s IP address, and leave the port at 19132.

Settings Worth Changing First

server.properties is a plain text file of key=value lines in the server folder. These are the settings most owners change first, with defaults from Microsoft’s reference:

Setting	Default	What it does
server-name	Dedicated Server	The server’s name
gamemode	survival	Mode for new players: survival, creative, or adventure
difficulty	easy	Peaceful, easy, normal, or hard
max-players	10	Player cap. Higher values cost performance
allow-list	false	When true, only players in allowlist.json can join
server-port / server-portv6	19132 / 19133	IPv4 and IPv6 ports
level-name	Bedrock level	Which folder in worlds/ loads. One world runs at a time
view-distance / tick-distance	32 / 4	How far players can see and how far the world is simulated. Raising either costs performance

To keep the server private, set allow-list=true and add players by gamertag with /allowlist add <gamertag>, in quotes if the gamertag has a space. If you edit allowlist.json by hand, run /allowlist reload. Make someone an operator from the server console with op <gamertag>. Changes to server.properties need a restart, and Microsoft’s full property reference lists every other option.

On a WinterNode server, set the server name, gamemode, difficulty, and allow-cheats under Server Options in the panel instead. Those values override the same lines in server.properties. See our Bedrock server properties guide.

Updates, Backups, and Existing Worlds

Updates. The game and the server have to run matching versions. Even a patch release can change the network protocol, so once players update their game, an older server turns them away with an “Outdated Server” message. To update a self-hosted server, download the new ZIP and replace the server files. The ZIP comes with a default server.properties, so set your copy aside before you extract over it. On WinterNode, see Updating Minecraft Bedrock Edition.

Backups. Nothing backs up a self-hosted world unless you set it up. Each world is a folder inside worlds/; copy it while the server is stopped. Our Bedrock backup guide lists every folder and file worth keeping.

Existing worlds. Copy the world folder into worlds/, then set level-name to match the folder name exactly, including capitalization. Our world import guide walks through it on a hosted server, or our support team can import it for you.

Self-Hosting vs a Game Host

Either way, you’re running the same BDS software with the same settings files. What changes is who owns the machine, the network, and the upkeep.

	Self-host	Game host
Software cost	Free	Monthly fee
Hardware	Your PC or server on a supported OS, left on whenever people want to play	The provider’s hardware, online 24/7
Networking	Firewall rules, UDP port forwarding, and your home IP shared with players	IP and port assigned for you
Updates	Download and swap files yourself every release	Usually a panel button
Backups	Yours to script and store	Usually automatic, plus manual options
When it breaks	Docs and forums	The provider’s support team

Self-host if you have a spare machine on a supported version of Windows or Ubuntu, you mostly play on the same home network, you’re comfortable forwarding a port, and the world only needs to be up when you are. It costs nothing, and you’ll learn exactly how the server works.

Use a game host if the world should stay up while your PC is off, you’d rather not open ports or hand out your home IP, or you want updates and backups handled for you.

Running Bedrock on WinterNode

WinterNode runs the official Bedrock Edition server software on the same hardware and $1.99/GB pricing as our Java plans, with no hard CPU caps and NVMe storage. The configurator recommends 4GB for Bedrock. What you get:

• The same panel and file manager as our Java plans, with add-on support (behavior and resource packs)
• An optional Dedicated IP, so players can use the standard 19132 port. Without one, players enter your assigned port. Bedrock doesn’t support SRV records, so a domain alone won’t hide the port
• Automatic snapshots of the whole server, starting between 2 and 3 AM and between 2 and 3 PM CT and kept for 45 days
• Real humans on support, with replies in about an hour on average

Once the server is live, connecting to your Bedrock server covers how to share the address.

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If you’d rather not leave a PC running with a port open, WinterNode runs the same official software at $1.99/GB, and your first eligible game server comes with a 48-hour refund window. Get your Bedrock server →