How to join a Minecraft server
Copy an address, open your game, add the server. The exact steps depend on which Minecraft you have, so pick yours below.
Java Edition
Steps
- 1Copy the address
Open the server's listing and click its address. It is a button - one click puts it on your clipboard.
- 2Open Multiplayer
Start Minecraft: Java Edition and click Multiplayer on the main menu.
- 3Add the server
Click Add Server. Any name will do. Paste the address into the Server Address box.
- 4Join
Click Done, then double-click the server in the list.
Common questions
Do I need to type a port?
Only when the listing shows one. Most Java servers run on 25565 and leave it off, so play.example.com is the whole address. If a listing shows play.example.com:25566, paste all of it, colon included.
It says "Failed to connect" or "Connection refused".
The server is down, or the address has a typo. Check the status dot on its listing first - if we could not reach it either, it is not your client.
It says "Outdated client" or "Outdated server".
Your launcher profile is on a different Minecraft version than the server accepts. The listing shows the version it runs; change the profile in the launcher to match.
Do I need a paid account?
For most servers, yes - they run in online mode and check your Microsoft account. Servers that do not are marked as cracked (offline mode) on their listing, and you can filter for them.
Can I play with a friend who is on a phone?
Only if the server runs a bridge such as Geyser. Those listings publish a Bedrock address as well, and that is the one the phone needs.
Bedrock Edition
Steps
- 1Copy the address
Bedrock listings show the host and the port separately, because the client asks for them in two fields.
- 2Open the Servers tab
Open Minecraft, tap Play, then the Servers tab.
- 3Add the server
Scroll to the bottom of the list and tap Add Server. Enter any name, then the address, then the port.
- 4Join
Save, then tap the server to join.
Common questions
Why is the port its own field?
Bedrock's Add Server form has separate Server Address and Port boxes and will not accept host:port in the first one. The default is 19132, and a listing showing something else means that is what you type.
What about Xbox, PlayStation or Switch?
Those editions do not let you type in a custom server. Players normally join from a phone or a PC on the same account, or through a friend already in the world. The routes around it change often and some break the platform's own rules, so ask on the server's Discord rather than taking our word for it.
It says "Unable to connect to world".
Nearly always the port, then the server being down. Re-check the port field, then the listing's status.
Is Bedrock the same as Pocket Edition?
Yes. Pocket Edition was renamed. Phone, tablet, the Microsoft Store version on Windows and the consoles all run Bedrock.
Eaglercraft
Steps
- 1Open the client page
Eaglercraft runs in a browser tab. Open the client page the listing links to - nothing installs and there is no launcher.
- 2Pick a username
There is no account to sign in to. Type the name you want other players to see.
- 3Add the server
Open Multiplayer, click Add Server and paste the wss:// address from the listing. Some client pages already have their own server in the list.
- 4Join
Save, then click the server to join.
Common questions
What is Eaglercraft?
A build of Minecraft that runs in a browser, usually based on 1.5.2 or 1.8.8. It reaches an ordinary Minecraft server through a WebSocket bridge, so browser players can share a world with Java players.
Do I need to own Minecraft?
No, and there is no account check - you type a username when you join. That also means nobody can prove who you are, which is why most Eaglercraft servers run their own staff and their own rules.
Do you host a client?
No. We link to the operator's own page. The client is theirs to distribute, and putting someone else's software on our domain is not ours to do.
The address starts with wss://. Is that right?
Yes. It is a secure WebSocket - the browser's version of the host:port a Java client uses. A ws:// address without the s will not work from a secure page, because browsers block it.
It loads and then hangs.
Usually the bridge is down or its certificate has expired. The listing says whether we could reach the socket at the last check.
Anything, any edition
Where is the address?
On the listing. Click it to copy it. A listing with more than one address opens a small panel with each of them.
This listing shows no address.
Its owner asked us not to publish one. Those servers take applications instead, and the listing links to the form.
It shows an invite instead of an address.
That is a Realm. Realms are joined from an invite link, not from an address.