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How to open a Minecraft server on a Linux server to friends

Install proximamp on the server and open the Minecraft port with one command: friends connect to the address from its first line. You need no public IP and no port forwarding, and the proximamp service keeps that address after a reboot.

Open the server​

  1. Install proximamp (other ways). On RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux, install the program from dnf instead of the command below: there sudo doesn't find the program the script installs.

    curl -fsSL https://s3.proximamp.com/cli/install.sh | sh

  2. Sign in with your phone:

    proximamp login --remote

    Point your phone's camera at the QR code, sign in to your ProximaMP account and approve with the code from the server's screen. When the server asks whether to sign in to that account, type yes (signing in on a server).

  3. Start the Minecraft server and open its port. Java Edition:

    proximamp tcp 25565

    Bedrock:

    proximamp udp 19132

  4. Send friends the address from the first line, for example 203.0.113.10:41234. In Java Edition they paste it whole, port included; for Bedrock, see the Bedrock guide.

While the server's online mode is on (online-mode=true in server.properties), it lets in only players who bought Minecraft: why you shouldn't turn it off.

To keep the server open​

The tunnel from step 3 closes with the command. To have it open with the server on the same address, install the service:

  1. Stop the tunnel with Ctrl+C: the address stays yours for a while (how long).

  2. Create a proximamp.yml file:

    tunnels:
      minecraft:
        type: tcp
        port: 25565
        address: 203.0.113.10:41234   # the address from the first line of proximamp tcp 25565
        # Bedrock: type: udp, port: 19132

  3. Install the service and enter your ProximaMP login and password:

    sudo proximamp service install -c proximamp.yml

    If the account has no password (you signed in through VK ID or Yandex ID), set one in the app (ways to sign in) or with the command below on a computer with a browser: on a server without one it can't finish. Or connect the service with a device key as the page "The proximamp service: tunnels that survive a reboot" shows.

    proximamp password set

Check​

Reboot the server and ask a friend to join on the same address. If that doesn't work, look at the service's state:

sudo proximamp service status

The service should be running, and the tunnel should have your address. Then open "Friends can't connect".