Minecraft: connect to and set up your server

Here's how to connect to your Minecraft server (Paper, Java Edition) and adjust the most important settings.

Connecting

Open the server page in the client area and click Start.
Wait until the status shows “running”. You can follow the progress in the Console tab.
Copy the address (IP:Port) at the top of the server page.
In Minecraft (Java Edition), choose Multiplayer → Add Server, enter the address and join.

Important settings

In the Startup variables tab:

Minecraft version (MINECRAFT_VERSION) – the version to load; latest for the newest.
Build number (BUILD_NUMBER) – Paper build; latest for the newest.
Server JAR file (SERVER_JARFILE) – name of the JAR file the server starts with.

You set the server name (MOTD), player count, game mode and other game rules in the file server.properties in the Files tab. Changes in the Startup variables tab take effect on the next restart.

Good to know

You can install other versions, server software (e.g. Purpur, Fabric, Forge), plugins and modpacks with one click in the Installer tab – more on this in the article “Minecraft: install plugins, mods and modpacks”.
The Minecraft version in the game must match the server version.