Set up a Minecraft Bedrock Edition server

Minecraft Bedrock Edition runs on phones, tablets, consoles and Windows, and the game's publisher publishes an official dedicated server for Linux. This guide installs that server on your VPS, opens the one network port players need, and keeps the server running after you log out.

Before you begin

• An Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VPS with a 64-bit x86 processor. A plan with 2 GB of RAM is comfortable for a small group of players.
• SSH access as a regular user with sudo rights, such as alex. Avoid working as root day to day.
• A web browser, so you can open the official Bedrock Dedicated Server page on minecraft.net.
• A Microsoft account that owns Minecraft for Bedrock. With online mode on, every player signs in with an account of their own.

Step 1: Check the system and install tools

First confirm the processor type. The official Linux server only runs on x86_64, so the command should print exactly that word. Then refresh the package list and install the helpers this guide uses: unzip opens the server archive, curl downloads it, the libcurl and OpenSSL libraries are loaded by the server, and tmux keeps the server alive after you disconnect.

uname -m
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y unzip curl libcurl4t64 openssl tmux

x86_64

Step 2: Download the official server

Open the Bedrock Dedicated Server page on minecraft.net and choose the Linux download. Right-click the download button, copy the link address, and paste it in place of the placeholder. The publisher's own link keeps you away from modified builds.

mkdir -p ~/minecraft-bedrock
cd ~/minecraft-bedrock
curl -fL -o bedrock-server.zip "PASTE_OFFICIAL_LINK_HERE"
unzip -q bedrock-server.zip
ls

curl -fL stops on errors and follows redirects, -o names the saved file, unzip -q extracts quietly, and ls lists what you got.

bedrock-server.zip  bedrock_server  server.properties  worlds

Step 3: Read and accept the license terms

Bedrock does not use the eula.txt file that Java Edition uses. The terms are the Minecraft End User License Agreement and Usage Guidelines, linked from the download page. Read them before you run the server, because running it means you agree to them.

Step 4: Configure the server

The file server.properties holds the settings. Open it in nano, a simple terminal editor. Keep online-mode set to true. That requires each player to sign in with a real account, which stops strangers from joining under someone else's name. Adjust the name, game mode and player limit to suit your group.

nano ~/minecraft-bedrock/server.properties

Use the arrow keys to move, press Ctrl+O then Enter to save, and press Ctrl+X to exit. A reasonable starting point looks like this:

server-name=Example Server
gamemode=survival
max-players=10
online-mode=true
server-port=19132

Step 5: Open the firewall

Bedrock listens on UDP port 19132. The firewall, ufw, blocks everything that is not allowed. Allow SSH first so you do not lock yourself out, then allow the game port, then turn the firewall on and check the result.

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 19132/udp
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
19132/udp                  ALLOW       Anywhere

Step 6: Start the server inside tmux

A tmux session keeps running when your SSH connection drops. Start a session named mc, then launch the server from its folder. The LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. part tells the program to load the libraries stored next to it.

cd ~/minecraft-bedrock
tmux new -s mc
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ./bedrock_server

Wait for a line confirming that the server has started. To leave it running, press Ctrl+B and then D to detach. Reconnect at any time with tmux attach -t mc. To stop the server cleanly, attach to the session and type stop at the console.

Step 7: Connect from the game

In Minecraft Bedrock, add a server from the server list and enter the address and port. Replace the documentation address below with your VPS's real IP address.

Server address: 203.0.113.10
Port: 19132

Each player must sign in with the Microsoft account they use for Minecraft. Java Edition clients cannot join a Bedrock server.

Troubleshooting

• Permission denied when starting: run chmod +x bedrock_server inside the server folder, then start it again.
• Error about a missing shared library, such as libcurl: install libcurl4t64 with apt and try again.
• Players time out: confirm sudo ufw status lists 19132/udp, and check that something is listening with sudo ss -ulpn | grep 19132.
• Authentication errors when joining: the player must sign in with the same Microsoft account that owns Minecraft.

Next steps

Consider an allowlist so only named players get in, and back up the worlds folder regularly with the rsync and cron guides.