How to let Bedrock players join your Java server with Geyser

Java Edition and Bedrock Edition are different games, so Bedrock players cannot normally join a Java server. Geyser is a plugin that translates between them. Floodgate goes with it, so Bedrock players can join without owning a Java account. Together they let friends on Windows, phones and tablets join the same Java world as players on a computer with Java Edition.

The panel sets both up for you with one button. This guide covers that button, how Bedrock players connect, and what to do by hand when the button is not offered.

What works and what does not

• Bedrock players join the same world as Java players and chat with them.
• Geyser cannot translate what most mods add, such as new blocks and items. Geyser's supported-versions page says that Geyser emulates a Java client of one particular version, 26.2 at the time of writing, so your Java server must accept players on that version. Bedrock players cannot install Java mods, so a server whose content comes from mods is not a good fit.
• Geyser does not turn Java resource packs into Bedrock ones.
• Bedrock players use Bedrock controls, so some details of play differ from Java.

Geyser's own page lists the Java and Bedrock versions it supports at the moment. See geysermc.org. New Minecraft versions can arrive before Geyser supports them.

Turn on crossplay in the panel

The button is on a Java server that runs Paper, Purpur, Spigot, Folia, Magma, Ketting, Velocity, BungeeCord or Waterfall. It is not offered for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt, Vanilla, Sponge, Mohist, Custom Jar, modpack or Bedrock servers. For those, open a ticket and tell us what you want to do.

1. Open your server in the panel and click Ports & Network in the left menu.
2. Find the Bedrock crossplay card. If it says the server cannot bridge, it gives the reason, such as the Minecraft version being too new for any Geyser release, or an older Java than Geyser needs. Follow the reason it gives.
3. Click Enable crossplay. You need permission to create files and to create ports. If you are an invited helper without both, ask the owner.
4. The panel installs Geyser and Floodgate in the plugins folder, adds a second port to your server for Bedrock traffic, and tells Geyser to use it. The card then shows Bedrock players connect to with an address and port, and a copy button. It shows this only until you reload the page. Afterwards the card says only that crossplay is set up, so copy the address now. You can always find the port again in the All ports list lower on Ports & Network: the extra port there is the Bedrock one, and the host name is the same as in your Java Server Address.
5. Restart the server. The card reminds you that crossplay is not finished until then.
6. Give your Bedrock players that address and port. The first part is the address and the number after the colon is the port.

Bedrock traffic is separate from Java traffic, so Bedrock players use the Bedrock address and port, not the Java Server Address from the Overview page. They have the same host name and a different port. Your Java players keep using the Server Address.

How Bedrock players join

Players on Windows, phones and tablets:

1. Start Minecraft Bedrock Edition, choose Play, then the Servers tab and Add Server.
2. Type any name in Server Name.
3. Put the address (everything before the colon) in Server Address and the number after the colon in Port.
4. Save, select the server and join.

See How to join your Minecraft server for the version rules. Players on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch cannot add an outside server by address. The Minecraft Wiki says they can only join through a custom DNS or a local network connection, so a console player needs one of those.

Bedrock players sign in with their own Microsoft account. Keep Online mode on in Settings, Server Properties (Java). See Minecraft server properties explained. Floodgate handles the Bedrock sign-in, so you do not need to turn Online mode off.

Names, whitelist and commands

Floodgate puts a prefix in front of each Bedrock player's name so it cannot clash with a Java player's name. Its default configuration file sets the prefix to a dot, for example .Steve, and replaces spaces in names with underscores. Both can be changed in Floodgate's config.yml.

• To whitelist a Bedrock player, type fwhitelist add Name in the Console, with no slash. Floodgate's documentation says you do not need to include the prefix, and that you can give the player's UUID instead. fwhitelist remove Name removes them. See How to set up a whitelist and ban players.
• In commands that name a Bedrock player, use the name as the game shows it, with the prefix.

Keep Floodgate's key private

Floodgate makes a file called key.pem in its own folder inside plugins. Floodgate's documentation says this key lets Bedrock accounts skip the Java sign-in, and anyone who gets it can do serious harm to your server. Do not share it, do not post it in a ticket and do not leave it in a backup you pass to other people.

If you cannot use the button

You can do the same by hand on Paper, Purpur or Spigot:

1. In Modding, then Plugins, install Geyser and Floodgate, or upload their jars to the plugins folder. Get them from Geyser's official downloads. See How to install plugins on Paper, Spigot and Purpur.
2. On Ports & Network, use Add a port if your plan allows another. You cannot choose the number. See How to find and change your server's ports and IP address.
3. Start the server once so Geyser creates its settings. In Files, open plugins, then the Geyser folder (called Geyser-Spigot on these server types), and edit config.yml. Set the port under bedrock to the new port number. Geyser's default is 19132, and it uses UDP only.
4. Restart the server and give Bedrock players the address and the new port.

Other plugins that use UDP, such as voice chat or query, cannot share Geyser's port. Geyser's documentation says the same.

For a proxy network, Geyser and Floodgate go on the proxy. Floodgate's setup page adds one step if you also put Floodgate on the backend servers: set send-floodgate-data to true in the Floodgate configuration on the proxy, and copy key.pem from the proxy's Floodgate folder to each backend's Floodgate folder. Treat that key as the secret it is, as described above. See How to build a Minecraft network with Velocity or BungeeCord.

If Bedrock players cannot connect

If none of that works, open a ticket with the server name and the last lines of the Console. See How to open a support ticket.