Minecraft Server Port 25565: How to Open It and Set Up Port Forwarding

Applies to: Minecraft: Java Edition 26.3 server (TCP 25565) and Bedrock Dedicated Server 1.26 (TCP 19132 plus UDP); tested on AlmaLinux 9

Players reach a Minecraft server through a network port. If the port is closed by a firewall or not forwarded by your router, the server runs fine but nobody from outside can join.

The default ports

• Java Edition: TCP 25565 (server-port in server.properties).
• Bedrock Edition (Bedrock Dedicated Server 1.26): TCP 19132 for the connection, plus UDP ports for game traffic. Current versions use the new NetherNet transport by default (transport=nethernet in server.properties); set a fixed UDP range with server-udp-ports, for example server-udp-ports=49152-49200, and open that range too. Older versions (transport=raknet) used UDP 19132 for IPv4 and 19133 for IPv6.
• Query (only if enable-query=true): UDP on query.port, 25565 by default.
• RCON (remote console): TCP 25575. Don’t open this one to the internet.

1. Check that the server is listening

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 25565

On our test server this showed LISTEN ... *:25565 ... users:(("java",...)). If nothing is listed, the server isn’t running or uses another port.

2. Open the firewall on the server

# AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux (firewalld)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=25565/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Ubuntu, Debian (ufw)
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp

# Bedrock 1.26: open 19132/tcp and your server-udp-ports range, for example 49152-49200/udp

On Windows, allow Java when Windows Defender Firewall asks, or add a rule in PowerShell (as administrator):

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Minecraft" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 25565 -Action Allow

3. Test from outside

nc -zv SERVER-IP 25565

From our own computer this printed Connection to ... port 25565 succeeded!, and the multiplayer list showed the server with version 26.3. Test from a different network than the server’s (for a home server, use mobile data).

4. Port forwarding (server at home)

1. Give the computer running the server a fixed local IP address (a DHCP reservation in your router).
2. In your router’s admin page, open Port Forwarding (sometimes Virtual Server or NAT).
3. Forward TCP 25565 (Bedrock 1.26: TCP 19132 and your UDP range) to that local IP address.
4. Give players your public IP address.

If the WAN address shown in your router differs from your public IP, your provider uses carrier-grade NAT, and port forwarding can’t work. Hosting at home also shows your home IP address to every player.

On a VPS

There is no router to configure: open the port in the server’s firewall and players connect to the VPS IP address. To use a name such as play.example.com, or a port other than 25565 without players typing it, add an SRV record: SRV records for Minecraft.

Change the port

Set server-port=25570 in server.properties, restart the server, open the new port in the firewall, and connect with SERVER-IP:25570 (or use an SRV record).

Setting up a server: make a Minecraft server on Linux. Our Minecraft VPS runs Java or Bedrock with DDoS protection, which a home connection doesn’t have.