Minecraft Bedrock Edition is the version played on Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS and Android — with cross-play between all of them. Mojang provides an official Bedrock Dedicated Server for Linux, and it runs well on a small VPS.

Bedrock vs Java servers

Bedrock Dedicated Server Java Edition server
Players on Windows, consoles, mobile PC (Java) only
Language Native (C++) Java
RAM needs Low — 1–2 GB for small groups Higher — 2–4 GB+
Default port 19132/UDP 25565/TCP
Plugins/mods Behavior & resource packs (add-ons) Large plugin/mod ecosystem

Requirements

  • Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 (64-bit) VPS
  • 2 vCPU and 2–4 GB RAM for up to ~10–20 players; more for large worlds and view distances
  • A location close to your players — check the ping to the test IPs on our USA, Hong Kong and Japan VPS pages

1. Prepare the server

apt update && apt install -y unzip curl libcurl4
adduser --system --group --home /opt/bedrock bedrock

2. Download the server

Go to the official Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server download page, accept the EULA and privacy policy, and copy the Ubuntu download link. Then:

cd /opt/bedrock
curl -L -o bedrock-server.zip "PASTE_THE_OFFICIAL_LINK_HERE"
unzip bedrock-server.zip && rm bedrock-server.zip
chown -R bedrock: /opt/bedrock

Only download the server from the official site.

3. Configure server.properties

Key settings in /opt/bedrock/server.properties:

server-name=My Bedrock Server
gamemode=survival
difficulty=normal
max-players=20
online-mode=true
allow-list=true
server-port=19132
server-portv6=19133
view-distance=16
tick-distance=4
level-name=world
  • online-mode=true requires Xbox Live accounts — keep it on.
  • allow-list=true lets only approved players join.
  • Lower view-distance and tick-distance if the server struggles.

4. Open the firewall

ufw allow 19132/udp
ufw allow 19133/udp     # only if you use IPv6

5. Run it with systemd

/etc/systemd/system/bedrock.service:

[Unit]
Description=Minecraft Bedrock Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=bedrock
WorkingDirectory=/opt/bedrock
Environment=LD_LIBRARY_PATH=.
ExecStart=/opt/bedrock/bedrock_server
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable --now bedrock
journalctl -u bedrock -f        # look for "Server started"

If you want to type console commands (op, allowlist, say), run the server inside tmux or screen instead of a plain systemd service, or use a management tool such as a Bedrock server manager script.

6. Add players

Edit allowlist.json (the server also writes it when you use the allowlist add console command):

[
  { "name": "PlayerGamertag", "ignoresPlayerLimit": false }
]

Grant operator rights in permissions.json using the player’s XUID (shown in the log when they join), then restart.

7. Connect

In Minecraft: Play → Servers → Add Server, enter your VPS IP and port 19132. Consoles can’t add custom servers directly in all cases; players there commonly use a DNS-based workaround or a friend-list relay — check current community guides for your platform.

8. Back up the world

Copying world files while the server is writing can corrupt them. Use the built-in save hold / save query / save resume commands, or stop the server briefly:

systemctl stop bedrock
tar czf /var/backups/bedrock-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /opt/bedrock worlds allowlist.json permissions.json server.properties
systemctl start bedrock

Schedule it nightly and copy backups off-server — see automated VPS backups.

9. Update

Bedrock clients update automatically, and players can’t join an older server. When a new version is released:

systemctl stop bedrock
cp -a /opt/bedrock /opt/bedrock-backup-$(date +%F)
# download the new zip, then extract it WITHOUT overwriting your config and worlds:
unzip -o new-server.zip -x 'server.properties' 'allowlist.json' 'permissions.json' 'worlds/*' -d /opt/bedrock
chown -R bedrock: /opt/bedrock
systemctl start bedrock

Performance tips

  • Pre-generate or limit world size with a world border.
  • Reduce view-distance before adding RAM.
  • Avoid huge redstone or mob farms on small servers.

More on choosing a server: VPS for game server hosting and our Game Server VPS page.

  • Minecraft
  • Game Servers
  • Ubuntu