SpawnLoft
Get SpawnLoft ↗
SPAWNLOFT / GET STARTED

From download
to running server.

SpawnLoft runs Minecraft Java Edition servers on your own computer. Pick your platform, install it, and start a world. Most people are playing inside ten minutes.

v1.4.0 · FREE DESKTOP APP
Windows10 / 11 · x64macOSApple SiliconmacOSIntelLinuxUbuntu / Debian · x64

Other Linux: Ubuntu / Debian · arm64 · Fedora / RHEL · x64 · Fedora / RHEL · arm64 · command line only, for a server

Signed Windows and Mac installers · macOS 13+ · Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora, RHEL 9 · MIT licence
Managed MySQL needs macOS 15+ on Mac and x64 on Linux. Minecraft needs Java.First time here? Read the setup guide →
THE WHOLE PROCESS

Three steps. That’s it.

The detailed setup guide
  1. 01

    Install SpawnLoft.

    Run the installer for your system. On first launch it looks for Java and tells you plainly if the version you have will not run the Minecraft you want.

    Takes a minute or two. No account, nothing to sign up for.
  2. 02

    Add a server.

    Choose Add a server, pick the software and Minecraft version, and the jar downloads with real progress. Already run a server? Point SpawnLoft at its folder instead — nothing is moved or rewritten, and its ports and RCON password are read from its own server.properties.

    Paper, Purpur, Fabric, NeoForge, vanilla, or a whole Modrinth modpack.
  3. 03

    Press Start.

    Watch the console until it prints Done. Type list to see who is on. Open Plugins and install something. Take a backup while you are there, so the next experiment has a way back.

    Your world is now live on your own machine.
BEFORE YOU START

One thing we can’t install for you.

Minecraft servers are Java programs, so Java is separate on every platform. SpawnLoft checks for it on first run, searches your PATH and the usual install folders, and picks the newest installed Java that fits each server. It refuses a version nothing on your machine can run before downloading anything, and links the one you need.

Temurin 25 is a good default
WHICH JAVA YOUR MINECRAFT WANTS
MinecraftNeeds
1.18 – 1.20.4Java 17
1.20.5 – 1.21.xJava 21
26.xJava 25

Use a JDK rather than a JRE if you want Spigot or CraftBukkit built on your machine. Full requirements →

PICK YOUR SYSTEM

Installing, platform by platform.

Open the one that’s yours. Each includes the part people trip over.

Windows10 or 11 · x64
  1. Run the .exe installer. It installs per user, so there is no administrator prompt.
  2. Installers are signed through Microsoft Azure Artifact Signing.
macOS13 or later
  1. Check Apple menu → About This Mac, then take the Apple Silicon DMG for an M-series chip or the Intel one otherwise.
  2. Open the DMG and drag SpawnLoft into Applications. Both builds are Developer ID signed, hardened, Apple-notarized and stapled.
Linux.deb or .rpm · x64 or arm64
  1. sudo apt install ./SpawnLoft-<version>-linux-amd64.deb on Ubuntu 22.04+ and Debian 12+.
  2. sudo dnf install ./SpawnLoft-<version>-linux-x86_64.rpm on Fedora, the RHEL family and openSUSE.
  3. Open SpawnLoft from the applications menu, or run spawnloft-desktop. spawnloft is the command line.

Running a server with no screen? There’s a command-line-only Linux package, about 30 MB, with its own runtime. Set that up instead →

SO THERE ARE NO SURPRISES

Your machine stays your machine.

SpawnLoft does not open a port, create an account, or put your server on the internet by itself. Friends on your own network connect to your local address. Anyone further away needs a port forward or a tunnel that you choose to set up — and because the server runs here, your world is offline when your computer is.

ONCE IT’S RUNNING

Good next moves.

Let friends inHow people actually connect, and what to switch on first.Install pluginsSearch Modrinth and Hangar, install, and keep things updated.Set up backupsSchedule them, verify them, and know how to restore one.Try things safelyClone your server into a copy and break that one instead.
IF IT DOESN’T GO SMOOTHLY

Something not working?

Most first-run problems are Java, a port already in use, or SmartScreen. All three have a page.