Want to link multiple Minecraft servers (such as a lobby, a survival server, and a minigame server) into one network where players can seamlessly switch between them? This can be done with a proxy such as Velocity or BungeeCord.

Velocity or BungeeCord?

We recommend Velocity for new networks: it is faster, more modern, and actively maintained. BungeeCord is still used because of older plugins that don't support Velocity.

Step 1. Set up a separate proxy server

See our article How Do I Install Velocity on My Minecraft Server? for installing Velocity.

Step 2. Put your existing servers behind the proxy

1. On each backend server (for example your lobby and survival server), open the server.properties file.
2. Set online-mode to false on these servers, because the proxy handles player authentication.
3. Note down the internal IP and port of each server.

Step 3. Link the servers in the proxy configuration

1. On the proxy server, open the configuration file (velocity.toml for Velocity, config.yml for BungeeCord).
2. Add each backend server with a name and the internal address.
3. Set which server players first arrive on (usually the lobby).

Note: Never set online-mode to false on a server that is directly reachable (without a proxy) by players, this makes the server unsafe for name spoofing.

Troubleshooting

• Players don't get through the proxy: check whether the backend servers have online-mode: false and whether the addresses in the proxy configuration are correct.
• "Modern forwarding" error: check whether the forwarding secret/mode matches on both the proxy and the backend server(s) (especially relevant with Velocity).

Still stuck, or would you like help setting up your network? Feel free to reach out via Discord or create a support ticket.