How to Make a Private Minecraft Server for Friends

Last checked: 7 October 2026

To make a Minecraft: Java Edition server private, lock three things. Who can join: turn on the whitelist with /whitelist on and add each friend with /whitelist add <name> (since Java Edition 26.3 a new server starts with white-list=true). Who they really are: keep online-mode=true, so nobody can join under a friend’s name. Who knows the address: share it in a private chat, never in a public post or server list. Then pick where it runs: LAN if everyone is on the same home network, Realms if you want Mojang’s invite-only server at $7.99 a month, or a free host or your own PC if your friends live elsewhere. On a free host or your own PC, anyone who has the address can reach the server, so the whitelist is the lock that matters.

1. What makes a server private

The whitelist decides who can join. With it on, players not on the list cannot connect. Operators can always connect.
Online mode checks every player against Mojang’s account servers, so a name on the whitelist really is that friend.
The address decides who can even try. Keep it in a private chat.

The first two are settings; the third is a habit. A server with all three is private in practice: strangers who find the address are turned away at the door.

2. Turn on the whitelist

Open the console, or join as an operator. To make yourself one, type op <your name> in the server console.
Turn it on: /whitelist on. This sets white-list=true in server.properties.
Add each friend: /whitelist add <name>. They do not need to be online.
Kick people you remove: set enforce-whitelist=true in server.properties, so a player you take off the list is kicked when the whitelist reloads instead of staying until they leave.
Check it: /whitelist list.

Every command, whitelist.json and removing players are in the guide to whitelisting friends.

3. Keep online-mode on

online-mode=true is the default. It makes the server ask Mojang’s account servers whether each player is who they say they are. Turn it off and the server checks nothing: a whitelist then only checks names, and anyone can type any name into a launcher. Aternos’s help center says the same about “cracked” servers: an attacker only needs to change their launcher name to yours to get past the whitelist. Leave it on.

4. Keep the address private

Share the address in a direct message or a private Discord channel, not a public channel, a forum post, a video or a stream.
If the server runs on your own PC, the address is your home’s internet address. That is another reason not to post it.
enable-status=false makes the server show as offline in the multiplayer list while it still accepts connections. hide-online-players=true stops it sending the list of who is on.
Some hosts let anyone with the address start a sleeping server: FalixNodes’ Start Server tool needs no account, only the address. Minehut has public server lists, and its help center links to a separate article on turning off your server’s visibility on them.

Addresses get passed on. Treat the whitelist as the lock and the private address as the curtain.

5. LAN, your own PC, Realms or a host

Option	Who can reach it	What keeps it private	Cost	When the owner is offline
Open to LAN	Only the same home network	Being local	Free	The world closes when the host quits
Your PC with port forwarding or a tunnel	Anyone with the address	Whitelist and online mode	Free, plus your power and upload speed	Off when your PC is off
Realms for Java	Only players the owner invites	The invite list	$7.99 a month, you + 10 players	Friends can play
Free host (Aternos, Minehut, FalixNodes)	Anyone with the address	Whitelist and online mode	Free, with limits	Sleeps or stops when empty
Shulkerboxes	Only players on the owner’s list	The player list	Free	Friends can join and wake it

LAN is the most private and the least useful: it only works when everyone is on the same network. For friends in other houses, choose between Realms, a host and your own PC.

6. How private is Realms?

Realms is private by design. minecraft.net calls it a secure and private server, and only players the owner lets in can join. On Java the owner invites friends by name, and the invite appears on the friend’s Realms screen. The owner can remove members at any time.

Since 26.3, Java Realms owners can also create invite codes that a friend types into the Join Realm screen. A code works like an address: anyone who has it can join while it is active. The Minecraft Wiki says invite links expire after 7 days by default and a Realm keeps at most 5. Share them as carefully as you would an address.

The trade-offs are the price ($7.99 a month for you plus 10 players at once), no mods or plugins, and the latest version only. The guide Is Minecraft Realms worth it? goes through them.

7. Private servers on free hosts

Aternos. Turn the whitelist on in Options, then add players by name in Players. For Bedrock players joining through Geyser, add their name with the Geyser prefix.
Minehut. Use /whitelist on and /whitelist add; in the Live Console on the dashboard, type them without the slash. Turn off visibility on Minehut’s server lists too.
FalixNodes. Anyone with the address can wake a free server, so turn on the whitelist before you share it.

8. A private server on Shulkerboxes

On Shulkerboxes you do not type whitelist commands: a new server lets in only players on your list, and you add friends by username on the server page. Friends you add can join while you are offline, and their joining wakes the server.

Where Shulkerboxes fits (and doesn't)

Shulkerboxes suits a friend group that wants a private Java Edition server without setting up a whitelist or forwarding ports; it does not suit a public server for strangers, or a group that needs mods.

Shulkerboxes is free Minecraft: Java Edition hosting for a friend group, with no ads, no credit card and no port forwarding. A new server lets in only the players on the owner’s list, it sleeps when empty and wakes up when a friend joins, ready in about a minute, and friends can join while the owner is offline. It is invite-only with a waitlist and open in the US, Spain, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. It is free because gameplay is recorded and de-identified into AI training datasets, and chat is recorded only if you opt in (full explanation). Servers run Paper with built-in homes and /tpa, and your saved world is yours to download. Modpacks and custom plugins are not supported, and Bedrock players cannot join, so if your group needs those, pick a host that supports them.

Have an invite code? Enter it on the home page. No invite yet? Join the waitlist and we will save you a spot.

How to whitelist friends: every command and whitelist.json.
Running a server for your Discord friends: operators, backups and sharing the address.
Playing without port forwarding: tunnels, Realms and hosts.
Server rules for friends: what the game can enforce.

FAQ

How do I make my Minecraft server private?

Turn on the whitelist with /whitelist on, add each friend with /whitelist add <name>, keep online-mode=true in server.properties, and share the address only in a private chat. Since Java Edition 26.3, a new server starts with the whitelist on.

Can people join my server without being whitelisted?

Not while the whitelist is on: players not on the list cannot connect, except operators. With the whitelist off, anyone who has the address and a Java Edition account can join.

Is a LAN world private?

A LAN world can be joined only from the same local network, such as your home Wi-Fi, so it is closed to the internet but open to anyone on that network. It closes when the host leaves the world.

Is Realms private?

Yes. On Java, only players the owner invites by name can join, and the owner can remove them at any time. Since 26.3 the owner can also create invite codes; anyone with an active code can join, so share codes as carefully as an address.

Should I turn off online-mode?

No. With online-mode=false the server checks no accounts, so anyone can join under your name or a friend's and get past the whitelist. Aternos's help center gives the same warning about cracked servers.

How do I hide my server from the server list?

In server.properties, enable-status=false makes the server show as offline in the multiplayer list while it still accepts connections, and hide-online-players=true stops it showing who is on. On Minehut, also turn off your server's visibility on its server lists.

Can my friends invite other people?

They can pass on the address, but on a whitelisted server the new player still cannot join until an operator adds them. On a Java Realm, invites by name come from the owner.

Sources

Minecraft Wiki, server.properties (view-distance and simulation-distance 3 to 32, default 10; white-list, true by default since 26.3; enforce-whitelist; online-mode; enable-status; hide-online-players; operators are whitelisted automatically), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Server.properties
Minecraft Wiki, /whitelist (on, off, add, remove, list; permission level 3; the player need not be online), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Commands/whitelist
Minecraft Wiki, Multiplayer (Open to LAN works on the local network), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Multiplayer
Realms plans on minecraft.net (Realms for Java $7.99 USD a month, you + 10 players at once; Bedrock Realms $3.99 USD a month, you + 2; Realms Plus $7.99 USD a month, you + 10 with Marketplace Pass; 10,000 invited friends; friends play free, even when you are not online; three world slots; free backups; Java cross-play on Windows, Mac and Linux; 1 month trial for new subscribers that renews automatically), checked 7 October 2026: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms
Minecraft Wiki, Realms (Java owners invite players by name; invite codes added in 26.3; invite links expire after 7 days by default; owner can remove members; mods and plugins cannot be installed; no experimental settings; latest version only; kicked after 15 minutes of inactivity; render and simulation distance sliders added in 26.3; automatic backups every few hours while players are online; one-time 30, 90 and 180-day packages; region choice), checked 7 October 2026: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Realms
Aternos help center, "Using a whitelist/allowlist" (enable in Options, add in Players; Geyser prefix; on cracked servers an attacker can change their launcher name to bypass the whitelist), read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 4 October 2025, fetched 7 October 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20251004004242/https://support.aternos.org/hc/en-us/articles/5084744513565-Using-a-whitelist-allowlist
Minehut help center, "How do I whitelist my server?" (four commands; no slash in the Live Console; link to turning off visibility on its server lists), read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 14 July 2025 (the live page refused our fetch), fetched 7 October 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20250714081921/https://support.minehut.com/hc/en-us/articles/27126280341779-How-do-I-whitelist-my-server
Minehut server plans (Starter: free, 10 max players, 1 GB total RAM, Basic CPU, sleeps when empty; Standard 2 GB for 600 credits a month; "get discovered"), checked 7 October 2026: https://www.minehut.com/server-plans
FalixNodes free plan (no slot cap; free servers sleep after inactivity and anyone with the IP can wake one with the Start Server tool, no account needed; no RAM figure for the free plan; premium gives more RAM and a stronger CPU slice), read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 26 September 2026 (the live page refused our fetch), fetched 7 October 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20260926173253/https://falixnodes.net/free-minecraft-server-hosting

Written by the Shulkerboxes team.