Minecraft: Bedrock

Minecraft Bedrock server guides: install addons and behavior packs, turn on experiments and Beta APIs, and understand plugins versus addons on Bedrock.

• Update your Bedrock server version

  Why a Bedrock update is not optional, how to move your server onto the current build safely, and what tends to break when you do.

  6 min read · bedrock, update, version · Updated Oct 21, 2026

• Minecraft Realms vs a Bedrock dedicated server

  An honest comparison of a Minecraft Realm and a hosted Bedrock server, including the cases where the Realm is genuinely the better pick.

  6 min read · bedrock, realms, dedicated-server · Updated Oct 21, 2026

• How much RAM does a Bedrock server need?

  Honest figures for a Minecraft Bedrock server, why it needs less memory than a Java one, and what actually pushes the number up.

  6 min read · bedrock, ram, memory · Updated Oct 21, 2026

• Bedrock allowlist and operators explained

  How allowlist.json and permissions.json really work on a Bedrock server, how Gamertags are matched, and the safe order to switch the allowlist on.

  6 min read · bedrock, allowlist, operators · Updated Oct 21, 2026

• Upload an existing world to a Bedrock server

  How to get a world off your phone, PC or Realm, onto your Bedrock server, and loaded instead of the default one.

  6 min read · bedrock, world, upload · Updated Oct 21, 2026

• Plugins vs addons on Bedrock

  A common mix-up worth clearing up: Bedrock servers do not run Java plugins. If you want to change how your world behaves or looks, you use addons instead.

  3 min read · bedrock, addons, plugins · Updated Oct 1, 2026

• Minecraft Bedrock server.properties: Every Setting

  What each setting in a Minecraft Bedrock server.properties file does, sensible values for it, and the four the panel writes for you from Startup settings instead.

  5 min read · bedrock, server.properties, settings · Updated Oct 24, 2026

• Enabling experiments and Beta APIs on Bedrock

  The reliable way to turn on experimental features or Beta APIs for your Bedrock world: flip the toggle in your own Minecraft client, then upload the world back to your server.

  3 min read · bedrock, experiments, beta-apis · Updated Sep 24, 2026

• Installing Bedrock addons

  How to add a behavior pack and resource pack to your Bedrock server from the Files tab, then switch them on for your world so they actually take effect.

  4 min read · bedrock, addons, behavior-packs · Updated Sep 24, 2026

About these guides

Minecraft Bedrock is the edition people play on Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and phones, and a Bedrock server lets all of them share one world. A few things work differently from Java. Bedrock servers do not run plugins: new content comes from addons, made of behavior packs and resource packs, and some addons also need experiments or the Beta APIs switched on in the world.

Settings such as the game mode, difficulty, view distance and allow list live in server.properties. Players on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch cannot type in a server address the way PC and phone players can, so joining from a console has a guide of its own. If your group mixes Java and Bedrock players, the Crossplay guides cover Geyser.

More Minecraft: Bedrock guides

Guides for this game filed under other topics.

• Join your Minecraft Bedrock server

  How to add your server in Minecraft Bedrock, and the one trap that catches almost everyone: the port field already has 19132 in it, and you must change it to your server's actual port.

• Play Bedrock on console (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

  Xbox, PlayStation and Switch have no Add Server button, so console players join custom servers through a free workaround. Here are the ones that work.

Host a Minecraft Bedrock server From $4.00/mo, with instant setup and DDoS protection.