Your friend on an iPhone wants to join your Java survival server. Without GeyserMC that is impossible, because Java and Bedrock speak two different protocols. With GeyserMC set up properly, they join the same world your PC players live in. This guide walks you through the setup on a Paper server.
Want every detail, including consoles, proxies and account linking? Our complete Geyser and Floodgate guide covers all of it.
What you need before starting
- A Paper, Purpur or Spigot server. Geyser follows the newest Minecraft Java version, 26.3 since Geyser 2.12.0 on 14 October 2026. On an older version you also need ViaVersion.
- Access to the server files (file manager, SFTP or the panel)
- A port of its own for Bedrock players, open for TCP and UDP (step 5)
- Basic familiarity with the plugins folder
Step 1: Download the right files
Download two plugins:
- GeyserMC, the protocol translator: geysermc.org
- Floodgate, which lets Bedrock players join without a Java account: same site
Download the Paper/Spigot versions of both and place both .jar files in your server's /plugins folder.
Step 2: Start and stop the server once
Start your server, let it fully boot, then stop it. This generates the default configuration files for both in /plugins/Geyser-Spigot/ and /plugins/floodgate/.
Step 3: Configure Geyser
Open /plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml. The key settings:
bedrock:
address: 0.0.0.0
clone-remote-port: false
port: 19132
transport: nethernet
java:
auth-type: floodgate
auth-type: floodgate tells Geyser to let Floodgate handle Bedrock players, so they do not need a Java account. On older Geyser versions this setting sits under remote: instead of java:.
transport: nethernet matters just as much. GeyserMC says Bedrock clients stop connecting over RakNet with 26.60, released on 27 October 2026. Geyser build 1273, the first that supports 26.60, makes nethernet the default for new configs, but a config that already says raknet keeps it, so check the line. The setup guide says NetherNet "is supported fully by 26.50+". Our NetherNet guide has the full switch.
The bedrock port is covered in step 5.
Step 4: Check Floodgate
Floodgate works with its defaults. Open /plugins/floodgate/config.yml only if you want to change something:
key-file-name: key.pem
username-prefix: "."
player-link:
enabled: true
enable-global-linking: true
Global linking is on by default. It lets a player who owns both editions link their Bedrock account to their Java account, so they have the same inventory and progress from either device. They link once on GeyserMC's link server, not on yours. The complete guide has the steps.
Keep key.pem private. The Floodgate docs warn never to share it with anybody.
Step 5: Give Bedrock a port of its own
With NetherNet, Bedrock players find your server over TCP and play on it over UDP, both on the Geyser port. The Geyser setup guide: "Geyser uses it over both TCP and UDP, so it cannot be the port of the Paper / Spigot server."
On a Space-Node server, open the panel's Network tab and click Create Allocation. Put that port in port under bedrock and keep clone-remote-port: false. The panel opens every allocation for TCP and UDP, so nothing else needs opening. Your plan includes three allocations, and we can raise that to five on request.
An earlier version of this guide offered clone-remote-port: true to put Bedrock on the Java port. GeyserMC's NetherNet post now says it "only works with external signaling": Geyser then registers the server with the Warden service and players join with the address it prints in the console, not with yours. Leave it off.
Voice chat and the server query cannot share Geyser's port. If you also run Simple Voice Chat, it needs its own allocation. See the voice chat port fix.
GeyserMC's setup guide says some versions, such as 26.40, fetch the server's MOTD and player count over RakNet. For them, transport: both accepts RakNet next to NetherNet; older versions cannot join since Geyser build 1273, which supports 26.40 to 26.60. With both, NetherNet needs a second UDP port as webrtc-port. With Java, Geyser and voice chat on three allocations, that makes a fourth: ask us in live chat, or see our NetherNet guide for when the Java port can take it.
On your own VPS, open the Bedrock port for both protocols in the firewall: ufw allow 19132/tcp and ufw allow 19132/udp.
Step 6: Test the connection
- Start your server.
- In the console, run
geyser connectiontest <your server address> <bedrock port>. - On a phone or tablet, open Minecraft, go to Servers, then Add Server.
- Enter your server address and the Bedrock port.
- Connect.
Bedrock players get a prefix on their name, . by default, so you can tell them apart from Java players. You can change it in Floodgate's config.
Xbox, PlayStation and Switch have no Add Server button. Console players need a workaround such as BedrockConnect, explained in the complete guide.
Common issues and fixes
Bedrock players spawn at the wrong location: use a spawn plugin such as EssentialsX that sets one spawn point for everyone.
Plugin menus behave oddly on Bedrock: chest-style menus generally display, but Bedrock cannot tell left and right clicks apart in inventories. Geyser lists this among its current limitations. Menus that depend on right-click actions may not work as intended for Bedrock players.
Players cannot connect on mobile: run geyser connectiontest. The usual causes are a Bedrock port that is not one of your server's allocations, a port shared with voice chat or the query, clone-remote-port still on, or transport still on RakNet.
Players are asked to sign in to a Java account: Floodgate is missing, or auth-type is still online.
Limitations to know
GeyserMC translates the protocol, but it cannot bridge every gap. Client-side mods do not work for Bedrock players, some Java resource pack features do not show up on Bedrock, and a few things like clickable chat links cannot be translated at all. Survival, creative and plugin-based minigames work for most groups. Test the features your server depends on with a real Bedrock player before you announce cross-play.
On Space-Node you can upload Geyser and Floodgate through the panel's file manager or SFTP and set the port yourself as described above. If Bedrock players still cannot connect after these steps, ask our 12/7 support team in live chat.
Launch your cross-play Minecraft server on Space-Node
More Geyser guides: the complete Geyser and Floodgate guide, connect mobile players to your Java server, GeyserMC cross-play tutorial, what to check in a host before you run Geyser.