How to Play Minecraft Java With Friends: LAN, Realms or a Server

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How to play Minecraft Java with friends in 26.3: Open to LAN, ZeroTier or Tailscale, Realms or a server, how to invite friends, and what the Friends List lacks.

A pile of Minecraft blocks: grass, bricks, stone bricks, oak planks, sand, logs and diamond ore

You own Minecraft: Java Edition, so do your friends, and you want everyone in one world. Java got a Friends List in June 2026, but in Java Edition 26.3, the current release since 15 September 2026, it still cannot bring anyone into your world. That leaves four ways to play together: LAN, LAN over ZeroTier or Tailscale, Realms, or a server. Here is what each needs and how you invite friends to it.

Quick answer: For friends on the same Wi-Fi, press Esc, open World Options and switch LAN from OFF to LAN; your world appears in their Multiplayer list. For friends elsewhere, put everyone on a free ZeroTier or Tailscale network and join that LAN world by the host's address, start a Realm (Mojang's server for you plus 10 other players, no mods), or run a server and share its address: at home with port forwarding or a tunnel such as playit.gg, or rented so it stays up when your PC is off. To invite friends in Minecraft Java, send a Realm invite or invite code, or give them the server address and run whitelist add <name>, because new 26.3 servers start with the whitelist on. The Friends List has no invite button: Mojang pulled that feature before release.

Can You Invite Friends in Minecraft Java?

Not from the Friends List, yet. Java Edition 26.2 added it on 16 June 2026: press O, or click Friends on the title screen or in the pause menu, and send a request by profile name. It shows each friend as Offline, Online, Online (LAN), Online (World), Online (Realm) or Online (Server). If a request fails, your friend may need to turn on Allow Requests under Options, Online...; the Minecraft Wiki says that setting starts off.

The 26.2 snapshots also had Invite and Ask to join buttons that opened a singleplayer world to friends online. Mojang removed them in 26.2 Pre-Release 1 on 26 May 2026: "Because the experience wasn't what we wanted it to be for all players, we do not consider the feature ready for release in its current form." They are not in 26.3, and the 26.4 snapshots up to 27 October redesign the list without them.

Four Ways to Play Together

WayFriends can beFriends needHost PC stays onMods or pluginsFits
Open to LANOn your networkNothing extraYes, you host while you playMods, the same on every PCFriends at your place
LAN over ZeroTier or TailscaleAnywhereThe VPN appYes, you host while you playMods, the same on every PCA few friends who play when you do
RealmsAnywhereAn invite or invite codeNoNoVanilla play, also while you are away
Server at homeAnywhereThe addressYesYesMods, plugins or Bedrock friends
Rented serverAnywhereThe addressNoYesThe same, with no PC left on

Every player needs their own Java account and the host's game version. One account cannot join the same world from two computers, the wiki's LAN tutorial notes.

1. Open to LAN for Players on Your Network

26.3 moved the button: Mojang's 26.3 changelog puts World Options "where the Open to Lan button used to be" in the pause menu. To open your world:

  1. Load your singleplayer world and press Esc.
  2. Click World Options..., and under Multiplayer switch LAN from OFF to LAN.
  3. Leave the port box empty for a random port, or type one from 1024 to 65535.
  4. Set Command Access (guests may use commands) and Force Game Mode (guests play the world's default game mode), then click Apply Changes.

The game posts the port in chat. Your friends open Multiplayer, which scans your local network and lists your world below their saved servers. If it is missing, they use Direct Connection with your local IPv4 address and the port, such as 192.168.1.20:51234. On Windows, ipconfig shows that address as "IPv4 Address" (wiki). If that fails too, the LAN tutorial says to check the host's firewall and allow the port from the chat message. The world is open only while you play in it.

2. Play LAN Over the Internet With ZeroTier or Tailscale

These apps put your computers on one private network, so a LAN world works between houses with no router settings and nothing public. Everyone installs the app.

ZeroTier. The free Personal plan covers 10 devices on one network for non-commercial use (ZeroTier pricing, checked 1 November 2026). Following the quickstart, you create a network in ZeroTier Central, friends install ZeroTier and join its Network ID, and you authorize each device. ZeroTier networks carry multicast (protocol docs), which Minecraft uses to announce LAN worlds (wiki), so your world can show up in their list on its own.

Tailscale. The free Personal plan allows up to 6 users (Tailscale pricing, checked 1 November 2026). Friends join your tailnet, or you share only your PC with their own Tailscale account, which works on every plan; a shared machine accepts connections but cannot start any. Friends connect to your PC's 100.x.y.z Tailscale address, as in Tailscale's own Minecraft guide.

If the world does not show up, use Direct Connection with the host's ZeroTier or Tailscale address and the port, and type the same port each time so friends can save the address. Hamachi does the same job, free for up to 5 computers per network (vpn.net, checked 1 November 2026). Our Hamachi guide and ZeroTier and Tailscale guide go further.

Mods that skip the VPN. Both had 26.3 builds on Modrinth on 1 November 2026. e4mc (Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge) runs on the host only and adds a public domain when you open to LAN; friends join with a normal game. Essential (Fabric on 26.3) hosts your world for up to 8 players at once and sends invites that friends accept in its own menus, so everyone runs it, and the host has to stay online.

3. Realms: Mojang's Server for Your Group

A Realm is a server that Mojang runs for you. Mojang's Realms page (checked 1 November 2026) says a Java Realm takes you plus 10 other players at a time, invited friends play for free and can play while you are offline, it stores three worlds, and new subscribers get a 30-day trial. It takes Java players only, and per the Minecraft Wiki it always runs the latest release, with no mods or plugins.

To invite friends to a Java Realm:

  1. On the title screen, click Minecraft Realms. The wiki notes that Java only lets you invite from there, not from inside the world.
  2. Select your Realm, click Configure, open Players and click Invite Player.
  3. Type your friend's Java profile name. They accept under Pending Invites in their Realms menu.

New in 26.3 are invite codes: up to five per Realm, each with an on and off switch and an expiry from 30 minutes to 7 days, or none (26.3 changelog). Create one under Invite Codes in the Configure screen and send it; your friend clicks Join Realm in the Realms menu and enters it. Outgrown your Realm? See moving a Realms world to your own server and Realms vs a dedicated server.

4. Your Own Server: at Home, Through a Tunnel, or Rented

A server is a separate program that runs the world whether or not you play. Save the jar from Mojang's server page in an empty folder as server.jar; 26.3 needs Java 25, according to Mojang's 26.3 version file. In that folder, run:

java -Xms2G -Xmx2G -jar server.jar nogui

The first start creates eula.txt and stops. Change eula=false to eula=true, as the wiki's server tutorial explains, and run the command again. The server listens on port 25565 by default (server.properties). Friends at home join on your local IPv4 address; friends elsewhere need one of three routes:

  • Port forwarding. Forward TCP port 25565 on your router to the server PC (Java connects over TCP, per the protocol page) and share your public IP. Our port forwarding guide covers routers, firewalls and double NAT. Behind carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT, see RFC 6598), many customers share one public address and a port forward cannot reach you.
  • A tunnel. playit.gg runs a small program on your PC and gives you an address to share, "without port forwarding", on a free plan (checked 1 November 2026). Our playit.gg guide walks through it.
  • ZeroTier or Tailscale. Friends join on your VPN address, port 25565.

A server at home is online only while that PC runs it. If nobody wants to leave a PC on, rent one. Space-Node's Minecraft hosting has locations in the USA (California and Virginia), Canada, Europe, Singapore, India and Australia, DDoS protection on every plan and a free .mymcserver.nl subdomain to give your friends, and you can upload your current world through the file manager or SFTP.

How to Invite Friends to Your Server

Inviting friends to a Java server takes two steps.

Share the address. Your public IP, tunnel address, VPN address or domain, plus :port if the port is not 25565, such as 203.0.113.25:25566. Friends click Multiplayer, then Add Server, and paste it into Server Address.

Whitelist them. Mojang's 26.3 changelog made white-list=true the default in server.properties, so a new server turns away players who are not on the list. In the server console, add every player, yourself included:

whitelist add YourName
whitelist add FriendName
whitelist list
op YourName

In game, the same commands start with /, and op makes you an operator. A vanilla server tells anyone missing from the list "You are not white-listed on this server!". On a server first started before 26.3, whitelist on switches the list on. Our whitelist guide covers removing players and enforce-whitelist.

Bedrock Friends: Geyser and Floodgate

Bedrock players on phones, consoles or Windows cannot join a Java Realm. To bring them into a Java world, run it on a server with Geyser, which on 1 November 2026 supported Bedrock 26.40 to 26.60 with Java 26.3. Geyser runs as a plugin on Paper or Spigot, as a mod on a Fabric or NeoForge server (next to server-side mods only), or standalone (setup guide). With Floodgate, Bedrock players join without a paid Java account. Xbox, PlayStation and Switch have no Add Server button: besides Realms, console players only see Mojang's featured servers, so they need a workaround to reach your server, which our console join guide explains.

Bedrock 26.60, released on 27 October 2026, changed how Bedrock connects. GeyserMC says you need Geyser build 1237 or newer with NetherNet turned on, and the Geyser port, 19132 by default, open for TCP and UDP: players find the server over TCP and play over UDP (port guide). Players who join by IP address, or by a domain without HTTPS, see a "trust on first use" prompt the first time. Our NetherNet guide and Geyser and Floodgate guide have the config. On Space-Node, every plan includes two extra ports that you add in the panel, so Geyser gets one of its own.

When Your Friends Can't Join

  • "You are not white-listed on this server!" Run whitelist add with their exact profile name.
  • "Incompatible client! Please use 26.3" They run another version than the host or server; switch their launcher installation to match.
  • "Failed to verify username!" or "Invalid session" Restart the game and the launcher, which the full Invalid session message also suggests. Each player needs their own account.
  • "Can't connect to server" or "Timed out" Check the address and port, then the host's firewall, then the port forward or tunnel.
  • No LAN world in the list. Use Direct Connection with the host's address and port.

If the connection drops mid-game, see our Connection Lost guide.

FAQ

How do you play Minecraft Java with friends for free? LAN costs nothing on one network. Over the internet, ZeroTier's or Tailscale's free plan, or a home server with port forwarding or playit.gg's free plan, cost nothing either, but your PC hosts and has to stay on. Realms has a 30-day trial for new subscribers, then a monthly subscription.

Can friends play on my Minecraft world when I'm offline? Not on a LAN world, which closes when you quit. On a Realm, yes: invited friends can play your active world while you are offline. On a server too, if it does not run on the PC you switch off.

Can Java and Bedrock players play together? Yes, on a Java server with Geyser, and with Floodgate they do not need a Java account; console players also need a workaround to add the server. Not on a Java Realm, which takes Java players only.

How many friends can join? A Java Realm takes you plus 10 other players at a time. A server allows 20 by default through max-players in server.properties, which you can change. Essential's world hosting allows 8 at once.

Do my friends need their own copy of Minecraft Java? Yes. Each player needs their own Java account, and one account cannot join the same world from two computers. Bedrock players who join through Geyser and Floodgate only need Bedrock.

Sources

All opened on 1 November 2026: