How to Self-Host a Paper Minecraft Server on Windows

Updated

You can self-host a Paper Minecraft server on Windows by installing Java, creating a server folder, writing a start.bat launch script, downloading the Paper jar, and running it once to generate configuration files. This guide follows the steps in Paper Chan Posts' walkthrough for users with zero prior server-hosting experience, and it assumes you have a Windows PC, a stable internet connection, and permission to run a server on your network.

Prerequisites

Before you start, confirm you have:

  • A Windows computer with enough free disk space for the server and world files.
  • Administrative access to install software (Java) if it isn't already present.
  • A Minecraft Java Edition account to join the server.
  • Basic ability to create folders and edit a text file.

The guide notes you need no prior knowledge of server hosting. If you plan to let friends connect from outside your home network, you'll also need to handle port forwarding on your router, which is a separate networking task not covered by the basic steps below.

Step 1: Install Java

Paper requires a Java runtime. The Paper Chan guide points to Amazon Corretto 25 as the download, with a direct link to the installer.

  1. Download the Corretto 25 installer for Windows.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
  3. After installation, confirm Java works by opening Command Prompt and running:
java -version

Expected result: the terminal prints the installed Java version. If you see "java is not recognized," the installer didn't add Java to your PATH, or the install failed.

Step 2: Create a Minecraft folder

Create a dedicated folder for the server, for example C:\MinecraftServer. Keeping everything in one folder makes the server files, world data, and logs easy to find and back up.

Step 3: Create start.bat

Inside that folder, create a new text file and rename it start.bat. Open it in a text editor and add a launch command that tells Java how much memory to use and which jar to run. A typical line looks like:

java -Xms2G -Xmx2G -jar paper.jar --nogui
  • -Xms2G sets the initial memory allocation.
  • -Xmx2G sets the maximum. Adjust these to match your available RAM.
  • --nogui skips the graphical server window, which is normal for a headless setup.

Save the file. The .bat extension lets you launch the server by double-clicking it.

Step 4: Download Paper

Download the Paper server jar from the official PaperMC downloads page and place it in your server folder. Rename it to paper.jar so it matches the name in your start.bat, or edit the script to match the downloaded filename.

Step 5: Launch the server

Double-click start.bat. On first run, Paper will:

  • Generate the eula.txt file and stop, because you must accept the Minecraft EULA.
  • Create configuration files and the world folder on subsequent runs.

Open eula.txt, change eula=false to eula=true, save, and run start.bat again. The server will finish generating files and reach a "Done" message in the console when it's ready.

Step 6: Join the server locally

On the same PC, open Minecraft Java Edition, go to Multiplayer, and add a server with the address localhost. Connect and you should spawn in the world. If the connection is refused, check that the server console shows it's running and that no firewall prompt was blocked.

Common snags

  • Java version mismatch: Paper needs a compatible Java version. If the server crashes immediately, verify java -version matches what Paper expects.
  • Out of memory: If the server lags or crashes, raise -Xmx in start.bat, but don't exceed your physical RAM.
  • EULA not accepted: The server exits on first run by design until you set eula=true.
  • Port forwarding: Local play works without it, but remote friends need router configuration and your public IP.

When this approach fits

This setup suits a small private server on your own Windows machine, especially for learning or playing with a few friends on the same network. It is not ideal for a public server with many players, where a hosted environment with better uptime and network configuration is usually the more practical choice.