How to Let Bedrock Players Join Your Java Server with Geyser and Floodgate

Bedrock Edition, the version on consoles, phones and Windows, cannot join a Java server on its own, because the two games speak different protocols. Geyser translates between them. Floodgate lets Bedrock players in without a Java account. Setting both up takes about half an hour, and a few details cause most of the support questions.

Decide where to install Geyser

The Geyser documentation lists several places it can run: as a plugin on Paper or Spigot, on a proxy such as Velocity, as a mod on Fabric or NeoForge, or as a standalone program. For a single Paper server, the plugin is simplest. For a network, install it on the proxy so Bedrock players enter once and reach every backend.

Install and run it once

Place the plugin in the plugins folder and start the server. Geyser creates its configuration file. For the plugin, that file is plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml; on Fabric and NeoForge it is under config in a folder named for the platform, and for the standalone version it sits next to the program.

Open the right port

In the bedrock section of the configuration, Geyser listens on port 19132 by default, at address 0.0.0.0, which means all interfaces. Bedrock uses UDP, not TCP, so you need to open that port in your firewall and forward it on your router for UDP.

Bedrock and Java ports are separate, so there is no need to change your Java port. The documentation notes that the clone-remote-port option makes Bedrock use the same port number as Java, which can make your address simpler to tell players.

The documentation also warns that Geyser's UDP port cannot be shared with voice chat or query services, so give each its own. If you cannot port forward, it suggests a tunnel such as playit.gg.

Choose how players log in

The auth-type setting has three values, according to the documentation:

• online authenticates against Minecraft's servers, so the Bedrock player needs a paid Java account.
• offline skips authentication, which is only appropriate where your Java server is also in offline mode.
• floodgate uses Floodgate, which authenticates Bedrock players through their own accounts.

For an online-mode server where players should not need a Java account, choose floodgate.

Install Floodgate

Install Floodgate on the same platform. On a proxy, the Floodgate documentation says to install it on the proxy itself, set send-floodgate-data to true in the proxy's Floodgate configuration, and make sure the backends are set up for player information forwarding, with the Velocity forwarding described in our proxy guide.

Then set auth-type to floodgate in Geyser's configuration and restart.

Share the key correctly

Floodgate creates a file named key.pem. When Geyser and Floodgate run in different places, for example standalone Geyser or backends that use Floodgate's API, copy the key from the Floodgate configuration folder to where the other one expects it. The documentation's warning is blunt: do not distribute this key to anybody, because it allows Bedrock accounts to bypass Java authentication. Treat it as you would a password.

Console players

Consoles cannot type a server address, so players on Xbox, Switch and PlayStation need another way in. BedrockConnect provides a service that console players reach through a DNS setting and then pick your server from a menu. Check its documentation for how to host your own or use a public one.

Tell players the limits

Geyser translates gameplay, not the whole game, and its FAQ is candid about the gaps:

• Features that mods add, such as new blocks and items, cannot be translated, so a server that requires client-side mods is not supportable for Bedrock players.
• There is no automatic conversion of a Java resource pack to a Bedrock one; manual conversion tools exist.
• Bedrock players cannot naturally hold an item in the offhand and must use a command or an emote-based workaround.
• Players who go very far from the world's centre can see odd visual bugs, which the FAQ attributes to a limit in the Bedrock client.

Test with real Bedrock devices before you announce crossplay and write down what players should expect. Bedrock names usually carry a prefix, so staff and plugins can tell the two groups apart.

Troubleshooting order

• Can a Bedrock client reach the UDP port at all? Test from a different network.
• Is auth-type what you intended?
• Is the key the same where it must be?
• Are the Geyser and Floodgate versions current? Update both together.