Minecraft Proxy & Network

A network is a group of servers behind one address. The proxy accepts the player's connection, handles login and passes them to a backend such as a lobby, a survival world or a minigame. Moving between backends does not drop the connection.

Velocity is the proxy maintained by the PaperMC project, designed around modern forwarding so backend servers can trust the player information the proxy supplies. Gate is a proxy written in Go. Whichever you choose, backend servers must be configured so that players cannot bypass the proxy and join them directly with a forged identity.

Version compatibility is a separate problem. The ViaVersion family of plugins lets clients on newer or older versions connect to a server on a different version, at the cost of some features that do not exist on both sides. Use them to widen who can join, not to avoid updating your server for years.

Do I need a proxy for a single server? No. A proxy is for networks of two or more servers, or when you want features such as one shared login. A single server runs fine without one.

Is it safe to let backend servers accept direct connections? Not when they trust the proxy for player identity. Restrict backends to the proxy's address and configure the forwarding secret.