Family Minecraft Server - Docker Setup

Minecraft server running in Docker that allows Cross-platform (Java + Bedrock) play on same LAN (Home WiFi network). Included plugins add multi-world support and portal navigation.

Use Case

Same household/LAN, multiple Minecraft user accounts, cross-platform (PC + Xbox tested, PS5/Switch likely works too).

• This Docker-hosted Minecraft server image with preloaded Plugins will give your household hours of Minecraft fun!
• All PC's and consoles must be on same LAN to play together.
• This is ideal for a family/household playing on same Home WiFi network where multiple children/parents/roomates have different Minecraft player accounts and devices.
• One PC/laptop, preferably Linux-based (but WSL on Windows should work too) will serve as the Minecraft server running in Docker.

IMPORTANT: On Xbox running Bedrock, the server shows up on the "Worlds" tab as a LAN-discovered World (as opposed to being on "Servers" tab due to how consoles restrict adding custom servers).

Features

• 🎮 Cross-Platform LAN Play - Java Edition and Bedrock Edition (Xbox, Mobile) on same LAN (Local Area Network) with GeyserMC and Floodgate plugins
• 🌍 Multi-World Support - Ability to create multiple Survival, Creative, and Adventure worlds with portal navigation via Multiverse plugins.
• 🔒 Permissions - Granular player permissions set by LuckPerms plugin (used to enable Portal travel between worlds in this setup)
• 📦 Containerized - Fully Dockerized for easy deployment and network discovery (docker network_mode = "host" for better discovery)
• 🏠 LAN Discovery - Xbox consoles (and likely others) should auto-discover the server on the local network without having to "add custom server"

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker installed on Linux machine (laptop/PC) preferred; or WSL on Windows
• Docker Compose
• 4GB+ RAM available
• Ports 25565 (Java) and 19132 (Bedrock) available

Installation

1. Clone/Fork the repository

# Clone the repository 
git clone https://github.com/prillcode/minecraft-crossplatform-docker.git

# Or Fork it first, then clone from your forked repo!

# Navigate to cloned repo on your machine
cd minecraft-crossplatform-docker

2. Download required plugins

The included docker-compose file auto-downloads GeyserMC, Floodgate, and ViaVersion plugins.

The following plugins need to be manually downloaded. The commands below download each to the data/plugins directory in the repo, which is mapped to the Docker volume on startup:

# Multiverse-Core
wget -O data/plugins/Multiverse-Core.jar \
    "https://hangar.papermc.io/api/v1/projects/Multiverse/Multiverse-Core/versions/5.4.0/PAPER/download"

# Multiverse-Inventories
wget -O data/plugins/Multiverse-Inventories.jar \
    "https://hangar.papermc.io/api/v1/projects/Multiverse/Multiverse-Inventories/versions/5.2.1/PAPER/download"

# Multiverse-Portals
wget -O data/plugins/Multiverse-Portals.jar \
    "https://hangar.papermc.io/api/v1/projects/Multiverse/Multiverse-Portals/versions/5.0.1/PAPER/download"

# LuckPerms (download from browser at https://luckperms.net/download)
# - Click the big "Bukkit" download button
# - It'll save to ~/Downloads/

# Then copy it to your server repo data/plugins folder used by the docker volume:
cp ~/Downloads/LuckPerms-Bukkit-*.jar ~/path-to-cloned-repo/minecraft-crossplatform-docker/data/plugins/

3. Start the server

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

4. Configure permissions (after first start)

# Open minecraft cli in docker container
docker exec -i minecraft-server rcon-cli

# IMPORTANT: Make YOUR player the server operator (op)
/op YourMinecraftUsername

# Use LuckPerms plugin to allow all players to use portals
lp group default permission set multiverse.portal.access.* true

# exit docker container (or leave open for next section)
exit

Configuration

Server Settings

Edit docker-compose.yml to customize:

• MEMORY: RAM allocation (default: 3G)
• SERVER_NAME: Server name
• MOTD: Message of the day

Create Destination Worlds

Multiverse Plugin used for world creations. See /mv create command docs for world customization options.

# Reopen minecraft cli in docker if not still open from above
docker exec -i minecraft-server rcon-cli

# Use multiverse 'mv' command to create world(s) - "WorldName" can be any name desired (ex: "SmithFamilySurvival")
/mv create WorldName NORMAL

# Set world gamemode as desired (creative/survival/adventure)
/mv modify WorldName set gamemode creative

# REPEAT and create as many worlds as the machine your Docker server is running on can handle!

Create Hub World

• The "Hub" world is where players will spawn into each time they join the server.
• The Portals will be created here taking players to the actual Destination worlds.
• The hub world is created in ADVENTURE mode so portals/structures can't be destroyed.
• While you create the portals/structure the gamemode is changed to creative.
• It serves as a Lobby to your worlds.
• A FLAT world is suggested, but it doesn't have to be.

# Create a flat world for the "Hub" world** - "HubWorldName" can be any name desired (ex: "SmithFamilyHub")

/mv create HubWorldName NORMAL --world-type FLAT

/mv modify HubWorldName set gamemode adventure

Creating Portals

Important: Hub world created in adventure mode to prevent portal destruction

Portal Creation Workflow:

1. In Hub world, switch to creative mode temporarily during portal/structure creation:

# To create portals (and any other structures) Hub world gamemode must be temporarily set to 'creative'

/gamemode creative 

2. Build a physical portal frame (use any block material - stone, nether brick, etc.)

   • Build in typical portal "frame" shape
   • Portal should be at least 2 blocks wide and 3 blocks tall

3. Get the portal wand:

   • Use multiverse portals /mvp wand command to start!

/mvp wand

# (This gives you a wooden axe)

4. Select portal area (using the axe "wand"):

   • LEFT-CLICK the bottom-left corner block
   • RIGHT-CLICK the opposite top-right corner block
   • Confirmation text should show selections.

5. Immediately run following commands in succession to create and configure the just-selected portal:

   • Use multiverse portals /mvp create and /mvp modify commands
   • Portal name can be anything. Below example uses "ToSurvivalWorldPortal".

/mvp create ToSurvivalWorldPortal
/mvp modify ToSurvivalWorldPortal dest w:WorldName

6. Walk through to test

   • If no errors occured, walking through should teleport you to the destination world!

7. Build return portal in the destination world:

   • Use same steps to build a portal back to the Hub world if desired

/mvp wand
# [select portal area]
/mvp create BackToHub
/mvp modify BackToHub dest w:HubWorldName

Note: Use dest w:WorldName syntax (not dest p:WorldName)

Connecting

Java Edition:

Server Address: YOUR_SERVER_IP:25565

Bedrock Edition (Xbox/Mobile):

• Server auto-appears in "Worlds" tab on LAN
• Or manually add: YOUR_SERVER_IP (port 19132 auto-detected)

Project Structure

.
├── docker-compose.yml          # Docker configuration
├── data/
│   ├── plugins/
│   │   ├── Geyser-Spigot.jar
│   │   ├── floodgate-spigot.jar
│   │   ├── ViaVersion.jar
│   │   ├── Multiverse-Core.jar
│   │   ├── Multiverse-Inventories.jar
│   │   ├── Multiverse-Portals.jar
│   │   ├── LuckPerms-Bukkit.jar
│   │   └── [plugin configs/]
│   ├── [HubWorldName]/             # Required: Hub world
│   ├── [SurvivalWorldName]/        # Optional: Survival world
│   ├── [CreativeWorldName]/        # Optional: Creative world
│   ├── [AdventureWorldName]/       # Optional: Adventure world
│   └── server.properties
└── README.md

Plugin Details

Plugin	Version	Purpose
GeyserMC	2.9.2+	Bedrock/Java crossplay bridge
Floodgate	2.2.5+	Bedrock authentication
ViaVersion	5.6.1+	Client version compatibility
Multiverse-Core	5.4.0+	Multi-world management
Multiverse-Inventories	5.2.1+	Per-world inventories
Multiverse-Portals	5.0.1+	Portal creation system
LuckPerms	5.5.22+	Permissions management

Common Commands

Server Management

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

# Restart server
docker compose restart

# Stop server
docker compose down

# Access console
docker exec -i minecraft-server rcon-cli

Player Management

# Make player operator
/op PlayerName

# For Bedrock players (note the dot prefix)
/op .XboxGamerTag

World Management

# List worlds
/mv list

# Teleport to world
/mv tp WorldName

# Set spawn point
/mv setspawn

Backup

# Stop server
docker compose down

# Backup entire data directory
tar -czf minecraft-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz data/

# Restart server
docker compose up -d

Troubleshooting

Server won't start

• Check logs: docker compose logs -f
• Verify all plugin JARs are present in data/plugins/
• Ensure ports 25565 and 19132 are not in use

Bedrock clients can't connect

• Verify host networking mode is enabled in docker-compose.yml
• Check firewall isn't blocking ports
• Ensure Geyser-Spigot is loaded (check logs)

Portals not working

• Verify LuckPerms is installed and permissions are set
• Check portal configuration: /mvp info PortalName
• Ensure destination world exists: /mv list

Performance

Tested on: Intel i5-1240U, 16GB RAM, Pop!_OS 22.04
Resource Usage: ~2.1GB RAM with 4 worlds and 3-4 players
Recommended: 4GB+ RAM, SSD storage

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or pull request.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments (Required Pre-Reqs)

• itzg/docker-minecraft-server - Excellent Docker image
• GeyserMC - Cross-platform bridge
• Multiverse - Multi-world plugin
• LuckPerms - Permissions plugin

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Built by a DevOps dad for family gaming 🎮👨‍👩‍👧‍👦