Can Java and Bedrock play together?

1Why they can't by default

Minecraft has two editions, and each only talks to its own kind:

• Java Edition runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. It has the mods, the plugin servers and most of the big community servers.
• Bedrock Edition runs on phones, tablets, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and Windows. It's the one on consoles and in the Microsoft Store.

The two send different data over the network, so a Bedrock game can't join a Java server, and a Java game can't join a Bedrock server. Realms are split the same way: a Java Realm takes Java players only. Buying both for Windows, as Mojang sells them together, gives you two games, not one shared world.

2How crossplay works: Geyser and Floodgate

Crossplay happens on a Java server, with two free, open source plugins from GeyserMC:

• Geyser listens for Bedrock players on a UDP port of its own, 19132 by default, and translates everything between their game and the Java server, both ways.
• Floodgate lets Bedrock players in with the Xbox account they already sign in with, so they don't need a Java account. It puts a dot in front of their name, like .Steve, so a Bedrock name never clashes with a Java one.

The world stays a Java world. Redstone, farms and mob spawning follow Java's rules for everyone, and Java players join the way they always do.

3Which devices can join

Consoles only list the featured servers Microsoft picks, with no Add Server button. Workarounds send the console to your server anyway: BedrockConnect changes the console's DNS setting, and GeyserMC's guide for consoles lists the others.

4What's different for Bedrock players

• No Java mods. Bedrock players see what a plugin server has, so crossplay suits Paper and Purpur servers, not modpacks with new blocks and items.
• Some things Bedrock's game can't show. Chat links can't be clicked, the glowing effect doesn't show, and many plugin commands don't complete with Tab. GeyserMC's list of limitations has the rest.
• Geyser has to keep up with Bedrock. Bedrock updates itself often, and an older Geyser turns newer Bedrock versions away, so update Geyser when Bedrock updates.
• Their names start with a dot, so add them to the server's allowlist as . and their Xbox gamertag.

5Set it up on your own server

Playkeeper runs your Java server on a VPS you rent, and from version 0.4.4 crossplay is one switch. Install it with one command:

1. 1

   Turn on Bedrock players

   In a Paper or Purpur server's Settings. Playkeeper installs Geyser and Floodgate, opens a UDP port for Bedrock players and restarts the server, in about 20 seconds.

2. 2

   Open the UDP port in your provider's firewall

   The dialog shows it, 19132 for the first server with crossplay. Java players keep using the TCP game port.

3. 3

   Add your Bedrock friends

   On the Players tab, as a dot and their Xbox gamertag. They join with the address and port on the server's Join card.

The crossplay server guide has each step in detail, the firewall rules, and how to set up Geyser and Floodgate by hand.

6What we tested, and what we haven't

On 28 Sep, on a Paper 26.2 server, a Bedrock test client speaking Bedrock 1.26.51 joined through Geyser and Floodgate with the allowlist on, spawned, chatted and showed up on the Players tab. That client signed in offline, so Geyser's check of the Xbox sign-in was turned off by hand for the test.

Not tested yet:

• a phone, tablet or Windows player signed in to Xbox;
• a console joining through BedrockConnect;
• a player joining from another network, through a provider's firewall.