How to Set Up a Minecraft Server with Hamachi

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Create a Minecraft server for your friends with no port forwarding

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: February 6, 2026 Fact Checked

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Preparing to Create Your Server

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Creating a Server

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Configuring Hamachi

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Connecting to Your Server

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

When you create a Minecraft server on your PC, you generally need to enable port forwarding on your router in order to allow your friends to join. This can be risky, as it exposes your IP address to the public. If you want to create a server and allow friends to join without port-forwarding, you can easily do so using a free program called Hamachi. This wikiHow article teaches you how to set up a Minecraft: Java Edition server and allow your friends to join via Hamachi.

How to Create a Minecraft Hamachi Server

Download and install Hamachi and Minecraft to your computer.
Create a folder and place the Minecraft server file in it.
Open the server file, and agree to the terms of use to unpack the file.
Open Hamachi, then click “Create a new network” to set up your server.
Paste your Hamachi IP address into your server.properties file next to “server-ip=”.
Open Minecraft to add your server.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Preparing to Create Your Server

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1
Download Hamachi. Go to vpn.net in your computer's web browser, then click the green Download now button in the middle of the page. The Hamachi setup file will be downloaded to your computer.
- If you're on a Mac and VPN.net prompts a Windows file to download, click the Mac link below the Download now button to force the Mac version to download.^{[1]
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Install Hamachi. Once you've downloaded Hamachi, install it according to your operating system:
- Windows: Double-click the Hamachi setup file, select a language, and click Next. Check the "I have read" box and click Next. Click Next, and click Install. Click Yes if prompted at any point in the installation, then click Finish when prompted.
- Mac: Open the ZIP folder, double-click the extracted Hamachi setup file, click Open, verify the download if necessary, check the "I have read" box, and click Install. Enter your password if prompted, then click Finish when prompted.^{[2]
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Go to the official Minecraft server page in your computer's web browser, then click the minecraft_server.1.xx.xx.jar link in the middle of the page. This will prompt the Minecraft Java server file to download onto your computer.
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Create a folder for your server. You can create this folder on your desktop or anywhere you can easily access. To create an empty folder, do the following:
- Windows: Right-click a blank space in File Explorer, select New, click Folder. Name the folder “Minecraft Server” or something similar.
- Mac: Click File, click New Folder. Name the folder “Minecraft Server” or something similar.
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Place the Minecraft server file in the folder. Click and drag the downloaded Minecraft server file onto the new folder's icon, then release it there.^{[3]
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- You can also copy it by clicking the server file, pressing Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac), opening the new folder, and pressing Ctrl + V or Command +V on Mac.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Creating a Server

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1
Double-click the server file. It will be in the Minecraft Server folder you just created. Doing so will prompt the server files to begin unpacking inside the folder.
- Make sure you double-click the server launch file, which resembles a gear on a white background, rather than the text document.
2
Agree to the Minecraft server terms of use. Once the "eula" file appears, right-click on it and click Open With. Open it in Notepad or TextEdit on Mac. Change "eula=false" to "eula=true." Then save the file.
3
Double-click the server file again. This will prompt the server to resume unpacking. This may take a few minutes.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Configuring Hamachi

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1
Open Hamachi. Open the Windows Start menu or the Magnifying Glass/Spotlight icon on Mac. Type in “hamachi,” and click or double-click LogMeIn Hamachi in the search results.
- On a Mac, Network is a menu item at the top of the screen.
This is at the top of the Hamachi window. Doing so will turn on Hamachi and prompt a login window to appear.
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Sign up for Hamachi and Log in to Hamachi. Click the Sign up link in the upper-right corner of the window, then enter your email in the "email" text box, type a password into the "password" text box, retype your password into the "retype password" box, and click Create account. Once your account has been created, you will be prompted to log in. Enter your password and click Log In.
- If an error message pops up and asks if you’d like to continue, click Yes.
4
Click Create a new network. It'll be on the front page of Hamachi.
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Enter a name for your server. In the "Network ID" text box, type in whatever you want to name your server.
- If you select a server name that is already in use, Hamachi will alert you.
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Enter a password for your server. Type your preferred server password into the "Password" text box, then retype the password into the "Confirm password" text box.
- You will need to give this password to other players to join your server. Make sure you don’t use a password for any other account. Use a password you don’t mind sharing.
It's at the bottom of the window. This will create your server.
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Paste your Hamachi IP address into your server folder. This is how the server will know to use Hamachi:
- Right-click (or Control-Click on Mac) the IP address at the top of the Hamachi window.
- Click Copy IPv4 address.
- Open the server folder you created.
- Right-click the Server.properties file.
- Select Open with.
- Open the file in Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac.
- Paste the server IP address next to “Server-IP=”.
- Save the file.
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Go online. Right-click (or Control-click) the server name, then click Go online in the drop-down menu.
- If you see Go offline in the drop-down menu, your server is already online.
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Have your friends join your server. If you want to have some people join your server, they will have to download and install Hamachi before doing the following:
- Open Hamachi.
- Click Network
- Click Join existing network...
- Enter the server's name and password in the "Network ID" and "Password" text fields, respectively.
- Click Join

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Connecting to Your Server

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1
Run the server file. Double-click the Java server file in your Minecraft Server folder. This will open the command window for the server file. You'll also want to ensure that your Hamachi server is running before proceeding.
- To give yourself moderator privileges, type /op username (where "username" is your Minecraft username) into the text field at the bottom of the server run window and press Enter.
2
Open Minecraft. Make sure you launch Minecraft: Java Edition. To do so, open the Minecraft Launcher and select Minecraft: Java Edition in the menu bar to the left. Then click Play.
It's in the middle of the main menu.
You'll find this option at the bottom of the window.
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Enter your server's name and IP address and click Done. Enter your server’s name below “Server Name”. Then copy the IPv4 address from Hamachi and paste into “Server Address.” Then click Done. Have your friends who want to join do the same.
Once your server appears in the search results, click its name once to select it.
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Click Join Server. This option is at the bottom of the window.
- You may be prompted to enter a password before your world finishes loading. If so, type in the password you used to create your server when you configured Hamachi.
- If your friends can’t connect, you may need to disable your firewall settings.

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Question

What does Hamachi do for Minecraft?

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Hamachi allows you to play LAN worlds with people online. It's the easiest way of playing Minecraft with friends without having to pay for a server or find a Minecraft realm.

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What is the Hamachi IP address?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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The Hamachi IP address is what you make on Hamachi that your friends join, direct connect this specific IP, then the port to open to LAN that hosts it. The IP is your IPV4 address in Hamachi. When looking at Hamachi, right-click on the numbers next to the power button and it should say "copy ipv4 address." Try that as the IP, and if that doesn't work, try the IPV6 address.

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How do you join a LAN world in Minecraft?

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You can join a LAN world in Minecraft either on the same WiFi as someone (usually this will mean you're in the same house/building) or you can do it as explained in the article above via Hamachi, online.

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When hosting a server, it's best to connect your computer directly to your modem to ensure that you have the most consistent Internet possible.^{[4]
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If your friends cannot connect to your server, you may need to disable your firewall settings.

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