How to Invite Friends to Your Minecraft Server on Chunkly

Copy name.play.chunkly.net from the world dashboard

In the Chunkly Panel, select the world. At the top of the dashboard the connection string is shown. /docs/connect prints it as myserver.play.chunkly.net:25565 and labels 25565 the default port. The name is the one on that world. The host friends need is name.play.chunkly.net. Copy it from that line.

The world has to exist first. /docs/getting-started is Create Server, then the engine and version, then Deploy Server Now. After that boot, the join string is the one on /docs/connect. /faq states the same host: when the server is provisioned, friends join name.play.chunkly.net on Minecraft Java, port 25565.

If the port is 25565, players only type the hostname, without the colon. In Server Address they paste name.play.chunkly.net and leave :25565 off. Paste that host in the group chat, not on a public server list.

Add Server, then Join Server

The Multiplayer clicks on /docs/connect are short. Launch Minecraft Java Edition on the matching game version. Click Multiplayer from the main menu. Click Add Server at the bottom. Enter a name in Server Name. The guide’s example is “Diamond SMP”. Paste the Chunkly address into Server Address. When the port is 25565, that field is the hostname only. Click Done, select the server from the list, and click Join Server.

A client on the wrong version fails before the world matters. /docs/connect says a 1.20.4 client cannot join a 1.21.4 server unless the ViaVersion plugin is installed. On Vanilla, Paper, or Purpur, friends do not install the server’s plugins. /docs/software says they join with ordinary Minecraft. A Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge pack is the exception: everyone installs the same pack version, or the client rejects the connection. That warning is /docs/modpacks.

Whitelist the exact Minecraft usernames

Turn the whitelist on before the address leaves the group. /docs/whitelist: only players whose exact Minecraft usernames are on the list can join. A Discord nickname is not a Minecraft username. The spelling has to match the account.

The panel path is the Players tab. Toggle Whitelist Enabled to ON. Add usernames in the input box. The console path printed beside it is /whitelist on, then /whitelist add Notch, then /whitelist reload. Replace the example name. Read the list back before you share the host. The habit on /minecraft-server-for-friends is the same: whitelist on, exact names, host in the group chat.

Ops are a shorter list than the whitelist

Being allowed to join is not the same as being an operator. /docs/whitelist says operators can use admin commands such as /gamemode, /tp, /give, and /stop. A normal friend SMP is the whole group on the whitelist and one or two ops.

Open the Console tab. In the command input at the bottom, type without a slash: op YourMinecraftUsername. Press Enter. The confirmation on the page is [Server: Made YourMinecraftUsername a server operator]. To remove it later, type deop YourMinecraftUsername, again with no leading slash. Campfire is Vanilla, so you have Mojang’s whitelist and op. Finer Paper permissions, such as LuckPerms, are named on /docs/software.

The same doc prints kick and ban for someone who should not stay. /ban <player> [reason] permanently adds the player UUID to banned-players.json. /ban-ip <player> bans that IP from connecting. /kick <player> disconnects them from the current session. A ban does not replace the whitelist. If the host leaked, put the real group on the list first.

What “can’t connect” usually means

Connection Refused / Server Offline, on /docs/connect: open the Chunkly Panel and read the status. It should say Online or Sleeping. If it says stopped, click the green Start button. /faq says an owner Stop will not wake until Start.

Sleeping is not stopped. On Paper and Vanilla with sleep enabled, the server may show as offline in the multiplayer list while it is empty. The connect guide says that is normal. Double-click to connect. The first join triggers wake-on-join. The server boots into memory in about 15–30 seconds and logs the player in.

/docs/sleep-wake times that idle: about 6 minutes empty on Campfire, about 12 minutes on Village. Do not call Village Paper or Vanilla always-on. A world already running at 1am is Kingdom, under Settings → Idle Policy, or a modpack that stays up. Forge, Fabric, and NeoForge stay running by default because those packs are slow to boot.

The other labeled error is Incompatible Version. A 1.20.4 client cannot join a 1.21.4 server unless ViaVersion is installed. If the status is Online, the version matches, and the player still cannot enter, check Whitelist Enabled and the exact username. Also re-read Server Address: hostname only when the port is 25565.

How long until friends can join

They join once the world is provisioned, not on a later calendar date. /faq and /docs/getting-started describe setup as ready in under 60 seconds, with the instance booting within 30–60 seconds after Deploy Server Now. /plans states a deploy target of ≤60 seconds after payment once a game node is online. /faq also says EU game nodes come online as capacity is added. If no game node is online yet, /status says worlds queue until a node heartbeats. The under-60-second line is that target after a node is online.

After the address is on the dashboard, friends add name.play.chunkly.net and join. If Paper or Vanilla is asleep, the wait is the wake, often 15–30 seconds. Join once yourself before you send the host.

Campfire is the free Vanilla try: one server, 2 GB, about five players online, no credit card, on /free-minecraft-server. It sleeps after about six minutes, cannot turn sleep off, and cannot run Paper. Paper, when a wake after idle is acceptable, is Village Budget at €0.85 per GB per month. A modpack, or a Paper world that should already be running, is Kingdom Premium at €1.90/GB, including Settings → Idle Policy. Village Paper and Vanilla cannot disable that idle sleep. Paid plans bill monthly through Stripe, and you can cancel. Cards are on /plans. Crew size is /minecraft-server-for-friends.

FAQ

What if it says can’t connect? On /docs/connect, Connection Refused means check the panel: Online or Sleeping can be joined, and stopped needs the green Start button. A sleeping Paper or Vanilla world may look offline; double-click, and the wake is often 15–30 seconds. Then match Java versions (a 1.20.4 client does not join 1.21.4 unless ViaVersion is installed), use name.play.chunkly.net with no colon on port 25565, and confirm the exact username is on the whitelist.

What is the default port? 25565. Friends type the hostname alone under Multiplayer → Add Server → Server Address. The dashboard may show the host with :25565. Leave the colon and port off. That tip is /docs/connect.

How long until friends can join? When the server is provisioned. Getting started and /faq put that under 60 seconds after setup; the instance boots within 30–60 seconds after Deploy Server Now. /plans states ≤60 seconds after payment once a game node is online. If none is online yet, /status says worlds queue until a node heartbeats. A later sleeping join is the 15–30 second wake, not another deploy.

Do friends install anything? On Vanilla, Paper, or Purpur, no. They use Minecraft Java in the server’s version. Plugins stay on the server, per /docs/software. On Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge they install the same pack version, or the connection is rejected. That warning is /docs/modpacks.

Is op the same as the whitelist? No. The whitelist is who may connect. Op is who may run /gamemode, /tp, /give, and /stop. Add names on the Players tab, or with /whitelist on, /whitelist add, and /whitelist reload. Grant op from the Console tab with op and the username, no leading slash, and remove it with deop. Both lists are /docs/whitelist.