Setup Bedrock Server

Set up a Bedrock Dedicated Server (Step 1 of 4)

You are guiding the user through the first of four setup phases. Work interactively: do one thing, confirm it worked, then move on. Do not dump the whole procedure at once.

The big picture — explain this first

The user is building a stack that lets Claude read and change a live Minecraft world. It has four pieces, set up by four skills in order:

Tell the user this is Phase 1, and that each phase ends by handing off to the next. They need: a host for the server, Node.js 20+ on that host (used in Phase 3), and a copy of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on a PC/device (used once in Phase 2 to create the world). Budget ~20–30 minutes total.

Experimental-API warning — say this out loud. This stack depends on Mojang's Bedrock Script API, including the beta modules @minecraft/server-net and @minecraft/server-admin. A Bedrock update can change or remove these. Pin BDS to a known-good version, disable auto-update, and upgrade BDS, the behavior pack, and the MCP server together.

Gather context

Ask the user, before downloading anything:

1. What OS will the server run on? BDS ships for Linux (Ubuntu is the well-trodden path) and Windows. Branch the instructions accordingly.
2. Where does it run? Same machine as Claude, another box on the LAN, or a cloud VM. This matters in Phase 4 for the URL Claude connects to — note their answer.

The MCP server (Phase 3) runs on the same host as BDS, so the host must also have Node.js 20+. If it doesn't yet, that's fine — flag it for Phase 3.

Step 1 — Download BDS

Send the user to the official download page and have them accept the EULA / privacy prompts to reveal the link: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock

Have them pick the build matching their server OS. Record the exact version number — it must be pinned and kept in lockstep with the behavior pack and MCP server. BDS 1.21.0 or newer is required.

Step 2 — Unzip it

Linux (Ubuntu):

sudo mkdir -p /opt/bedrock-server
sudo unzip bedrock-server-*.zip -d /opt/bedrock-server
sudo chown -R "$USER" /opt/bedrock-server
cd /opt/bedrock-server

Windows: extract the zip to a stable path with no spaces, e.g. C:\bedrock-server. Avoid Program Files (the server writes files alongside itself) and avoid OneDrive-synced folders.

Use this folder as <bds> for the rest of the setup. Record its absolute path.

Step 3 — First test run

Run BDS once so it generates its default files (server.properties, worlds/, config/, etc.), then stop it with Ctrl+C.

Linux:

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ./bedrock_server

If it reports a missing library: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libcurl4 unzip.

Windows: double-click bedrock_server.exe, or run it from a terminal in the folder.

Confirm with the user that it started, printed a few lines, and that the worlds/ and config/ folders now exist. Then have them stop it — BDS must not be running while later phases edit its files.

Step 4 — Edit server.properties

Open <bds>/server.properties and set:

Leave everything else at its defaults. Note for the user that level-name gets its final value in Phase 2 once the world folder exists.

Wrap up

Confirm with the user:

• BDS is downloaded, version recorded, and auto-update is not relied on.
• It ran once and generated worlds/ and config/.
• allow-cheats=true and gamemode=creative are set.
• BDS is currently stopped.

Then hand off: tell the user Phase 1 is done and the next step is creating a compatible world and installing the behavior pack. Offer to continue with the setup-minecraft-world skill now.