Introduction

PocketMC is a local-first Minecraft server manager for Windows. It runs directly on your machine, isolates server runtimes into dedicated folders, and automates Java provisioning, networking tunnels, backups, and remote management.

Design Principles

Running a Minecraft server at home usually involves manual Java installations, router port forwarding, fragile startup scripts, and keeping track of mod dependencies by hand. PocketMC handles these operations locally while giving you direct access to server files on your drive.

• Local storage: All server files, worlds, plugins, player records, and settings remain on your local drive in standard Minecraft formats. You can move, edit, or back up folders directly in File Explorer.
• Isolated runtimes: Eclipse Adoptium JRE builds and PHP binaries are downloaded into dedicated runtime subdirectories. PocketMC launches each server with its required runtime without altering your system PATH or Windows registry.
• Outbound tunneling: An integrated Playit.gg daemon and Cloudflare Quick Tunnel provider route traffic over secure outbound tunnels. Friends can connect over the internet without modifying router firewall settings.
• Process supervision: Servers run inside Win32 Job Objects. When PocketMC closes, child processes terminate predictably without leaving orphaned Java instances running in the background.

Directory Layout

PocketMC organizes instances, runtimes, and tunnels inside a central root folder (by default, %USERPROFILE%\Documents\PocketMC, or any folder you choose during initial setup):

PocketMC/
├── instances/
│   └── survival-paper/
│       ├── .pocket-mc.json          # Instance metadata and runtime configuration
│       ├── server.properties        # Standard Minecraft server configuration
│       ├── server.jar               # Versioned engine binary (Paper, Fabric, etc.)
│       ├── plugins/                 # Addons, mods, or datapacks
│       ├── world/                   # Dimension save folders
│       └── backups/
│           ├── .pocket-mc-backups.json  # Checksum manifest and trigger history
│           └── world-2026-03-15.zip # Local world archives
├── runtimes/
│   ├── java-8/                      # Adoptium JRE binaries for classic builds
│   ├── java-17/                     # Adoptium JRE for 1.18 - 1.20.4
│   └── java-21/                     # Adoptium JRE for modern 1.20.5+
├── runtime/
│   └── php8.2/                      # App-local PHP runtime for PocketMine-MP
├── tunnel/
│   ├── playit.exe                   # Verified tunnel agent binary
│   └── playit.toml                  # Active session credentials
├── settings.json                    # DPAPI-encrypted user settings
└── logs/                            # Application diagnostic logs

Quick Start

Setting up your first server takes a few steps:

1. Run PocketMC-Setup.exe and complete initial folder selection.
2. Click Create ServerSelect Engine and choose your preferred engine (Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Bedrock BDS, or PocketMine-MP).
3. Pick a Minecraft version. PocketMC checks whether the required Java or PHP runtime is present and downloads it automatically if needed.
4. Click Start Server. The terminal will initialize and stream startup output in real time.
5. Copy your tunnel join address from the server dashboard to share with friends.