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A proxy network joins several Minecraft servers, such as a lobby, survival and minigames, behind one address. Players switch between them without disconnecting. This guide uses Velocity, the modern and recommended proxy.

Difficulty

Advanced

Time

30 minutes

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How a network works

Each part is its own FREAKHOSTING Minecraft server. For a lobby and a survival server, you need three servers in total. The proxy itself needs little memory (about 512 MB to 1 GB for small networks).
BungeeCord and Waterfall are also in Version Changer, but Waterfall is no longer developed and BungeeCord’s forwarding is less secure. Use Velocity for new networks. If you must use BungeeCord, set ip_forward: true in its config.yml and settings.bungeecord: true in each backend’s spigot.yml.

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Step 1: Install Velocity on the proxy server

1

Open Version Changer

On the server you want as the proxy, click Version Changer, then Velocity.
2

Install

Pick the newest version and click Change Version. Turn on Delete Server Files if this server had a game world on it before.
3

Start once

Start the server so Velocity creates velocity.toml and forwarding.secret, then stop it.

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Step 2: Configure velocity.toml

Open velocity.toml in Files on the proxy server.
1

Turn on modern forwarding

Modern forwarding passes each player’s real name, UUID and skin to the backends.
2

List your backends

In the [servers] section, add each backend with its address from the panel, and set the order players try them:
Delete the example servers that Velocity adds by default, and remove or edit the [forced-hosts] entries that point to them.
3

Copy the secret

Open forwarding.secret and copy its content. You need it for every backend.
Treat forwarding.secret like a password. Anyone who has it can pretend to be any player on your backends.

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Step 3: Set up each backend

Do this on every Paper backend server.
1

Turn off online mode

Click Server Properties, switch on Allow cracked players and click Save. The proxy checks accounts, so the backend mustn’t do it again.
2

Enable Velocity support

Stop the server. In Files, open config/paper-global.yml and set:
3

Check spigot.yml

In spigot.yml, make sure settings.bungeecord is false. It’s only for BungeeCord.
4

Start the backend

Start the backend, then start the proxy.
With modern forwarding on, a backend refuses players who try to connect to it directly instead of through the proxy. Players should always use the proxy’s address.

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Step 4: Join and switch servers

Players join with the proxy server’s address. Inside the network: Velocity runs plugins too. Velocity plugins are different from Paper plugins: on the proxy server, filter the Plugins page by the Velocity loader.

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Troubleshooting

The proxy can’t reach the backend. Check the address and port in [servers], that the backend is running, and that the backend name is in try.
The player connected straight to a backend. Use the proxy’s address.
The secret in paper-global.yml doesn’t match forwarding.secret, or proxies.velocity.enabled is off. Copy the secret again and restart the backend.
The backend isn’t receiving forwarding data. Check player-info-forwarding-mode = "modern" on the proxy and the Velocity settings on the backend.

Server configuration

Version Changer and server types.

Plugins, mods and modpacks

Shared MySQL for plugins across servers.

Crossplay with Bedrock

Add Bedrock players to your network.

Admin and commands

LuckPerms and permissions.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: October 2026