How to Make a Skyblock Server in Minecraft (Plugins, Aternos, Bedrock)

You want a skyblock server for your friends, or for a small community that grows past your friends. Before you get into how to make a skyblock server, settle one thing, and it isn't software: does everyone share one island, or does everybody get their own?

Short answer: for two to four friends, load a skyblock map onto a plain server and you're done in minutes. For anything bigger, or if you want an island per player or team, run Paper with an island plugin. BentoBox with its BSkyBlock addon is the one I'd start with. Everything below is the long version.

Pick your route

The simple way: a skyblock map for your friends

If it's you and a few friends, everyone sharing one island is often more fun anyway. You're all stuck on the same dirt patch, so you all feel the pain of the first cobblestone generator together. Grab a map, put it on a server and you're playing. My list of the best skyblock maps has the maps worth downloading. Get the server itself running with my guide to making a Minecraft server, then use the map as the server's world. New to the mode? How to play skyblock covers the rules.

The catch: it's one world and one island. Add a fifth friend, then a sixth, and people start tripping over each other. That's when you want the next route.

An island each: the skyblock plugin route

A skyblock plugin (people also call it an island plugin or a skyblock core) gives every player or team a separate island in its own void world, with protection so visitors can't wreck it. These need a server that runs plugins: Paper, Spigot or Purpur. Vanilla, Fabric and Forge won't run them. Not sure which to pick? My server software comparison sorts them out. Players don't install anything. It's all server-side.

BentoBox

BentoBox is a plugin for island-style games on Paper, and the game modes are addons you drop in: BSkyBlock (the classic), AOneBlock (one magic block, in phases), AcidIsland (harder, with an acid ocean) and more. Its docs call BSkyBlock the safe choice with the biggest community. It's free and open source under EPL-2.0. If you like the one-block idea, One Block Minecraft explained is the background.

SuperiorSkyblock2 and IridiumSkyblock

Both are separate skyblock cores, not BentoBox addons, and both are GPL-3.0 on GitHub. SuperiorSkyblock2 describes itself as an optimized, feature-packed skyblock core, though its README says it's provided "as is", with no guarantee of updates or new features. IridiumSkyblock lists Vault as a required dependency, so install that too, and recommends an economy plugin, because features are limited without one. I'd still start with BentoBox, since it's the one I can walk you through below, but either of these is a fair choice if you like their feature sets.

How to make a skyblock server with BentoBox

1. Set up a Paper server. Follow my Minecraft server guide for Java, the EULA and the start script, using Paper as the software. As of late 2026, BentoBox 3.23.5 is built for Java 25, so check what your Paper version needs.
2. Install BentoBox. Put the BentoBox jar in plugins, start the server once, then stop it.
3. Add the game mode. Put the BSkyBlock jar in plugins/BentoBox/addons. Not in plugins. Addons come from download.bentobox.world or Hangar.
4. Match your Minecraft version. Check the addon's page for the Minecraft versions it lists, and do the same for every addon you add. They don't all move at the same speed. When I checked, BSkyBlock 1.20.0 (April 2026) was the newest release and listed Paper 1.21.5+ and 26.1.x.
5. Start once, stop, then edit. The addon creates its worlds and a config.yml. Stop the server before you edit the config. If your changes affect the worlds it already made, delete those worlds before restarting.
6. Test as a normal player. Run /bentobox version to see loaded addons. Then join without op and type /island. Have a friend visit and check they can't break anything.

The config that matters

• Island distance. distance-between-islands is a radius, so the real gap between islands is double the number, and it should be a multiple of 16. Set it before anyone makes an island. Once islands exist, changing it makes BentoBox refuse to start.
• Protection range. island-protection-range is also a radius and has to be less than half the distance.
• Resets. reset-limit is how many times a player can restart their island. -1 means unlimited.
• Team size. max-team-size defaults to 4, which is fine for a friends server.
• Starter island and chest. BentoBox lets you customize the starting island with Blueprints: mark two corners, copy and save your own build. Put the starter chest in the blueprint.
• Permissions. Use a permissions plugin like LuckPerms. Nodes look like bskyblock.island.create.
• Challenges and extras. The BentoBox docs recommend the Warps, Level and Challenges addons. Challenges gives people goals, and BentoBox's own phrasing is that it dramatically improves retention. If you run more than one game mode, add InvSwitcher. My skyblock challenges page has ideas for what to ask players to do.

How to make a skyblock server on Aternos

Yes, you can do this free. Aternos only lets you install plugins from its own plugin library, and it doesn't let you upload plugins you downloaded elsewhere. So here's the order:

1. In your Aternos server's Software setting, pick PaperMC, Purpur or Spigot. Those are the plugin-capable choices.
2. Open the plugin library and search for the skyblock plugin you want. If it's there, install it. If it isn't, you can't add it.
3. Start the server once, then edit the config in the Files section. Most changes need a restart.

No plugin? Aternos can also take an uploaded world, so the shared-map route works there too. Other free hosts are in my free Minecraft server hosting guide.

How to make a skyblock server in Bedrock

Bedrock doesn't have Bukkit-style plugins, so there's no BentoBox for it. You have two real options.

• A Bedrock server with a skyblock world or add-on. Aternos Bedrock servers take add-ons by uploading behavior and resource packs to the packs folder. Some need experiments turned on, and the add-on has to match the server's Minecraft version. My Bedrock server guide covers the base setup.
• A Java server with Geyser in front. Geyser lets Bedrock players join a Java server, so they play on the same islands as everyone else. Put Geyser-Spigot.jar in plugins on Paper, then edit the bedrock: section of plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml (port 19132). Forward that port for both TCP and UDP. If you can't port forward, playit.gg is an option. As of late 2026, Geyser wants the Java server on 26.3, or ViaVersion installed if it isn't. Floodgate lets Bedrock players in without a paid Java account.

More on mixed groups in my crossplay servers piece.

How much RAM does a skyblock server need?

Nobody publishes a skyblock-specific number, so this is my opinion as of late 2026. For Paper plus an island plugin and two to four friends, I'd start at 2GB. 1GB is a squeeze: it can work, but you'll have no headroom. For a small community, 4GB. The Minecraft Wiki's general guidance backs the 2GB floor: at least 2GB for small servers, 4GB and up for bigger ones. And skyblock tends to strain the server's single tick thread with hoppers and farms more than memory, so keep an eye on lag as well as RAM.

FAQ

How do I make my own skyblock server?

Run Paper, add BentoBox and the BSkyBlock addon, edit the config before anyone joins, then test with /island. For two or three friends, just load a skyblock map instead.

Is 1GB RAM enough?

Tight. I'd go with 2GB for a few friends and 4GB for a community.

How can I play skyblock with my friends?

Either everyone joins one shared-map server, or you set up an island plugin and add each other to a team (BentoBox teams default to 4 players). Or skip hosting and join a public one from my best skyblock servers list.