You need to tell your exact network configuration here. I.e. without the following pieces of information:
- Your OS
- Java or Bedrock? Do your friends understand the difference?!
- The server subnet (and the server LOCAL address);
- and the relevant netmask
- Your router and/or modem model
- Your router network configuration (firewall settings, zones, IP forwarding)
- Your server.properties file contents copy+pasted here (remove any passwords, if any).
it is impossible to give any kind of guidance. There is no how-to which could cover all routers out there. But with the above information, someone here might have time to walk you trough it.
If providing screenshots (do use copy+pasteing text whenever possible, though, but pictures of the router UI from it's web page will be useful), bear in mind
to not post any kind of private information, such as any passwords and your public IP address.
However, to self-host, you need to have a basic understanding on how networking (things such as IP addresses, subnet, netmask, gateway, ports, IPv4 and IPv6) work.
That being said - I think the tutorial in the
the wiki for setting up a server is not on point but veering too much off-topic. It goes on and on about general recommendations, warnings, HW requirements, how to install Java etc. on practically any OS out there, which, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with how to set up a server (for example, JAVA could be installed for whatever reason besides running a MC server). They are
requirements and were better put on a separate page IMO. For example, the port information is somewhere in a sub-section of 2nd level on the
twelth main subsection.
To emphasize my point, what you need to set up a server:
- (assuming behind a NAT) On the router:
- Open and forward the required port (TCP+UDP, per default 25565, but can be changed, see below)
- IF some other kind of setup, the clients need to be able to access this port on the host.
- On the MC server (any computer):
- Choose how you run it (manually, by a script/batch file, timer/scheduling etc., containers?)
- Install it and all it's requirements in your chosen fashion.
- Edit server.properties
So the networking part is really simple.
EDIT: I'm not actually sure there is a tutorial which includes the networking part for PaperMC per se. I presume very few people run the vanilla server...