Connecting to Your Server

How to add your Minekube AI server in Minecraft, understand server states, and troubleshoot connection issues

Connecting to Your Server

Requirements

• Minecraft Java Edition 1.21 or later
• A Minekube AI account (sign up at minekube.com)

Adding the Server

1. Find your server address

   Log in to the dashboard. Your server address is displayed on your server’s page. Copy it.

2. Open Minecraft Multiplayer

   Launch Minecraft Java Edition and click Multiplayer.

3. Add the server

   Click Add Server, paste your server address into the Server Address field, and click Done.

4. Join

   Your server appears in the list. Double-click it to connect.

Your server is accessible through the Minekube Connect network — no port forwarding or public IP address is needed.

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Server States

Your server can be in one of three states:

Status	What It Means	What You See in Server List
Running	Server is online and ready	Normal MOTD, player count, ping
Starting	Server is booting up (takes ~30 seconds)	“Server is starting…”
Hibernated	Server is sleeping to save resources	”Server is sleeping - Connect to wake it up!”

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Wake-on-Connect

When no players are online for a period of time, your server hibernates automatically to save resources. Waking it up is seamless — you do not need to visit the dashboard.

1. View your server in the Minecraft server list

   You will see “Server is sleeping - Connect to wake it up!” as the MOTD. Just by viewing the server in your list, the wake-up process has already started.

2. Wait about 30 seconds

   The server boots up in the background. Refresh your server list (press the Refresh button or leave and re-enter the Multiplayer screen).

3. Join when ready

   Once the server list shows the normal MOTD and a green ping bar, double-click to join.

You can also wake your server manually from the dashboard by clicking Start.

Auto-hibernation saves resources for everyone. Your worlds, plugins, scripts, and all server data are fully preserved during hibernation. Nothing is lost.

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Troubleshooting

Server list shows 'Server is sleeping'

This is normal. Your server hibernated because no players were online. The wake-up process starts automatically when you view the server in your list.

1. Wait about 30 seconds
2. Refresh the server list
3. When the MOTD returns to normal, join

If the server is still sleeping after a minute, try starting it from the dashboard.

Cannot connect / connection timed out

• Confirm you are using Minecraft Java Edition 1.21 or later (not Bedrock)
• Double-check the server address matches what is shown on your dashboard
• Check that your server status is Running on the dashboard
• Try restarting Minecraft
• If the problem persists, ask for help on Discord

Disconnected while playing

This can occasionally happen if the AI sends a malformed chat message. It is a known issue being actively fixed.

Simply reconnect — all your progress is saved. Your world, inventory, and server state are persistent.

Server takes a long time to start

First boot after creation can take up to 60 seconds. Subsequent wake-ups from hibernation are usually around 30 seconds. If your server does not come online within 2 minutes, check the dashboard or contact us on Discord.

Wrong Minecraft version

Minekube AI servers run Paper 1.21. Make sure your Minecraft client is version 1.21 or a compatible later version. Using an older client version will prevent you from connecting.