How to Setup Velocity Proxy on a Minecraft Network

By FreeGameHost Team • Updated May 2026 • 8 min read

Setting up your own game server provides total creative freedom, direct folder access, and a custom multiplayer experience. Velocity is the modern alternative to BungeeCord. Learn how to set up Velocity, configure forwarding, and connect your Paper/Spigot backends. Whether you are planning to host a small coop world for your close friends or build a public gaming community, configuring the server correctly is essential for maintaining 20 TPS (Ticks Per Second) and low connection latency.

In this comprehensive tutorial, we cover the exact system specifications, command blocks, configuration file lines, and plugin files required to get How to Setup Velocity Proxy on a Minecraft Network running. Follow each step carefully to prevent server crash loops, OutOfMemory exceptions, and common connection issues.

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Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

Download Velocity Jar

Download the latest Velocity proxy jar from PaperMC and configure a dedicated server instance to run it. Make sure to select the build version that matches your game server software exactly to prevent class loading errors during startup.

Configure Backend Spigots

On Lobby and Survival servers, set 'online-mode=false' in server.properties and configure velocity secrets in paper-global.yml. Open the file using the built-in Pterodactyl File Manager editor. Ensure you do not use tabs for indentations, as YAML requires spacing rules.

Configure velocity.toml

Open velocity.toml, set forwarding mode to 'modern', and add the local IPs and ports of backend servers under '[servers]'. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Match Secret Keys

Copy the generated secret code from 'forwarding.secret' on Velocity and paste it into paper-global.yml on all backend instances. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Recommended Configurations and Setup Files

To configure your server files correctly, navigate to the File Manager in your control panel and open the corresponding configuration files. Paste or modify the settings as shown in the configuration block below. These lines help prevent database thread blockages, optimize tick timing performance, and reduce entity rendering overhead on the game host:

# config/paper-global.yml velocity settings: proxies: velocity: enabled: true online-mode: true secret: "your_velocity_secret_key_from_forwarding_secret_file"

Pro Tip: Unlike BungeeCord, Velocity's modern forwarding passes IP addresses securely using cryptographic secrets, preventing hackers from spoofing logins on backend ports. Pre-generating world chunks using plugin utilities (like Chunky) is highly recommended for reducing startup lag during exploration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Velocity faster than BungeeCord?

Yes, Velocity uses modern netty optimizations and handles player lobby switches with significantly lower latency and CPU overhead.

Can I run GeyserMC on Velocity?

Yes. Install the Geyser-Velocity jar in the proxy's plugins folder to route Bedrock players across your network.

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