Set up Dynmap on your Minecraft server

Dynmap draws your world as a map you open in a web browser, and players appear on it as they move. It runs as a plugin on Paper and Spigot servers, serves the map from its own built-in web server, and so needs a port of its own.

Checked against Dynmap 3.8 on Paper 1.21.11, October 2026.

Check your Minecraft version first

Dynmap's newest Paper and Spigot build, 3.8, was uploaded in January 2026 and lists Minecraft up to 1.21.11. As of October 2026 no Dynmap release lists Minecraft 26.x. If your server runs 26.x, you have two choices:

• Use a map plugin that supports your version. BlueMap lists Paper up to 26.3 on Modrinth, and Add a live web map to your Minecraft server with BlueMap covers it.
• Run Dynmap on a new server at Minecraft 1.21.11. Pick Paper and 1.21.11 in the JAR Manager under More.

Install Dynmap

Modrinth's Paper builds of Dynmap stop at 3.7-beta-8 for Minecraft 1.21.4, so search CurseForge instead.

1. Open Plugins under Content in the left rail.
2. In the source chip row at the top of the tab, choose CurseForge and search for Dynmap. If it is listed, click Install.
3. Open the Console tab and click Restart. Plugins load only at startup, and Dynmap's own guide says to restart rather than use /reload.
4. Type plugins in the console. Dynmap should be green.

If the store does not list it, or says its author only allows downloads through CurseForge's own app, get Dynmap-3.8-spigot.jar from Dynmap's page on Bukkit. In the File Manager, open the plugins folder, click Upload (its tooltip reads Upload files) and pick the jar, then restart.

After the first start there is a plugins/dynmap folder holding configuration.txt, which controls almost everything.

Add a port for the map

Players join Minecraft on your main port, so the map needs a separate one.

1. Open Settings under More and find the Network ports card under Connections.
2. Click Add port. A new row with the Extra badge appears. Note its number.
3. If the card says "Your plan doesn't include extra ports.", your plan has no spare port for the map, which needs one of its own. See Add an extra port to your server and Upgrade or downgrade your plan.

Now tell Dynmap to use it.

1. In the File Manager, open plugins/dynmap/configuration.txt.
2. Find webserver-port: 8123, the default, and replace 8123 with your new port number.
3. Click Save and restart the server.
4. In a browser, open http:// followed by the extra port's address and port, which the row's copy button gives you, then a trailing /.

Dynmap's documentation calls this setting the most common reason a web map does not work, so check the number first if the page will not load.

Render the map

The map starts black. Dynmap fills it in as chunks are generated and as blocks change, and you can render everything on purpose. In the Console, type:

dynmap fullrender world

Replace world with your world's folder name. From the console it renders from the world's centre. A few related commands:

• dynmap radiusrender world 0 0 1000 renders at least 1000 blocks around the point 0, 0.
• dynmap fullrender resume world continues a render, skipping tiles already done.
• dynmap cancelrender world stops a render.
• dynmap pause all pauses all rendering, and dynmap pause none resumes it.

A first full render of a large world can take a very long time at the default hires setting. deftemplatesuffix near the top of configuration.txt sets the detail, and lowres or vlowres give smaller, faster maps.

Disk space

Dynmap stores its tiles as image files under web/tiles in its folder by default. They grow with the size of your world and the detail you chose, so watch the Disk Usage card on the Console tab, and see Server out of disk space? Free it up if it fills. Dynmap can also store tiles in SQLite or MySQL, but we do not offer MySQL databases, so keep the default.

If you pre-generate the world with Chunky, render after it finishes. Chunky's FAQ says rendering while it runs causes performance problems. See Pre-generate a Minecraft world with Chunky.