Add a web map with BlueMap

BlueMap reads your world files and builds a 3D map you open in a web browser, so friends can look at it up close as if in the game, or from far away, without joining the server. It runs as a plugin or mod, does its rendering away from the server's main thread, and serves the map from a small web server of its own. That web server needs a port that Minecraft is not using.

Checked against BlueMap 5.29 on Paper 26.3, October 2026. BlueMap 5.29 needs Java 25 or newer, which is what the panel runs for Minecraft 26.x. Its newest builds support Minecraft up to 26.3. The Paper, Purpur and Folia build of 5.29 starts at 26.1.1, and the Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Spigot builds start at 26.1, so see "On older Minecraft versions" below if your server is older. It is a plugin on Paper, Purpur, Folia and Spigot and a mod on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, and it only maps Java Edition worlds.

Add a port for the map

1. Open Settings under More and find the Network ports card under Connections.
2. Click Add port. A row with the Extra badge appears, showing an address and a port number. Note the number.
3. If the card says "Your plan doesn't include extra ports.", there is no port to add on that plan, and BlueMap's installation page lists an additional port besides the Minecraft one as a prerequisite. See Add an extra port to your server.

Install BlueMap

1. Open Plugins under Content in the left rail. On Fabric, Forge or NeoForge the tab is called Mods.
2. Above the search box, make sure the Modrinth chip is selected, search for BlueMap and click Install.
3. Open the Console tab and click Restart.
4. BlueMap now creates its config files and sets up one map for each world it finds. They are in plugins/BlueMap/ on Paper and Purpur, which runs Paper plugins, or config/bluemap/ on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge. Open core.conf in the File Manager and change accept-download to true. This accepts Mojang's EULA and lets BlueMap download a Minecraft client file from Mojang, which it needs to draw textures.
5. Open webserver.conf and change port from its default of 8100 to the number of your extra port. Click Save on each file.
6. In the Console, type bluemap reload. Leave off the slash. Look for a line saying Webserver started.
7. In a browser, type http://, then the extra port's address and port from the Network ports row, then a trailing /. Use http, not https.

Type bluemap in the Console to see how far the first render has got.

What to expect from the first render

BlueMap turns your whole world into 3D model files the first time, which uses a lot of CPU for a while. After that it only redraws chunks that change. render-thread-count in core.conf sets how many threads it may use. It can only draw chunks that already exist, so explore the world or pre-generate it first (if the map still comes out black, see the black map entry under Common problems). Pre-generate a Minecraft world with Chunky shows how.

The map files live under bluemap/web in your server's main folder. They take disk space, so watch the Disk card on the Console tab, and see Server out of disk space? Free it up if it fills.

On older Minecraft versions

This guide was checked on Minecraft 26.x only. The Game version filter on the Plugins or Mods tab starts on your server's version. On Modrinth the Paper, Purpur and Folia build of 5.29 starts at 26.1.1, and the Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Spigot builds start at 26.1, so nothing in 5.29 covers an older version. For Minecraft 1.20.6 to 1.21.11 the newest build a Paper server is offered is 5.16. It comes as a Paper build for 1.21.5 to 1.21.11 and as a Spigot build for 1.20 to 1.21.11, and the Fabric, Forge and NeoForge builds are older and differ by version: 5.7 covers 1.21 to 1.21.5, builds from 5.11 to 5.13 cover 1.21.6 to 1.21.10, and 5.16 lists only 1.21.11 on all three loaders. The panel runs Java 21 for 1.20.5 and later 1.x versions and Java 17 for 1.17 to 1.20.4, so the Java 25 figure above belongs to the 26.x builds. We did not check the Java, config or command details of the older builds. Before you install one, open its page on Modrinth, filter by your Minecraft version and read that build's notes.

Useful commands

Type these in the Console, written the same way as in step 6 above.

Who can see the map

BlueMap's web server has no login and no HTTPS of its own, so anyone who has the address and port can open the map. Its wiki says a login or HTTPS needs a separate web server in front of it, and we do not offer your own domain, so it stays an http address with a port. Your free server address points at your server's IP, so when an extra port's row shows that same IP you can use the address in its place, as in http://myserver.servers.playyourway.com.au:8100/. Claim a free server address shows how. To take the map offline, set enabled to false in webserver.conf, run bluemap reload, and release the extra port on the Network ports card if you no longer need it. BlueMap keeps rendering when its web server is off.

Common problems

• The page says 404 Not Found. Check that accept-download in core.conf is true. Then check that the webroot is the same folder in webapp.conf and webserver.conf.
• The page will not load. Confirm the Webserver started line, that you used http, and that port in webserver.conf matches your extra port exactly.
• The map is black or has gaps. Click Update Map in BlueMap's menu, then check bluemap for a busy render. Chunks that have not been generated cannot be drawn. A world that was upgraded from an older Minecraft version, pre-generated or generated with another tool can lack light data, and BlueMap skips those chunks until a player has loaded them once. BlueMap's FAQ names an ignore-missing-light-data option in the map config for that case.
• Changes do not appear. BlueMap waits for the server to save the world, so give it time, then click Update Map.

Dynmap does a similar job. Set up Dynmap on your Minecraft server covers it, and Best Minecraft plugins for a Paper server compares the two.