How to Use Cloudflare Spectrum for Minecraft

What Is Cloudflare Spectrum?

Cloudflare Spectrum extends Cloudflare's DDoS protection and performance network to non-HTTP protocols, including Minecraft. Normally, Cloudflare only proxies web traffic, but cloudflare spectrum minecraft support allows TCP traffic on port 25565 to flow through Cloudflare's edge network. This hides your server's real IP, absorbs volumetric attacks, and can reduce latency for players far from your server location.

Requirements

• A Cloudflare account on the Pro plan or higher (Spectrum is not available on the free plan)
• A domain managed through Cloudflare DNS
• A Minecraft server with a known IP and port

Setting Up Spectrum

Step 1: Open the Spectrum Dashboard

Log into Cloudflare, select your domain, and navigate to the Spectrum section in the left sidebar. Click "Create an application."

Step 2: Configure the Application

Fill in the following:

• Protocol: TCP
• Subdomain: The hostname players will connect to, such as play.example.com
• Edge Port: 25565 (the standard Minecraft port)
• Origin IP: Your server's real IP address
• Origin Port: The port your server listens on (usually 25565)

Enable the "PROXY Protocol" toggle if your server or proxy supports it. Velocity, for example, can accept PROXY protocol headers to restore player IPs when using cloudflare spectrum minecraft.

Step 3: Update DNS

Cloudflare automatically creates the necessary DNS records when you set up a Spectrum application. Verify that play.example.com resolves to a Cloudflare IP by running:

nslookup play.example.com

You should see a Cloudflare IP, not your server's real IP.

IP Forwarding

With Spectrum, your server receives connections from Cloudflare's IPs. To see real player IPs, enable PROXY protocol in both the Spectrum app and your server. For Velocity, set haproxy-protocol = true in velocity.toml. For BungeeCord, you will need a PROXY protocol plugin.

Performance Considerations

Cloudflare spectrum minecraft routing sends player traffic through the nearest Cloudflare datacenter and then via Cloudflare's optimized backbone to your server. For players geographically close to your server, this might add a small amount of latency (1 to 5 ms). For players far away, the Cloudflare backbone can actually reduce latency compared to a direct connection over the public internet.

Cost

Spectrum is a paid feature. Cloudflare charges based on bandwidth usage. For small to mid-sized servers, costs are manageable, but high-traffic networks with thousands of concurrent players should estimate bandwidth usage carefully. Check Cloudflare's pricing page for current rates.

Limitations

• Bedrock Edition uses UDP, which Spectrum handles differently. Check Cloudflare's documentation for UDP support status.
• Spectrum does not inspect or filter Minecraft protocol-level attacks. It protects against volumetric (layer 3/4) DDoS only.

For protocol-level protection, combine cloudflare spectrum minecraft with a solution like TCPShield or use a proxy with built-in bot filtering. To protect your home IP specifically, see our home IP protection guide.

See a polished network in action: Astroworld MC, IP play.astroworldmc.com, Java + Bedrock.