How to Update Bedrock Dedicated Server

Why Updates Matter

Mojang releases Bedrock updates roughly every 4 to 6 weeks. Each update may change the network protocol version, which means clients on the new version cannot connect to a server running the old version. If you do not update bedrock dedicated server binaries promptly, your players get locked out as their devices auto-update. Staying current also gives you security patches, bug fixes and new gameplay content.

Before You Update

Never update a live server without a backup. The update process replaces the server binary and default configs, and if something goes wrong, you want a clean rollback path.

Back Up Your World

systemctl stop bds
cp -r /home/minecraft/bds/worlds /home/minecraft/backups/worlds-$(date +%F)
cp /home/minecraft/bds/server.properties /home/minecraft/backups/server.properties-$(date +%F)
cp /home/minecraft/bds/permissions.json /home/minecraft/backups/permissions.json-$(date +%F)
cp /home/minecraft/bds/allowlist.json /home/minecraft/backups/allowlist.json-$(date +%F)

Back up any behavior packs, resource packs and custom configs you have added. The worlds/ folder is the most critical, it holds all your map data, player data and world settings.

Downloading the Latest Version

Go to the official Minecraft server download page and copy the Linux download URL. Then pull it onto your server:

cd /home/minecraft/bds
wget https://minecraft.net/bin-linux/bedrock-server-LATEST.zip -O update.zip

Replace LATEST with the actual version string. Mojang does not provide a "latest" symlink, so you need to check the download page for the current version number.

Applying the Update

Extract the zip while preserving your existing world and config files:

unzip -o update.zip -x worlds/* server.properties permissions.json allowlist.json

The -x flag excludes your customized files from being overwritten. This replaces the bedrock_server binary, shared libraries, and default resource/behavior packs with the new versions while keeping your data intact.

Start the server and verify it loads your world correctly:

systemctl start bds
journalctl -u bds -f

Watch the logs for errors. A successful start shows the world loading, the server listening on port 19132, and no crash output.

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Automating Updates

Manually checking for updates every month gets tedious. A simple script can automate the process. Here is a minimal example:

#!/bin/bash
INSTALL_DIR="/home/minecraft/bds"
BACKUP_DIR="/home/minecraft/backups"

# Stop server
systemctl stop bds

# Backup
cp -r "$INSTALL_DIR/worlds" "$BACKUP_DIR/worlds-$(date +%F)"
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/server.properties" "$BACKUP_DIR/server.properties-$(date +%F)"

# Download and extract
cd "$INSTALL_DIR"
wget -q "DOWNLOAD_URL" -O update.zip
unzip -o update.zip -x worlds/* server.properties permissions.json allowlist.json
rm update.zip

# Restart
systemctl start bds

Run this with a cron job or trigger it manually when you confirm a new version is available. Some community tools parse the download page and detect new versions automatically, but these can break if Mojang changes the page structure.

Checking the Installed Version

When the server starts, the first few log lines show the version number. You can also check the binary directly:

grep -a "Version" bedrock_server | head -1

Compare this against the latest version listed on the download page to confirm you are up to date.

Rolling Back

If the new version causes problems (crashes, world corruption, plugin incompatibility), stop the server and restore your backup:

systemctl stop bds
cp -r /home/minecraft/backups/worlds-YYYY-MM-DD/* /home/minecraft/bds/worlds/
# Optionally restore the old binary from a previous backup
systemctl start bds

Keep in mind that players who have already updated their clients cannot connect to an older server version. Rollbacks work best when applied quickly before most players update.

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Server.properties Changes

New BDS versions occasionally add new server.properties keys. After updating, compare the default server.properties (included in the zip) with your existing one to see if new options are available. You can diff the files:

diff /home/minecraft/backups/server.properties-$(date +%F) server.properties.default

For a full breakdown of every property, see our server.properties reference. If you are running BDS on Linux for the first time, start with our installation guide.