How to port forward a Mindustry server
Mindustry needs the same port number on both TCP and UDP. TCP carries the game connection and UDP handles discovery and part of the connection setup.
Your setup
Pick the firmware family, not the exact model — the menus are identical across a range.
Default is 6567. If you changed it, it is the value of the port config value.
The private address of the machine running the server — ipconfig on Windows, ip addr on Linux. It starts with 192.168, 10. or 172.
Open these
This firmware accepts ranges, so each line below is a single rule.
- 6567 TCP
- 6567 UDP
6567TCPGame trafficMindustry needs the same number on both protocols.6567UDPDiscoveryUDP carries LAN discovery and part of the connection setup.
Do not open these
This game has no remote-administration port to get wrong. Forward only what is listed on the left and nothing else.
Step by step: your router
- 1
Give the server a fixed local IP
A forward points at one address. If the server picks up a different one after a reboot, the rule silently starts pointing at nothing — this is why forwards "stop working" on their own.
On this router:look for DHCP Reservation, Address Reservation, Static Lease or Manually Assigned IP
- 2
Open the router admin page
Try these addresses in a browser on the same network:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.2.1
- 10.0.0.1
Almost always printed on a sticker on the router itself.
- 3
Find the port forwarding page
Port Forwarding, Virtual Server, NAT, Applications & Gaming, or Port Mapping
Vendors use at least six names for the same feature. Whatever it is called, the page you want is the one asking for a port, a protocol and a device on your network. If the external and internal port fields both exist, set them to the same number.
- 4
Create one rule per line
a description field, if there is one External / WAN / Public / Service port Internal / LAN / Private port Protocol Internal IP / Device / Server IP Mindustry 6567 6567 TCP your server’s local IP Mindustry 6567 6567 UDP your server’s local IP External and internal port are the same number here. Changing the external port is possible, but then everyone connects on the new one, so keep them matched unless you have a reason.
- 5
Let the server through its own firewall
The router now sends traffic to the machine, and the machine can still refuse it. Windows Defender Firewall in particular blocks a freshly installed dedicated server by default, which looks exactly like a failed forward.
Take it with you
Mindustry — port forwarding rules --------------------------------- 6567 TCP -> <server local IP> 6567 UDP -> <server local IP>
Check whether it worked
Test from outside your own network. Connecting from a machine in the house proves nothing — that traffic never leaves the LAN and never touches the rule you just wrote.
What usually goes wrong
Forwarding only one protocol gives you a server that behaves inconsistently — sometimes discoverable and unjoinable, sometimes the reverse. Because Mindustry servers are often set up quickly for a single session, this tends to get blamed on the game rather than the rule.
Not forwarding at all
Mindustry is light enough to run almost anywhere, so the reason to move it off a home machine is availability rather than performance: a campaign server that is up when your group is, without anyone having to launch it.