Originally published on esnoffical.com .

Two editions, one world

Minecraft comes in two editions. Java Edition runs on Windows, Mac and Linux PCs. Bedrock Edition runs on phones, tablets, Windows, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch. They look alike, but they speak different network protocols, so out of the box a Bedrock player cannot join a Java server. A crossplay SMP is a Java server with a translator in front of it, so both groups of players end up in the same world, chatting in the same chat and trading in the same economy.

What Geyser does

Geyser is a free, open-source project that translates between the two protocols. A Bedrock player connects to Geyser, Geyser turns their actions into Java packets, and the Java server sees what looks like one more Java player. Everything the server sends back is translated the other way. Geyser can run as a plugin on Paper or Spigot, as a mod on Fabric, or as a standalone proxy in front of a network.…