BungeeCord
A proxy from the SpigotMC project that connects several Minecraft Java servers into one network behind a single address.
BungeeCord is a proxy for Minecraft Java Edition, created by the SpigotMC project. Like Velocity, it sits in front of several backend servers: players connect to the proxy, and it moves them between lobby, survival and minigame servers without a disconnect.
Why it matters for server owners
BungeeCord made server networks common, and a lot of network plugins and tutorials still refer to it. Waterfall was a popular fork maintained by PaperMC; it has since been discontinued, and PaperMC points users to Velocity. For a new network, Velocity is the usual recommendation. You still meet BungeeCord when you take over an existing network or need a plugin that only exists for it.
How forwarding works
The backends run with online-mode=false, because BungeeCord handles authentication. To pass real player UUIDs and IPs through:
- Set
ip_forward: truein BungeeCord’sconfig.yml. - Set
settings.bungeecord: trueinspigot.ymlon every Spigot or Paper backend.
This legacy forwarding has no shared secret. Anyone who can reach a backend directly can pretend to be any player, including an operator. Backends must therefore be firewalled so that only the proxy can connect to them.
Practical tip
If you run BungeeCord, treat the firewall as mandatory, not optional. If you are starting fresh, set up Velocity with modern forwarding instead; its secret-based forwarding closes the gap that BungeeCord relies on the network to close.