Fix Minecraft 'Failed to bind to port' (address already in use)

Failed to bind to port means the server cannot start listening because something else already uses that port. Usually another server instance is running or the port is set wrong.

Fix it

1. Check that no other copy of the server is running on the machine.
2. Close the old process or restart the host.
3. Open server.properties and check server-port.
4. If you run several servers, give each a unique port.
5. Leave server-ip blank unless you need a specific address.

On a hosted panel

Your server is assigned a port. Do not change it in server.properties unless the host says so. If you see the error, restart from the panel or contact support. Tabi Cloud support is on Discord.

Common causes

• Server crashed but the process remains.
• Two servers share 25565.
• A wrong server-ip value.
• Another program using the port.

After fixing

Start the server and watch the Console for Done messages.

Common mistakes

• Changing the port but not telling players.
• Setting server-ip to an address that does not belong to the machine.
• Starting the server twice by double-clicking.
• Forgetting UDP ports for Bedrock or Geyser as separate settings.