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Joining servers and inviting friends

Once you have a world running, getting people into it is the easy part. From the free Orca desktop client you launch into a server with one click, and from any server's page you can hand a friend a link that drops them straight onto your world. The invite path covers both Java and Bedrock, so a friend on either edition can join the same server.

This page covers the three ways people get onto a server: a one-click join from the app, a public invite page that lets a friend join by link with no Orca account, and the featured partner servers you can hop onto to play right away. To browse what is joinable, see join Minecraft servers.

One-click join from the app

The Orca desktop client is free for Windows, macOS on Apple Silicon, and Linux. Sign in, link your Microsoft and Minecraft account, and your servers and joinable servers show up ready to launch.

Joining is a single click. The client sets the right version and loader for you, starts the game, and connects to the server, so there is no IP to copy or version to match by hand.

  • Grab the client from the download page and sign in with Google or Discord.
  • Link your Microsoft/Minecraft account so the client can launch a real game.
  • Click a server to launch into it; modded servers load the right loader automatically.
  • Say "play [mod]" in chat to jump into a modded game from the same client.

Public invite pages: a friend joins by link

Every server can have a public invite page. You share the link, your friend opens it, and the page walks them through joining with no Orca account needed. It gives the exact add-server steps for both editions, so it works whether your friend plays Java or Bedrock.

Send the link however you like, in a Discord message or a text, and your friend follows the steps on the page to land on your world.

  • Java: the page lists the server address to add under Multiplayer, then Join Server.
  • Bedrock: the page gives the dedicated IP and the UDP port 19132 to add the server, then connect.
  • Crossplay works when the server runs Geyser and Floodgate on Paper, so Java and Bedrock players share one world.
  • Your friend does not need an Orca account to join from the invite link.

Featured partner servers

If you just want to play right now, Orca features partner servers you can join from the app. These are public worlds run by partners, so you can hop on without setting anything up.

The current featured partners are GrowMC and Mineage. Open one from the client and join the same way you would any other server, with one click.

If a friend cannot connect

Most join problems come down to the server being asleep or the wrong edition steps. A quick check usually fixes it.

Servers can idle-sleep to save resources; opening or joining wakes them, so give it a moment to boot back up.

  • Make sure the server is awake; an idle server wakes on join and takes a few seconds to come up.
  • On Bedrock, confirm your friend used the dedicated IP and UDP port 19132, not the Java address.
  • For crossplay, the server has to be a Paper server with Geyser and Floodgate; check the server type if a Bedrock friend cannot connect.
  • Confirm visibility is public or unlisted so the invite link resolves for an outside player.

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