Welcome to Kairosdawn

Kairosdawn is a private, whitelisted Minecraft survival server. Access is by invitation only — if you're reading this, someone you know sent you here.

What you can expect

• Survival mode on a pre-generated 5,000-block-radius world
• PVP enabled, with social etiquette: no unwelcome ambushes, mutual combat only
• Proximity voice chat via Discord — hear people near you in-game, not on the other side of the world
• Cross-play between every Minecraft platform you can reasonably own: PC (Java and Bedrock), iPhone, iPad, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox
• Always on — the server runs 24/7 on dedicated home hardware
• Rolling backups every few hours so nobody's build vanishes if something breaks
• Grief protection — every block change is logged, and the admin can rewind accidents

What this manual covers

This is a single-page reference you can bookmark, save offline, or print. It walks you through:

1. Joining the Discord server — the hub where announcements, chat, and voice happen
2. Getting whitelisted — how to get approved to actually log in to the game
3. Connecting to Minecraft — platform-by-platform, with all the quirks (especially for consoles)
4. Voice chat setup — linking your Discord and Minecraft accounts so proximity voice works
5. Basic in-game commands — teleport home, message friends, get unstuck
6. Troubleshooting — the errors you're most likely to hit and how to fix them
7. Server rules and etiquette
8. Admin reference (for the server operator)

If you ever get stuck on something not covered here, post a question in the Discord server's #general-chat channel and the admin will help.

Before you begin

You'll need:

• A Discord account (free, at https://discord.com) — required for both the community chat and voice
• A copy of Minecraft for your platform (any paid edition — Java, Bedrock, mobile, or console)
• A Microsoft / Xbox account (free) — Minecraft uses this for multiplayer authentication on Bedrock platforms
• About 10 minutes the first time to get everything set up; after that, you just log in and play

Ready? Start with Step 1: Join the Discord.

Step 1 — Join the Discord

Everything starts in Discord. It's where you get whitelisted, where in-game chat is bridged so you can keep up when you're not playing, where announcements happen, and where proximity voice chat lives.

Get Discord

If you don't already have Discord:

• iOS / iPadOS: App Store — search "Discord"
• Android: Google Play — search "Discord"
• Windows / Mac / Linux: https://discord.com/download
• Web browser (no install): https://discord.com/app — sign in and it runs like a web app

All of the above use the same account. Sign up once, log in anywhere.

Join the Kairosdawn server

Tap the invite link below. It opens Discord and lets you accept the invite with one tap.

Invite link: https://kairosdawn.com/discord

(This is a redirect on Kairosdawn's own domain that points to the actual Discord invite. If the invite ever needs to change for any reason, only the redirect target updates — the URL you just used keeps working forever.)

When you first join, you'll only see two channels:

• #welcome — a brief "hello, welcome to the server" post
• #whitelist-request — where you request access to the Minecraft server itself

Why so few channels? The rest of the server (general chat, voice, in-game feed) is gated behind a Member role that the admin assigns manually. This is the second filter on top of Discord's invite-link system — it means even if an invite link leaks, random strangers can't just wander in and start DMing people or joining voice.

You'll get the Member role in Step 2 when the admin approves your whitelist request.

What to do right now

Nothing more, yet. Just verify you can:

1. Open Discord
2. See the Kairosdawn SMP server in your left sidebar
3. See the #welcome and #whitelist-request channels inside it

If you can do all three, you're ready for Step 2.

Step 2 — Get whitelisted

The whitelist is the list of accounts the Minecraft server will actually let in. Without being on it, you'll get "You are not whitelisted on this server" when you try to connect — even if you're in the Discord.

Post your gamertag in #whitelist-request

Go to #whitelist-request in the Kairosdawn Discord server and post your exact Minecraft username or gamertag. A one-liner is fine:

My gamertag is: Swirve Town

Case and spaces matter. If your gamertag is Swirve Town with a space and capital letters, type it exactly that way. Don't guess — look it up:

How to find your gamertag

• Java Edition (PC): Open the Minecraft launcher → your name is shown at the top. For the Microsoft-unified Minecraft account, it's the Xbox/Microsoft gamertag linked to your account.
• Bedrock Edition on iPhone / iPad / Android: Open Minecraft → tap your character/profile at the top of the main menu → your gamertag appears.
• Windows 10/11 Bedrock: Same as mobile — profile icon at the top of the main menu.
• PS5, Xbox, Switch: In Minecraft, go to Profile or Settings → Accounts. Your Xbox Live gamertag is displayed there. You can also check it in the Xbox app on your phone if you have it.

If you're not sure whether you have a Java or Bedrock account, it depends on what you paid for and on which platform. Java is PC-only. Bedrock runs on everything else plus PC.

What happens next

The admin will:

1. See your message in #whitelist-request
2. Run the whitelist command on the server to add your gamertag
3. Assign you the Member role in Discord, which unlocks all the other channels
4. Ping you (@your-name) in #whitelist-request when you're cleared

Depending on when the admin sees your message, this could take anywhere from a minute to a few hours. Don't keep pinging or posting duplicates — one message is enough. If it's been more than a day, send a polite follow-up.

Once you're approved

You'll notice three things:

• The Discord server suddenly shows a lot more channels (general chat, voice, #server-feed, etc.)
• You can now join voice channels (you couldn't before)
• The admin's ping confirms your gamertag is on the Minecraft whitelist

At that point, move on to Step 3 to actually connect to the game.

Why the whitelist exists

Kairosdawn is a private server. Opening it to the entire internet would invite griefers, spam bots, crypto miners (yes, that's a real thing in modded servers), and strangers who don't share the community's vibe. The whitelist is the door — if your gamertag isn't on it, the server politely turns you away before you can even load the world.

Even if someone somehow got the server address and port, they still can't join without being on the list. Two locks, one door.

Step 3a — Connect on PC (Java Edition)

If you own Minecraft Java Edition on Windows, Mac, or Linux, this is the section for you. Java is the classic version — everything modded, most technical builds, and the original experience.

Server address

mc.kairosdawn.com

Port: default (25565) — you don't need to type it.

Adding the server

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher
2. Click Play to launch the game
3. On the main menu, click Multiplayer
4. Click Add Server (bottom row of buttons)
5. Fill in: - Server Name: Kairosdawn SMP (or whatever you want — this is just the label in your server list) - Server Address: mc.kairosdawn.com
6. Click Done

The server appears in your multiplayer list. If everything's set up correctly on the admin side, you'll see the Kairosdawn server icon and MOTD next to the name. Green signal bars mean your connection is good; red means network issues.

Joining the game

1. Click on the Kairosdawn server in your list
2. Click Join Server (or double-click)
3. Wait for the world to load — first-time joins can take 10–30 seconds while it sends you a chunk of world data
4. You spawn at the world spawn point

That's it. You're in.

Version requirements

• Your Minecraft client must be version 1.21.x or newer. If you're on an older version, you'll see "Outdated client" when you try to join.
• To update: go back to the Minecraft Launcher, make sure you're on the "Latest Release" profile, click Play to download the latest version.
• ViaVersion is installed on the server, which allows some newer clients than the server's actual version to connect — so you usually have some forward compatibility.

Troubleshooting

"Outdated client" — Update Minecraft in the launcher.

"Outdated server" — You're on a version newer than the server. ViaVersion usually handles this, but if it doesn't, switch your launcher profile to a version close to 1.21.

"You are not whitelisted on this server" — You haven't been approved yet. Go back to #whitelist-request in Discord and post your gamertag. Make sure the gamertag you're using for Minecraft matches what you told the admin.

"Connection refused / can't connect" — Try again in a minute. If it persists, check the #server-feed channel in Discord — the admin or bot usually posts if the server is down or restarting.

"Failed to verify username" — This is a Microsoft/Mojang authentication issue on your side. Restart the Minecraft launcher, sign out of your Microsoft account, sign back in, try again.

Launchers other than the official one

Prism Launcher (open source, free) is a popular alternative for managing multiple Minecraft instances, mod profiles, and versions. It works with the same Microsoft account as the official launcher and the server doesn't know or care which launcher you used. If you're technically inclined, it's nicer than the official launcher. Official launcher is fine if you just want to play.

Step 3b — Connect on PC (Bedrock Edition)

Bedrock Edition is the version of Minecraft that runs on Windows 10/11 (via the Microsoft Store), plus all consoles and mobile. If you bought Minecraft from the Microsoft Store on Windows, you have Bedrock.

Server address

bedrock.kairosdawn.com

Port: 2766 — important, this is NOT the default 19132. You must type the port explicitly.

Note: Bedrock players use bedrock.kairosdawn.com, not mc.kairosdawn.com. The mc.kairosdawn.com address is for Java players only. Using the wrong one on Bedrock causes an instant "Multiplayer connection failed" error on some devices (especially iOS). See the Troubleshooting section if you want the full explanation.

Adding the server

1. Launch Minecraft for Windows (Bedrock)
2. On the main menu, click Play
3. Click the Servers tab at the top
4. Scroll to the bottom of the featured server list
5. Click Add Server
6. Fill in: - Server Name: Kairosdawn SMP - Server Address: bedrock.kairosdawn.com - Port: 2766
7. Click Save

The server now appears at the bottom of your Servers list. You can click on it to connect, and Minecraft will remember it for next time.

Joining the game

1. Click the Kairosdawn server in your Servers list
2. Click Join Server
3. Wait for the world to load — first time joining takes 10–30 seconds
4. You spawn at the world spawn point

You're in.

A note about the server card appearance

On Bedrock, Kairosdawn shows up in your Servers list with a plain generic icon and a plain text description, not the custom Kairosdawn logo that Java players see. This is a Bedrock platform limitation — Mojang only allows custom icons on their partnered Featured Servers (Hive, CubeCraft, etc.). Every community server you add yourself looks generic in the list. It's not a bug and there's nothing to fix. See the Troubleshooting section for the full explanation if you're curious.

Why the weird port 2766?

The server runs through playit.gg, a service that forwards game traffic to the Surface laptop the server is hosted on. playit assigned us the port 2766 for the Bedrock tunnel; we didn't pick it. It's fine for everyone on Wi-Fi or broadband internet. On some cellular networks it can have issues (see Troubleshooting).

Troubleshooting

"Unable to connect to world" — Usually a transient issue. Try again in 30 seconds. If it persists for a few minutes, check #server-feed in Discord — the admin usually posts when the server is down.

"You are not whitelisted" — You haven't been approved. Post your gamertag in Discord #whitelist-request.

"Multiplayer connection failed" (U-000 error) — This is an Xbox Live authentication issue, not a server issue. See the Troubleshooting section of this manual.

"Connection lost" mid-game — Usually a network blip on your end. Rejoin.

Cellular connection (rare) — If you're on a cell network and it won't connect even though the server is up, your cellular carrier might be blocking the port. Switch to Wi-Fi when possible. This is a known quirk of playit.gg + cellular + Bedrock on certain carriers.

Step 3c — Connect on iPhone / iPad / Android

Mobile Minecraft is Bedrock Edition, same as consoles and Windows 10/11. You can connect to Kairosdawn on your phone or tablet and play the same world as people on PC, console, and other mobile devices.

Server address

bedrock.kairosdawn.com

Port: 2766 — not the default 19132. Enter it exactly.

Important for iPhone/iPad users: use bedrock.kairosdawn.com, not mc.kairosdawn.com. mc.kairosdawn.com is the Java-only address and causes an instant "Multiplayer connection failed" error on iOS Bedrock due to a DNS quirk. The dedicated bedrock.kairosdawn.com subdomain is the only address Bedrock devices should use. See Troubleshooting if you want the full story.

Adding the server

The process is the same on iPhone, iPad, and Android — the UI varies slightly but the steps are:

1. Open Minecraft
2. Tap Play
3. Tap the Servers tab (usually a third tab at the top)
4. Scroll to the bottom of the list of Featured Servers
5. Tap Add Server (there's a + button or a button labeled "Add Server")
6. Fill in: - Server Name: Kairosdawn SMP - Server Address: bedrock.kairosdawn.com - Port: 2766
7. Tap Save

The server shows up at the bottom of your servers list. Tap it to join.

Joining the game

1. Tap the Kairosdawn server
2. Tap Join Server
3. Wait a few seconds while the world loads
4. You spawn at the world spawn

That's the whole flow.

A note about the server card appearance

On mobile Bedrock, Kairosdawn shows up with a generic icon and plain description instead of the Kairosdawn logo that Java players see. This is a Bedrock platform limitation — Mojang only allows custom icons on their partnered Featured Servers. Every community server looks generic in your list. Nothing to fix; joining and gameplay are unaffected.

iOS vs Android

• iOS (iPhone/iPad): Minecraft Bedrock works well on modern iPhones and iPads. On iPad, the experience is great because of the larger screen and split-screen multitasking (you can have Discord open next to Minecraft). On iPhone, the controls are on a touchscreen which takes some getting used to if you're used to keyboard and mouse.
• Android: Same version, same features. Controls and performance depend on your specific device.

Controller support

If you have a Bluetooth controller (PS5 controller, Xbox controller, Razer Kishi, etc.), you can pair it with your phone and use it instead of touchscreen. In Minecraft, the controls auto-switch when you pick up the controller. This makes combat and building much less painful.

iOS controller pairing: Settings → Bluetooth → put controller in pairing mode → select it.

Troubleshooting

"Multiplayer connection failed" (U-000 error) — See the Troubleshooting section of this manual. Short version: it's usually an Xbox Live auth hiccup on your phone. Restart Minecraft, sign out and back in to your Microsoft account inside the game, wait a few minutes, try again.

"Unable to connect to world" — Usually transient. Try again in 30 seconds. If persistent, check #server-feed in Discord.

"You are not whitelisted" — You haven't been approved. Post your gamertag in Discord's #whitelist-request.

"The server only shows spinning then disconnects" — Could be a slow connection. Try again on Wi-Fi if you were on cellular.

Step 3d — Connect on PS5, Xbox, or Switch

Consoles are the hardest platforms to connect to private Minecraft servers. Microsoft and Sony restrict what servers you can join — the Servers tab in Minecraft only lists a handful of "Featured Servers" that they approved. You can't just type in a server address like you can on PC.

The workaround is BedrockConnect: a free community-run DNS service that intercepts your console's attempt to load the Featured Servers list and replaces it with a custom menu where you can enter any server address. It's completely legitimate and used by thousands of private servers.

What you'll do

1. Change your console's DNS server to BedrockConnect's IP
2. Launch Minecraft → click any Featured Server
3. BedrockConnect shows a menu where you type bedrock.kairosdawn.com and port 2766
4. Connect and play

The DNS change is console-wide (not just Minecraft), which is fine. Netflix, YouTube, game downloads, everything else still works — BedrockConnect only intercepts Minecraft traffic and forwards everything else normally.

Server address (type this into BedrockConnect)

Server:  bedrock.kairosdawn.com
Port:    2766

Important: consoles are Bedrock Edition, so they use bedrock.kairosdawn.com, not mc.kairosdawn.com. The mc.kairosdawn.com address is for Java players only and can cause instant "Multiplayer connection failed" errors on some Bedrock clients.

PS5 setup

1. On the PS5 home screen, go to Settings (gear icon top-right)
2. Go to Network → Settings
3. Select Set Up Internet Connection
4. Choose your existing Wi-Fi (or LAN) connection
5. When it asks how to set it up, choose Custom (NOT Easy)
6. For IP Address Settings, choose Automatic
7. For DHCP Host Name, choose Do Not Specify
8. For DNS Settings, choose Manual
9. Set: - Primary DNS: 104.238.130.180 - Secondary DNS: 8.8.8.8
10. For MTU Settings, choose Automatic
11. For Proxy Server, choose Do Not Use
12. Test connection — should succeed
13. Save and exit

Now launch Minecraft, go to Servers, tap any Featured Server (any one — Lifeboat, Mineville, The Hive, whatever). Instead of connecting to that server, BedrockConnect will pop up a menu. Add a new server with:

• Server Name: Kairosdawn SMP
• Address: bedrock.kairosdawn.com
• Port: 2766

Save it. Connect. You're in.

Xbox Series X/S / Xbox One setup

Similar to PS5, with slightly different menu paths:

1. Press the Xbox button → Profile & system → Settings
2. General → Network settings → Advanced settings
3. DNS settings → Manual
4. Set: - Primary DNS: 104.238.130.180 - Secondary DNS: 8.8.8.8
5. Save, back out, restart Minecraft

Launch Minecraft → Servers → click any Featured Server → BedrockConnect menu appears → add bedrock.kairosdawn.com on port 2766.

Nintendo Switch setup

1. From the Switch home screen, open System Settings (gear icon)
2. Internet → Internet Settings
3. Select your saved Wi-Fi network
4. Change Settings → DNS Settings → Manual
5. Set: - Primary DNS: 104.238.130.180 - Secondary DNS: 8.8.8.8
6. Save
7. Test connection — should succeed
8. Back out, launch Minecraft

Same process: Servers → tap any Featured Server → BedrockConnect shows up → enter bedrock.kairosdawn.com:2766.

A note about the server card appearance

On consoles, Kairosdawn displays with a generic icon and plain description after you add it via BedrockConnect. This is a Bedrock platform limitation — Mojang only permits custom icons for partnered Featured Servers. Community servers always show the default card. Nothing to fix; gameplay is unaffected.

Parental controls caveat

On consoles used by kids, parental controls can block changing DNS settings. If this happens, a parent account on the same console has to make the change. Once done, the DNS applies to all user accounts on that console — the kid doesn't need special permissions to use the saved setting.

On Microsoft's side, there's also a Family Safety setting that blocks all multiplayer games for child accounts by default. If you get an error about "multiplayer not allowed," an adult on the Microsoft Family group has to enable "Join multiplayer games" at https://account.xbox.com/settings.

Reverting

If you ever want to disable BedrockConnect (say you're troubleshooting a different game and want to confirm it's not the DNS):

• Go back into your console's Network settings
• Set DNS to Automatic
• Save, test connection — everything goes back to normal

You can re-enable it later by setting DNS back to manual 104.238.130.180.

Troubleshooting

"The DNS settings can't be saved" — Parental controls issue. A parent account needs to make the change.

"I don't see any BedrockConnect menu when I click a Featured Server" — Your DNS change didn't take effect, OR BedrockConnect's service is temporarily down (rare). Double-check your DNS settings and try again. If still broken, restart the console.

"I see the menu but it says server is offline" — Wrong address or port. Double-check you typed bedrock.kairosdawn.com (not mc.kairosdawn.com — that's Java only) and port 2766 exactly.

"Joined, but got kicked for 'You are not whitelisted'" — You're past the hard part! Now you just need the admin to whitelist your gamertag. Go to Discord #whitelist-request.

Step 4 — Voice chat (Skoice)

Kairosdawn uses Skoice for proximity voice chat. The idea: you only hear other players who are physically near you in-game, like real life. Walk away from someone and their voice fades. Walk toward a group and you start hearing them.

No third-party app. No extra software. Voice happens in your regular Discord client — Skoice just controls who gets moved into which voice sub-channel behind the scenes.

What you'll hear

• Another player within 80 blocks of you → clear voice
• Another player farther than 80 blocks → silence (they're in a different sub-channel)
• Other players in the same area → you all hear each other (group voice)

This works across dimensions: if you're in the Nether and they're in the Overworld, you can't hear each other (different dimensions are always out of range).

Before you start

You need:

• A Discord account, logged in on a device (phone, PC, browser — anywhere)
• Access to the Kairosdawn Discord server with the Member role (you got this in Step 2)
• A working microphone on the device where you're running Discord

Important: you can run Discord on one device (say, your PC or your iPhone) while Minecraft runs on another device. Skoice links the Discord account, not the device. Most people run Discord on their phone while playing Minecraft on PC, or vice versa.

One-time setup — link your accounts

Skoice needs to know which Discord user corresponds to which Minecraft player. Do this once, forever.

In Minecraft

1. Log in to Kairosdawn on any platform
2. Open the in-game chat (tap the chat button on mobile/console, press T on PC)
3. Type: /skoice link
4. Press Enter / send

Skoice will respond with either:

• A link / code in your in-game chat — click or copy it, open it in Discord
• A direct message from the Skoice bot in Discord — tap the message, follow the instructions

In Discord

Whichever Skoice tells you:

• If it gave you a URL → open it in a browser, log in to Discord if prompted, approve the link
• If it's DMing you → reply to the DM with whatever code it asked for
• If it's using a slash command → type /link <code> in any text channel where the Skoice bot is present

After linking, Skoice confirms in-game ("Your account has been linked") and in Discord ("✓ Linked successfully").

You only do this once. From now on, the link is saved and Skoice remembers who you are.

Using voice day-to-day

Once you're linked:

1. Launch Minecraft and connect to Kairosdawn (as usual)
2. Open Discord on any device
3. Go to the Kairosdawn SMP Discord server
4. Under the Voice category, click Proximity Voice
5. Click Join Voice (or the join button)

That's it. Skoice sees you're in-game + in voice, creates a sub-channel for you, and auto-moves you into it. As other players come and go, Skoice moves everyone around so you only hear who's near you.

What the Minecraft action bar tells you

When voice is working, the action bar (above your hotbar) briefly shows:

• "Connected to voice" — Skoice sees you and proximity is active
• "You are muted" — you muted your Discord mic (unmute in Discord to talk)
• "You are deafened" — you deafened yourself in Discord (click deafen button to toggle)
• "Moving away from near players" — gentle heads-up that you're about to drop out of range of someone

Troubleshooting

"I don't hear anyone" → Check you're in Proximity Voice, not General Voice. Check your Discord mic/speakers. Check another player is also in Proximity Voice + in-game + linked.

"The other person can't hear me" → You muted your mic in Discord. Unmute (click the mic icon at the bottom of the Discord window).

"/skoice link didn't do anything" → You probably need to send the chat message as a command, not just text. Make sure it starts with the / character. On iPhone Bedrock, you tap the chat button at the top of the screen, then type /skoice link and send.

"I'm linked but Skoice isn't moving me between channels" → Check that you actually joined the Proximity Voice channel (not just opened Discord). Check that you're in-game (not on the title screen / pause menu).

"Voice has a ton of latency" → Skoice routes through Discord's normal voice infrastructure; latency depends on your Discord voice region and network. Usually 100-200ms. If it's much more, your Wi-Fi or cellular connection is probably the issue.

"I unlinked by accident" → Run /skoice link again in-game, go through the setup once more. Previous link gets overwritten.

In-game basics

Once you're in, here are the commands and features that'll make life easier.

Movement commands

Kairosdawn uses EssentialsX, a classic quality-of-life plugin. Here are the commands you'll use most:

You can have up to several named homes (the exact limit depends on your permission group — by default, at least 3). Use them for bases, farms, Nether portals, mines, anything worth saving.

Messaging

Public chat (no command) goes to everyone in-game AND to the #server-feed Discord channel, so people on Discord can see it.

Useful info commands

Proximity voice

See the Voice Chat section. Short version: link your Discord once with /skoice link, then join the Proximity Voice channel in Discord when you play.

World info

• Pre-generated radius: the overworld is pre-generated to 5,000 blocks from spawn in every direction, so there's basically no lag when you explore normally. Beyond that, chunks generate on-demand and there might be brief hitches while new terrain loads.
• Difficulty: Normal. Mobs do reasonable damage. Hunger ticks.
• PVP: enabled technically, but the social rule is mutual consent only. Don't ambush people.
• View distance: 22 chunks server-side. Depending on your device, you may see less (Switch and mobile cap at around 12 chunks for performance reasons).
• Simulation distance: 10 chunks. Mobs and redstone only tick within 10 chunks of a player.

Backups

The server takes automatic world backups roughly every 4 hours. If you lose a build to a bug or griefing, the admin can roll it back via CoreProtect or restore from a backup. Report problems in Discord.

Don't

• Don't use hacks / cheat clients. They'll get you kicked and possibly banned. The server logs suspicious behavior.
• Don't grief. Every block change is logged with your name, time, and coordinates. The admin can and will roll it back and ban repeat offenders.
• Don't dupe. If you find a duplication glitch in the server's plugins or vanilla mechanics, report it, don't exploit it.
• Don't share your whitelist status with strangers. This is a private server. If you want to bring a friend, ask the admin first.

Plugin command reference

Every useful command from every plugin installed on Kairosdawn, grouped by plugin. Most of these you can ignore — the common ones (homes, TPA, messaging) are in the previous section. This page is here for when you want to know "does this server have X feature?" without asking the admin.

Commands marked (op) only work for operators (admins).

EssentialsX

The classic quality-of-life plugin. Covered in the previous section. Quick recap:

Skoice (proximity voice chat)

Skoice is the proximity-based voice chat that makes people near you in-game audible in Discord. You have to link your Discord account to your Minecraft player once before it starts working.

After you link, joining the Proximity Voice channel in Discord and then joining the Minecraft server will automatically put you in voice with anyone nearby.

Range: 80 blocks horizontal, 40 blocks vertical. Different dimensions (Overworld / Nether / End) are always out of range, even if you're standing on the same coordinate.

DiscordSRV (chat bridge)

DiscordSRV is the bridge that makes in-game chat appear in the Discord #server-feed channel, and vice versa. It shares account-linking with Skoice — if you linked one, you're linked in the other too.

Players usually don't run any DiscordSRV commands directly. The two that exist:

Most interactions are automatic: join/leave/death messages post to #server-feed, anything typed in #server-feed shows as an in-game action bar.

CoreProtect (block logging / rollback)

CoreProtect logs every block change with the player's name, time, and coordinates. It lets admins roll back griefing without losing legitimate work, and lets anyone inspect what happened at a specific block.

Regular players don't need any CoreProtect commands. If you were griefed, tell the admin — they'll run /co lookup to find out who did it and /co rollback to undo it.

LifeStealZ (hearts PvP feature, currently minimal)

LifeStealZ is a PvP feature where killing another player can transfer hearts from them to you. On Kairosdawn it's installed but configured without hearts-per-kill by default — the plugin is mostly inactive unless the admin explicitly enables the feature.

If you're on Kairosdawn and your max health is not 20 (10 hearts) — that's LifeStealZ reporting a modified value. Tell the admin if you think something is off.

HeadPlugin (player head drops on PvP kills)

HeadPlugin makes slain players drop their own head as a trophy item. Passive — no commands are needed for it to work.

Regular players get heads automatically on PvP kills if the feature is enabled. Those heads can be worn, placed, or traded.

Chunky (map pre-generation, admin-only)

Chunky pre-generates chunks in advance so that players don't cause lag spikes by walking into un-generated terrain. The overworld is pre-generated to a 5,000-block radius from spawn. Admin-only.

Pre-generation is CPU-intensive — don't run it during peak player hours.

ViaVersion (client version compatibility)

ViaVersion lets the server accept connections from older Minecraft Java client versions than the actual Paper version. It's invisible — no commands needed for normal play. Ops can check what's installed:

BlueMap (web map)

BlueMap renders the world as an interactive 3D map at https://map.kairosdawn.com. Players explore it in a browser — no in-game commands required.

Admin-only commands for managing the render:

A full re-render takes hours for Kairosdawn's pre-generated 5,000-block radius. Don't run /bluemap purge without a good reason.

SleepFixer

Lets a single player sleeping through night skip the night cycle instead of requiring a majority. Configured automatically — no commands.

Spark (performance profiler, bundled with Paper)

Spark is a built-in profiler. Admin-only.

Use Spark to investigate "why is the server laggy?" Once you have a profile URL, it shows exactly which plugin or internal Paper code is consuming the most tick time.

Paper / vanilla built-ins

Not plugins, but useful to know:

Most of these are standard Minecraft and work the same on any Paper server.

If in doubt

Type / and then press Tab in-game for autocomplete. Most plugins register help subcommands (/<plugin> help) that list everything the plugin supports.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes, in rough order of how often you'll hit them.

"Multiplayer connection failed" / U-000 error

Symptom: You try to join any Minecraft multiplayer server (not just Kairosdawn) and get an error like "Your client is having trouble establishing connection to multiplayer services" or "Error U-000".

Cause: Microsoft's Xbox Live authentication got into a weird state on your device. This is NOT a Kairosdawn issue — it affects ALL multiplayer servers until fixed.

Fixes, in order:

1. Force-quit Minecraft entirely. On iPhone: swipe up in app switcher. On Windows: close the window. On console: back out to dashboard and close the app. Reopen Minecraft and try again.
2. Sign out of your Microsoft account in Minecraft, then sign back in. In-game: Profile → Sign Out → restart Minecraft → sign in again.
3. Wait 15-30 minutes and try again. Microsoft rate-limits accounts that reconnect too many times too quickly — you can get temporarily blocked from multiplayer for reasons that have nothing to do with you doing something wrong. Waiting fixes it.
4. Update Minecraft. If you're on Bedrock, make sure your version is 1.21.30 or newer (there was a Microsoft patch that fixed a common U-000 trigger).
5. Switch networks. If you're on cellular, try Wi-Fi. If you're on Wi-Fi, try cellular. Sometimes one works when the other doesn't.
6. Offload + reinstall Minecraft. On iPhone: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Minecraft → Offload App → then Reinstall. This clears the local auth cache without losing your purchases.
7. Check Xbox privacy settings. Go to https://account.xbox.com/settings → Privacy & online safety → "You can join multiplayer games" must be set to Allow. If you're on a child/family account, an adult in the Microsoft family has to enable this.

Bedrock: use bedrock.kairosdawn.com, NOT mc.kairosdawn.com

Symptom on the old address: You add mc.kairosdawn.com port 2766 as your server entry and on your device you instantly get "Multiplayer connection failed" / U-000 the moment you tap Join — the client doesn't even spend time trying, it errors out immediately. On some devices, deleting and re-adding the entry briefly lets you join once; on others, nothing works.

The fix is a different address. Use this for Bedrock:

Address:  bedrock.kairosdawn.com
Port:     2766

mc.kairosdawn.com is still the correct address for Java players. Don't use mc.kairosdawn.com on Bedrock — it has a Java-specific DNS record attached that breaks Bedrock lookups on some clients (explained below).

Why the old address was broken

mc.kairosdawn.com has a Java SRV record attached to it (_minecraft._tcp.mc.kairosdawn.com) that tells Java clients where to find the game server. Bedrock Edition is supposed to ignore SRV records and use the plain A record — but some Bedrock clients (confirmed on at least one iPhone on the Kairosdawn whitelist) will pick up the Java SRV record, refuse to use it because it's marked as _tcp and Bedrock is UDP-only, and fail the lookup instantly with U-000. This happens before any network connection is attempted, which is why lowering server-side MTU, changing ports, reinstalling the app, toggling Wi-Fi, and waiting out rate limits all did nothing — none of those touch the name-resolution stage where the bug happens.

It's not uniformly iOS vs. Android. Two different players were both on iOS Bedrock and only one hit the bug; the other connected cleanly on mc.kairosdawn.com with no issues. The exact device-level trigger isn't fully pinned down — most likely candidates are DNS resolver path differences (iCloud Private Relay vs consumer ISP DNS vs carrier DNS), iOS version, or Minecraft app build differences. Rather than gamble on which Bedrock devices will hit it, the safe fix is to route all Bedrock players to a dedicated subdomain with no SRV record attached.

bedrock.kairosdawn.com is a brand new subdomain with only an A record pointing to the same playit.gg Bedrock tunnel. No SRV record attached, so any Bedrock client — iOS, Android, console, Windows 10/11 — resolves it cleanly and connects first try.

For other Bedrock players who were stuck

If you were on mc.kairosdawn.com port 2766 and hitting U-000 or needing to delete-and-re-add the entry every time:

1. Open Minecraft → Play → Servers
2. Find your old Kairosdawn SMP entry using mc.kairosdawn.com — delete it
3. Tap Add Server
4. Fill in: - Server Name: Kairosdawn SMP - Server Address: bedrock.kairosdawn.com - Port: 2766
5. Save, tap the entry, Join Server

This is a permanent fix — not a workaround. You won't need to delete and re-add the entry ever again. Java players keep using mc.kairosdawn.com as before.

Credit where it's due

The root cause was identified by isolating one symptom at a time: the connection to 147.185.221.224:2766 (raw playit IP) worked immediately, while a second mc.kairosdawn.com entry failed instantly with U-000 the same second. That told us the failure happened at DNS lookup, not at the network layer. The Java SRV record on mc.kairosdawn.com was the only plausible source of DNS contamination. Creating a fresh subdomain without the SRV record attached confirmed it and fixed it on the first try.

Undocumented online — nobody on Reddit, GeyserMC issues, or Mojang's bug tracker had traced this specific mechanism before. Congrats, you found a Bedrock-on-iOS quirk the internet hasn't written up yet.

"Chat is disabled due to missing profile public key" (Bedrock)

Symptom: You're a Bedrock player, you join successfully, you try to chat in-game, and you see a warning that your chat is disabled because of a missing profile public key.

Cause: Starting in Minecraft 1.19, Mojang added cryptographically signed chat — every chat message has to be signed with a profile key tied to a Mojang account. Bedrock players authenticate via Xbox Live + Floodgate, not Mojang, so they can't produce a profile key. By default, Paper refuses to accept chat messages without one, so Bedrock players just can't talk.

Status on Kairosdawn: already fixed. The server runs with enforce-secure-profile=false, which disables the profile-key requirement so Bedrock players can chat normally. The trade-off is that Java players' chat is no longer cryptographically signed (the abuse-reporting feature Mojang shipped with 1.19) — an acceptable trade for a small private crossplay server.

If you ever see this warning anyway, tell the admin — it means the server config got reverted during an update.

"You are not whitelisted on this server"

You haven't been added to the whitelist yet. Go to the Kairosdawn Discord server, post your exact gamertag in #whitelist-request, and wait for the admin to approve you.

Make sure the gamertag you're using matches what you told the admin. Case and spaces matter. If you told them Swirve Town but your current Xbox gamertag is SwirveTown (no space), they'll look different to the server.

"Outdated client" / "Outdated server"

You and the server are on different Minecraft versions, too far apart for compatibility.

• "Outdated client" means your game is older than the server. Update Minecraft.
• "Outdated server" means your game is newer than the server supports. The server runs ViaVersion which allows some forward compatibility, but not unlimited. If your Minecraft just updated and now can't join, wait a few days for the admin to update the server.

"Connection refused" / "Unable to connect"

The server isn't reachable from your device right now. Possible reasons:

• Server is temporarily down (restart, maintenance, crash). Check the Kairosdawn Discord #server-feed channel — announcements go there.
• Your network is blocking the connection (firewall, cellular carrier interference). Try a different network.
• You typed the address or port wrong. Double-check: Java uses mc.kairosdawn.com with default port 25565. Bedrock uses bedrock.kairosdawn.com with port 2766.

"I can see Discord but only #welcome and #whitelist-request"

You haven't been given the Member role yet. The admin assigns this after you post your gamertag in #whitelist-request and get approved.

Skoice voice not working

The most common causes, in order:

1. You never ran /skoice link in-game. Run it once and follow the link/DM instructions.
2. You're in the wrong voice channel. Make sure you joined Proximity Voice, not General Voice or any other voice channel.
3. You muted your Discord mic. Click the mic icon at the bottom of Discord to unmute.
4. You deafened yourself in Discord. Click the headphone icon to un-deafen.
5. Another player isn't within your 80-block voice range. Walk closer.
6. The other player isn't linked. They need to run /skoice link too.
7. The other player is in a different dimension (Overworld vs Nether vs End). Different dimensions = always out of range.

Server icon / description doesn't show in the server list

Minecraft caches the server list per-device. If you added Kairosdawn before the icon was set up, your cache might be stale. Fix: remove the server from your list and re-add it. Or: exit to the title screen and come back to Multiplayer/Servers.

"Why does the server card look generic on Bedrock?"

On Java Edition you see the Kairosdawn logo and a colored description. On Bedrock Edition (iPhone, Android, Xbox, PS, Switch, Windows 10/11) the same server shows up as a plain card with a generic Minecraft icon and a plain-text description. This is a platform limitation, not a Kairosdawn bug.

The full story:

• Custom server icons on Bedrock are only supported for Mojang-partnered Featured Servers — Hive, CubeCraft, Lifeboat, etc. Those are negotiated directly with Microsoft/Mojang under a corporate partnership agreement. Any community server you add yourself via Add Server (including Kairosdawn) cannot provide a custom icon. There is no workaround — not via Geyser, not via resource packs, not via BedrockConnect. It's a hard restriction in the Bedrock client.
• Color codes (§-prefix formatting) in the MOTD render unreliably on Bedrock. Some Bedrock clients display §6§lText as colored bold text, others display it as literal §6§lText characters. Kairosdawn uses plain text in its Bedrock-side MOTD so it looks clean on every device instead of weird on some.
• Java clients see the full experience: custom 64×64 server icon (the Kairosdawn logo), colored MOTD, everything. That's the only place in Minecraft where server branding actually renders consistently.

Summary: a plain card on Bedrock is expected and correct. Connecting and gameplay work identically to Java — it's only the server-list card rendering that's different.

"The server is called 'Another Geyser Server' on Bedrock"

Older Geyser configs ship with a placeholder MOTD. If you see "Another Geyser Server" or "Geyser Proxy" as the server name, tell the admin — the Geyser config needs primary-motd: "Kairosdawn SMP" and passthrough-motd: false. Already fixed on Kairosdawn; only mentioned here for completeness.

"Blocks are popping in slowly when I walk"

Normal during burst joins. When 4+ players connect at once and start moving, the server has to load a lot of new chunks simultaneously. It usually stabilizes within 30-60 seconds of joining.

If it happens when only 1-2 of you are on, tell the admin — that's not expected and might indicate a performance problem.

"I took damage / died but didn't see the attacker"

Usually mob activation range. Mobs are only fully active within 6 chunks of a player, so a mob can exist near you but be "frozen" (not attacking) until you get closer. When you enter its range, it snaps to action. This is a server optimization, not a bug.

If it's a PVP situation (another player), check the chat log — the server announces most kills in #server-feed via DiscordSRV.

"I'm stuck / teleported into a wall"

/back usually fixes this — returns you to your previous location. If that doesn't work, /spawn gets you to the world spawn where you can walk to safety.

If you're truly stuck (like, falling through the world), open chat and type /spawn. Worst case, post in Discord and the admin can TP you out.

Nothing above fixed my issue

Post in the Kairosdawn Discord server, in #general-chat, tag the admin. Include:

• What you were doing
• The exact error message (screenshot if possible)
• Your device + Minecraft version
• What you've already tried

The admin (AJ) usually responds within a few hours.

Server comparison — how Kairosdawn stacks up

This section compares Kairosdawn to the alternatives you might otherwise use: hosting a world as a "friend's world" from someone's device, or paying for Microsoft's official Realms service.

Quick definitions

• View distance (render distance): how far you can see — mountains, trees, buildings in the distance. Measured in "chunks" (16×16 block areas).
• Simulation distance: how far the world is alive around you — mobs spawn and move, crops grow, redstone fires, furnaces smelt.
• In multiplayer, your view distance is capped by either your device OR the server, whichever is lower.

View distance (how far you can see)

Note: Bedrock Realms recently bumped render distance from 10 to 20 chunks (2025 update). Java Realms is still at 12. Kairosdawn beats both.

Simulation distance (how far the world is alive)

Kairosdawn matches Bedrock Realms on simulation distance. We deliberately stay at 10 instead of pushing to the maximum of 12 so the server has headroom to stream new chunks quickly as players explore. Result: no more "blocks loading in as you walk." Farms, mob grinders, and redstone all work inside a 10-chunk (160 block) radius.

Full comparison

What each platform gets on Kairosdawn

Where Kairosdawn wins vs. Realms

• View distance: 22 vs 20 on Bedrock Realms, 22 vs 12 on Java Realms
• Max players: 16 vs 10 on Realms
• Cross-play: Java and Bedrock players in the same world (Realms can't do this — Java Realms is Java-only, Bedrock Realms is Bedrock-only)
• Extras: Web map, voice chat, grief protection — Realms has none of these
• Cost: $0/month vs. $7.99/month

Where Realms wins vs. Kairosdawn

• Uptime guarantee: Realms is hosted in Microsoft's data centers with guaranteed uptime SLAs. Kairosdawn runs on a Surface laptop on home internet — if the power goes out or the Wi-Fi drops, the server is down until it recovers. In practice this is rare, but it's the real trade-off.

The tradeoff, summarized

Kairosdawn matches Realms on simulation distance (10 chunks) and beats it on view distance (22 vs 20). We keep sim distance at 10 — not the max 12 — so the server has headroom to stream new chunks quickly as you explore. No more block pop-in.

If the group ever wants more view distance, we can bump it up — it just means the server works harder per player. For now, 22 is already above every Realms tier.

Server settings verified and updated April 12, 2026. Sources: Minecraft Wiki, Microsoft Learn, Mojang Realms update notes.

Server rules

Kairosdawn is a small private server. There isn't a massive rulebook because we don't need one. Just a few principles.

The rules

1. Access is by invitation only. If you were whitelisted, someone trusted invited you. Don't share the server address, Discord invite link, or your whitelist status with strangers. If you want to bring someone new, ask the admin first.

2. No griefing. Don't break, place, or modify blocks that belong to someone else without their permission. Don't steal from chests you don't own. Don't burn down forests someone cultivated. CoreProtect logs every block change — the admin can see exactly who did what and roll it back.

3. PVP is mutual consent. Technically PVP is enabled, meaning nothing code-enforces "no attack." The social rule: don't ambush people. Don't one-sided attack. If two players agree to fight, that's fine. If one person attacks someone who didn't want to fight, that's griefing.

4. Respect each other's builds. Don't tear apart someone's project to "improve" it. Don't "prank" a base by flooding it. Don't trap people in their own homes.

5. No hacks, exploits, or cheat clients. This includes x-ray, fly clients, kill aura, auto-fishing, and anything else that gives unfair advantage. The server runs detection tools and suspicious activity gets flagged.

6. Don't exploit duplication glitches or bugs. If you find a bug, report it to the admin — don't farm it for infinite diamonds.

7. Be decent to each other. No harassment, no slurs, no personal attacks, no content that makes people feel unsafe. Disagreements happen; harassment doesn't.

8. Keep age-appropriate content in mind. Players span ages — what's fine for teens might not be fine for younger kids. If you're not sure, keep it mild.

9. Report problems. If you see rule-breaking, or a bug, or something weird — post in the Kairosdawn Discord #general-chat or DM the admin. Don't take it on yourself to punish people.

Consequences

The admin handles rule enforcement. Depending on severity:

• Warning — most first offenses, especially if unintentional (someone new to the server doesn't know the expectations)
• Temporary ban — repeated warnings ignored, or a bigger single offense
• Permanent removal from whitelist + Discord ban — serious or repeated griefing, harassment, or cheating

CoreProtect rollbacks can repair damage but don't solve the behavior problem. Bans do.

This is a trust-based community

The whitelist is the safety net. Behavior is the expectation. If the admin trusts everyone on the whitelist to behave reasonably, and everyone does, the server runs smoothly and nobody has to enforce anything.

If you're here, you were trusted to be reasonable. Be worth that trust and you'll have a good time.

Manual changelog

A short running list of meaningful updates to this manual. Newest at top.

2026-04-13 — Bedrock DNS root cause FOUND and fixed

• Root cause identified: Java SRV record poisoning iOS Bedrock DNS lookups. The _minecraft._tcp.mc.kairosdawn.com SRV record intended for Java clients was being picked up by iOS Bedrock Minecraft, which failed instantly with U-000 at the DNS resolution stage (before any RakNet handshake was attempted). Not a network, MTU, port, or rate-limit issue — it was a per-domain DNS issue specific to iOS Bedrock's lookup code. Every earlier theory (session cache, port < 10000, MTU fragmentation, iOS app cache) was ruled out by a diagnostic sequence: raw-IP entry worked first try (proving server/network fine), fresh same-domain duplicate entry failed identically (proving per-entry state innocent and domain guilty), fresh bedrock.kairosdawn.com subdomain without SRV worked first try (confirming SRV record was the contamination).
• Fix: new bedrock.kairosdawn.com A record (→ 147.185.221.224, DNS-only, no SRV attached) dedicated to Bedrock traffic. mc.kairosdawn.com stays Java-only. Permanent root-cause fix; no more delete-and-re-add ritual for any Bedrock player.
• All docs updated: connect pages (05/06/07), troubleshooting (10) rewrote the U-000 entry with the confirmed cause, admin reference (01) got a new dated changelog entry + replaced the "platform limitations & known issues" section with the verified mechanism, services/providers inventory (02) documents bedrock.kairosdawn.com and the "DO NOT attach a SRV record" rule. Landing page (index.html) Bedrock card + copy-to-clipboard + PS/Xbox/Switch instructions all updated.
• Geyser bedrock.mtu reverted to default 1400 after diagnosis ruled it out (was temporarily at 1100 during the investigation).
• The mechanism is undocumented upstream. Not in Geyser issues, Mojang's error code KB, r/admincraft, or anywhere else we searched. This is the first trace-to-source we've seen of it. If you ever want to report it, the repro is "set up a Bedrock server behind any domain that has a _minecraft._tcp SRV record, connect from iPhone, observe instant U-000."

2026-04-13 — Previous (superseded) Bedrock U-000 troubleshooting entry

• Earlier version of this same day's entry blamed port < 10000 + iOS MTU sensitivity per Geyser issue #957. That was based on legitimate public research but was ultimately wrong for our specific case — the MTU testing at 1400/1200/1100 produced identical failure, which breaks the fragmentation theory. Superseded by the DNS root cause above.

2026-04-12 — Session recap expansion

• Added new section Plugin command reference (09b-plugin-commands.md) — every useful command from every plugin installed on Kairosdawn
• Expanded troubleshooting with three new entries: Bedrock session-cache U-000 after server restart, "chat is disabled due to missing profile public key" explainer, and the Bedrock "why does the server card look generic" platform-limitation note
• Added brief Bedrock platform-limitation notes to the PC-Bedrock, mobile, and console connect sections so players don't waste time trying to fix a generic server card
• Admin reference: added a "Recent config changes log" section with the April 12 big cleanup, Bedrock platform-limitations do-not-fix list, and an ops-only plugin commands section (CoreProtect, Chunky, BlueMap, Spark, ViaVersion, DiscordSRV, Skoice)
• New admin file Moving the server (admin/03-moving-the-server.md) — pre-move checklist, netplan apply procedure, DHCP reservation walkthrough, BIOS Power-on-AC-restore notes, what-happens-when-Wi-Fi-takes-over answers
• New admin file Operator playbook (admin/04-operator-playbook.md) — 14 common scenarios (power outage, ISP outage, broken updates, broken plugin jars, Minecraft version bumps, account compromise, disk space, map drift, lag complaints, corrupted configs, locking yourself out, Discord bot disconnects, unreachable-Surface scenarios) with detect/do/prevent for each

2026-04-12 — Initial MD-first version

• Migrated from scattered HTML files + README to a single source-of-truth system
• 14 sections covering welcome, Discord onboarding, whitelist, Java/Bedrock/mobile/console connection, voice chat setup, in-game basics, troubleshooting, server comparison, rules, admin reference, and this changelog
• Self-contained HTML build script (build-manual.py) converts the MD source into a single-file manual.html with inlined CSS
• Existing kairosdawn-server-comparison.html absorbed as section 11
• Dropped "family" framing from all descriptive text per server operator preference — it's a private server, that's the whole framing

How to contribute to this manual

1. Edit any NN-*.md file in ~/Documents/kairosdawn-docs/manual/
2. Add a dated bullet point at the top of this changelog describing what you changed
3. Rebuild: cd ~/Documents/kairosdawn-docs && ./.venv/bin/python build-manual.py
4. Double-click the new manual.html to verify it renders correctly
5. (Optional) Redeploy to Cloudflare Pages if the public version is hosted

The build is fast, the source is plain text, and any text editor works. Don't overthink it.