19.3 Minecraft

Minecraft is a sandbox game developed in Java. Different versions have specific JDK version requirements (1.20.5+ requires Java 21). This section covers OpenJDK installation and launcher configuration on FreeBSD.

Installing OpenJDK

Different Minecraft versions require different JDK versions:

Minecraft Version	Required JDK Version
1.17	Java 16
1.18 to 1.20.4	Java 17
1.20.5 and above	Java 21

Testing has confirmed that JDK 21 runs the latest version of Minecraft normally.

Install OpenJDK 21 using pkg:

# pkg install openjdk21

Or install OpenJDK 21 using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/java/openjdk21/
# make install clean

Minecraft Client

There are two common launchers available on FreeBSD: HMCL and Prism Launcher. Prism Launcher is available through FreeBSD Ports, while HMCL can only be run by manually downloading the .jar file.

HMCL

HMCL (Hello Minecraft! Launcher) is a Minecraft launcher developed in Java that supports multi-version management and mod loading.

Configuring HMCL

Before configuring the launcher, you need to obtain the installation file first.

Download the latest release from the releases page.

Open a terminal and run the command to launch the HMCL launcher JAR file using Java:

$ java -jar HMCL*.jar

Not all Minecraft versions are supported; for compatibility details, please refer to the Platform Support Status document. The remaining settings are platform-independent; key configurations include Java path settings, game directory selection, and memory allocation.

Launching the Game with HMCL

For specific steps on launching the game with HMCL, please refer to the screenshots below.

Playing Minecraft on FreeBSD

Playing Minecraft on FreeBSD

Prism Launcher

Prism Launcher is an open-source launcher developed using C++ and the Qt framework. This launcher disables offline login by default and restricts bypass methods, and is recommended only for licensed users.

Installing Prism Launcher

Install Prism Launcher using pkg:

# pkg install prismlauncher

You can also install Prism Launcher using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/games/prismlauncher/
# make install clean

Configuring Prism Launcher

Pay attention to desktop environment compatibility during configuration.

If using the KDE desktop environment, you need to update third-party packages to the latest version. This is because the KDE desktop environment requires a specific Qt version, and the Qt libraries that Prism Launcher depends on must be consistent with the system libraries.

# pkg upgrade

Otherwise, it may fail to start, and the terminal will display error messages about incompatible Qt library versions or missing symbols.

Click to launch the program:

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

This is the language setting, which supports Chinese by default.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

This sets the Java version; keep the default settings.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

Appearance settings; keep the default settings.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

Launching Minecraft with Prism Launcher

After launching the program, you can see that Prism Launcher supports Chinese, but requires a licensed login.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

After logging in, download the latest version of the game.

Note

A Minecraft licensed account is required to log in to the game. You can purchase the game.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

Enter the Minecraft game.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

Enter the game screen.

Running Minecraft on FreeBSD

References

• Mojang Studios. Minecraft: Java Edition 1.20.5[EB/OL]. [2026-04-17]. https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-java-edition-1-20-5. Minecraft 1.20.5 and later require Java 21 and a 64-bit operating system.
• HMCL-dev. Hello Minecraft! Launcher[EB/OL]. [2026-04-17]. https://github.com/HMCL-dev/HMCL. HMCL is an open-source cross-platform Minecraft launcher released under the GPLv3 license.