CraftRank
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Documentation

Everything you need to list your Minecraft server on CraftRank and get more players: from adding it and setting up vote rewards to widgets and notifications. Building something? See the API reference.

1. Add your server

  1. Create a free account and open Add server.
  2. Enter the address players use to join (for example play.example.net) and the port if it is not the default (25565 for Java, 19132 for Bedrock). SRV records work.
  3. Pick the language your community speaks, up to a few game modes, and write a short description in your own words.
  4. Upload a 468×60 banner (optional, see below) and save.

New servers are checked by a moderator before they appear in the list, usually within a day. The server must be online when we check it.

2. Claim a server that is already listed

Many servers are already in the list. If yours is one of them, open its page and press Claim this server. You prove that you own it by adding a short code to the server's MOTD for a few minutes; as soon as we see it, the listing moves to your account and you can edit it. Votes, stats and history are kept.

4. How voting and ranking work

  • Every player can vote for each server once every 24 hours, with their Minecraft username.
  • The list is ranked by votes this month. Votes reset on the 1st of each month, so new servers always get a fair chance. The top 3 of each month are kept in the Hall of fame.
  • Votes cannot be bought, and paid placements never change your rank; they are shown separately and labelled “Sponsored” or “Ad”.
  • Your vote link is https://craftrank.org/vote/{id}; you find it, with a share button, on your server page and in your dashboard.

5. Vote rewards with Votifier / NuVotifier

With Votifier your server is told about every vote right away, so a plugin can give the player a reward in game.

  1. Install NuVotifier (recommended, works on Spigot, Paper, BungeeCord and Velocity) or the classic Votifier, plus a reward plugin such as VotingPlugin or SuperbVote.
  2. Make sure the Votifier port (default 8192) is open to the internet.
  3. In your dashboard open Edit server → Vote rewards and turn it on. Enter the Votifier address and port, then either:
    • the token (NuVotifier v2, recommended): from plugins/Votifier/config.yml, under tokens: default:, or
    • the public key (v1): the contents of plugins/Votifier/rsa/public.key.
  4. Save, then vote for your own server once. Your server console should show the vote, coming from the service name CraftRank. You can also send a test vote with our Votifier tester.

In your reward plugin, set up rewards for the service name CraftRank (or for any service).

6. Vote rewards without Votifier

No open port? Your plugin or website can ask us whether a player has voted in the last 24 hours:

GET https://craftrank.org/api/v1/servers/{id}/voted?username=PlayerName

and read your full vote list with your private API key. Everything is described in the API reference; your server ID and API key are in Dashboard → Integrations.

7. Website widget and vote badge

Show your live status on your own website, store or forum. In Dashboard → Integrations you find ready-to-copy code for:

  • Website widget: a card with your banner, players online, rank, votes, a Copy IP button and a Vote button. Dark and light themes; it updates by itself.
  • Vote badge: a small image with your rank and votes that links to your vote page, for places that only allow images.

Both link back to your listing, which also helps your page rank better in search engines.

8. Discord notifications

Get a message in your Discord when someone votes, when your server goes offline or comes back, and when your rank changes. In Discord open Channel settings → Integrations → Webhooks → New webhook, copy its URL and paste it in Dashboard → Integrations → Discord notifications. Choose which events you want and save; you get a test message right away.

9. What we detect automatically

  • Online status and players: every few minutes. A server only shows as offline after two missed checks in a row.
  • Java + Bedrock: Java servers that also accept Bedrock players (for example with Geyser) are found automatically and get a “Java + Bedrock” label with the Bedrock address and port.
  • Non-premium (cracked): we start a login with a made-up name to see whether the server needs a paid account. Your console may briefly show a player named CraftRankBot joining and leaving: that is us. It happens about every three days and never on every status check.
  • Modded: Forge, NeoForge, Fabric and hybrid servers are recognised from what the server reports, and the mod list is shown on your page when the server shares it.
  • Ping: the time to connect from our server, so it depends on where your server is.
  • Player count check: we look at how your player count changes over a few days. Real servers are busier at some hours than at others; a number that sits at the player limit or never moves is marked “Player count looks unusual”. A normal pattern gets “Real player count”.
  • Tested versions: about once a week we start a login with several game versions (1.8.9 up to the newest) to see which ones can join, and show the result as “Works with …”.
  • Server news: when your MOTD or version changes for good, or you beat your player record, it appears on your page and on the news page automatically.

Something detected wrong? Write to us and we will look into it.

10. Statistics

Dashboard → Statistics shows players per day, your busiest hours, votes per day, server and vote page views, your top voters and how many votes you need to pass the next server, so you can see what your advertising and vote campaigns bring.

11. Promote your server

Listing is free. For more visibility you can buy a home page spot, a banner ad or a game mode spot for 3 to 30 days with a one-time payment. Prices and details are on the Advertise page.

12. Rules and removal

Listings must follow the Terms of Service: a real, reachable Minecraft server, honest information and no vote manipulation (bots, multiple accounts or rewards for voting with fake names). Servers that break the rules can be hidden or removed. You can delete your own listing at any time in your dashboard; if you are the owner of a listed server you do not want here, write to us and we remove it.