Getting Started¶

Getting an Allay server up and running is simple! This guide will walk you through installing and launching your first Allay server.

Install Java¶

Allay requires Java 21 to run. There are several Java distributions available, but we recommend the following:

GraalVM – for best performance.
OpenJDK – for a more stable and familiar experience.

Tip

If you choose GraalVM, we recommend installing the latest LTS version (e.g. 22.3 LTS) rather than specifically Java 21.

Once installed, verify that Java is correctly set up by running:

java --version

If everything is installed correctly, you should see the version output with no error messages.

Use AllayLauncher (Recommended)¶

AllayLauncher is a lightweight, fast tool (written in C++) that helps you download, update, and manage your Allay server effortlessly.

To install it, you just need to run one command:

Windows Linux

Invoke-Expression (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AllayMC/AllayLauncher/refs/heads/main/scripts/install_windows.ps1").Content

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AllayMC/AllayLauncher/refs/heads/main/scripts/install_linux.sh | bash

Install Allay Manually¶

Download Allay¶

Get the latest release from the GitHub Releases page.

For the bleeding-edge version with the latest features, you can also try the Nightly Build, which is built from the master branch.

You should get a file named like:

allay-server-<version>-<commit-hash>[-dev]-shaded.jar

Example:

allay-server-0.1.0-dev-shaded.jar

The -dev suffix indicates a development version.

Running the Server¶

If your system has a graphical interface (GUI), just double-click the .jar file. If Java is installed correctly, a window like this will appear:

If you're on a headless server (no GUI), start the server with:

java -jar allay-server-*-shaded.jar

You’ll see the same startup output in the terminal.