Using Mineshire
Mineshire tunnels explained: guest accounts and addresses that stop working
The Network tab has a switch called “Make a tunnel when this server starts”, and a few words in it raise questions. What is a guest tunnel? Why did the address stop working? What does “Check if it works” actually check? Here are the answers.
What the tunnel is for
Your server normally lives on your home network, so only people on the same Wi-Fi can reach it. A tunnel gives it an address anyone can use, so friends in other houses can join without you touching router settings.
Mineshire uses playit.gg for this. The small helper program that does the work is about 5 MB and is only downloaded after you say yes.
With the switch off, the server stays on your own network. Tunnels you’ve already made stay as they are.
Guest or your own playit account
You don’t need an account. When you set up a tunnel, you approve it in your browser, and if you’re not signed in to playit.gg there, it becomes a guest tunnel that Mineshire made for you.
If you approve while you’re logged in to playit.gg in that browser, the tunnel joins that account instead. That’s handy if you already have one. If you want a guest tunnel, approve in a window where you’re logged out.
The badge on the tunnel card tells you which one you have, and whether the tunnel is running or off.
When the address stops working
Sometimes you’ll see a message saying the tunnel stopped working because playit no longer accepts this computer. That means the old address goes nowhere now.
The fix is to set the tunnel up again. It takes about a minute, and the server gets a new address, so your friends need the new one. This is the one real downside of a free tunnel, and it’s worth telling your friends so they don’t think your server is down for good.
What “Check if it works” does
The button sits under the tunnel address and tells you whether players can really reach the server through it. It’s switched off until the server is running, because there’s nothing to reach otherwise.
It works for Java servers. For Bedrock servers Mineshire says it can’t check the address.
Two small things worth knowing
A tunnel needs the internet. Without it, setting one up waits until you’re back online, and players on your own network can still join.
And the address belongs to your server, so only share it with people you trust. Anyone who has it can try to join, which is why the whitelist is still a good idea.