Skip to main content

​
Get started quickly

Follow these steps to build and run Minecraft Consoles on Windows. This guide focuses on getting you playing as quickly as possible.
1

Install Visual Studio 2022

Download and install Visual Studio 2022 with the following workloads:
  • Desktop development with C++
  • Windows 10 SDK (or newer)
The Community edition is free and works perfectly for this project.
2

Clone the repository

Open a terminal and clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/smartcmd/MinecraftConsoles.git
cd MinecraftConsoles
3

Open the solution

Double-click the MinecraftConsoles.sln file to open the project in Visual Studio 2022.
Make sure Minecraft.Client is set as the Startup Project (it should be by default).
4

Configure build settings

In Visual Studio, set your build configuration:
  • Configuration: Debug (recommended) or Release
  • Platform: Windows64
Release mode may have some bugs. Use Debug mode for the best experience.
5

Build and run

Press F5 to build and run the game, or:
  • Go to Build > Build Solution (Ctrl+Shift+B)
  • Then Debug > Start Debugging (F5)
The game will compile and launch automatically.

​
Alternative: CMake build

If you prefer using CMake instead of Visual Studio’s solution file, you can build from the command line.
1

Configure the project

Open PowerShell in the project directory and run:
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
You can specify your Visual Studio instance explicitly:
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE="C:/Program Files/Microsoft Visual Studio/2022/Community"
2

Build the executable

Build the Debug configuration:
cmake --build build --config Debug --target MinecraftClient
Or for Release:
cmake --build build --config Release --target MinecraftClient
3

Run the game

Navigate to the output directory and run:
cd .\build\Debug
.\MinecraftClient.exe
The game relies on relative paths like Common\Media\..., so make sure to run it from the output directory.

​
First launch

When you first launch the game:
  1. You’ll see the classic Minecraft Console Edition Tutorial World
  2. Use the keyboard and mouse controls to navigate
  3. Press F11 to toggle fullscreen mode
  4. Press Esc to access the pause menu
Tutorial hints will appear on screen. Press Enter to accept them or B to decline.

​
Quick controls reference

Here are the essential controls to get you started:
ActionKey
MoveW A S D
JumpSpace
SneakShift (Hold)
InventoryE
Break blockLeft Click
Place blockRight Click
PauseEsc
FullscreenF11
For the complete controls reference, see the controls page.

​
Playing multiplayer

Minecraft Consoles includes basic LAN multiplayer support:
1

Host a game

When you create or load a world, it automatically advertises on your local network.
  • Game port: TCP 25565
  • Discovery port: UDP 25566
2

Join a game

Other players on the same LAN can find your session in the Join Game menu.
This feature is based on LCEMP.
3

Custom username (optional)

Override your in-game username by creating a username.txt file in the game directory with your desired name.

​
Next steps

Learn all controls

Master the complete keyboard and mouse controls

Build from source

Detailed compilation instructions and troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us