minecraftconsoles-lce

SKILL.md

MinecraftConsoles (Legacy Console Edition) Skill

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

What This Project Is

MinecraftConsoles is a C++ reimplementation/continuation of Minecraft Legacy Console Edition v1.6.0560.0 (TU19), targeting modern Windows (and unofficially macOS/Linux via Wine). Goals include:

Multi-platform base for modding, backports, and LCE development

Quality desktop experience with keyboard/mouse and controller support

LAN multiplayer and dedicated server software

Splitscreen multiplayer support

Repository: smartcmd/MinecraftConsoles

Primary language: C++

Build system: Visual Studio 2022 solution (.sln) + CMake support

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Windows (primary supported platform)

Visual Studio 2022 with C++ desktop workload

Git

Clone

git clone https://github.com/smartcmd/MinecraftConsoles.git
cd MinecraftConsoles

Build with Visual Studio

Open MinecraftConsoles.sln in Visual Studio 2022

Set Startup Project to Minecraft.Client

Set configuration to Debug (or Release), platform to Windows64

Press F5 or Ctrl+F5 to build and run

Build with CMake (Windows x64)

# Configure
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64

# Build the client
cmake --build build --config Debug --target MinecraftClient

# Build the dedicated server
cmake --build build --config Debug --target MinecraftServer

See COMPILE.md in the repo for additional platform-specific notes.

Running the Client

Nightly Build (No Compile Needed)

Download the .zip from the Nightly Release, extract, and run Minecraft.Client.exe.

Setting Your Username

Create username.txt in the same directory as the executable:

Steve

Or use a launch argument:

Minecraft.Client.exe -name Steve
Minecraft.Client.exe -name Steve -fullscreen

Client Launch Arguments

Argument
Description

-name <username>
Override in-game username

-fullscreen
Launch in fullscreen mode

Keyboard & Mouse Controls

Action
Key/Button

Move
W A S D

Jump / Fly Up
Space

Sneak / Fly Down
Shift (hold)

Sprint
Ctrl (hold) or double-tap W

Inventory
E

Chat
T

Drop Item
Q

Crafting
C (tabs: Q / E)

Attack / Destroy
Left Click

Use / Place
Right Click

Select hotbar slot
1–9 or Mouse Wheel

Pause
Esc

Fullscreen
F11

Toggle HUD
F1

Toggle Debug Info
F3

Debug Overlay
F4

Toggle Debug Console
F6

Toggle FPS/TPS view
F5

Player list / Host Options
Tab

Accept tutorial hint
Enter

Decline tutorial hint
B

LAN Multiplayer

LAN multiplayer works automatically on the Windows build:

Hosting a world auto-advertises it on the local network

Other players discover sessions via Join Game menu

TCP port: 25565 (game connections)

UDP port: 25566 (LAN discovery)

Use the Add Server button to connect to known IPs

Username changes are safe — keep uid.dat to preserve your data across renames

Splitscreen players can join LAN/multiplayer sessions

Dedicated Server

Download Nightly Server Build

Nightly Dedicated Server

Run Directly (Windows)

Minecraft.Server.exe -name MyServer -port 25565 -ip 0.0.0.0 -maxplayers 8 -loglevel info
Minecraft.Server.exe -seed 123456789

Server CLI Arguments

Argument
Description

-port <1-65535>
Override server-port

-ip <addr>
Override server-ip (bind address)

-bind <addr>
Alias of -ip

-name <name>
Override server-name (max 16 chars)

-maxplayers <1-8>
Override max-players

-seed <int64>
Override level-seed

-loglevel <level>
debug, info, warn, error

-help / --help / -h
Print usage and exit

server.properties Configuration

Located in the same directory as Minecraft.Server.exe. Auto-generated with defaults if missing.

server-name=DedicatedServer
server-port=25565
server-ip=0.0.0.0
max-players=8
level-name=world
level-id=world
level-seed=
world-size=classic
log-level=info
white-list=false
lan-advertise=false
autosave-interval=60

Key property notes:

Key
Values
Default
Notes

server-port
1–65535
25565
TCP listen port

server-ip
string
0.0.0.0
Bind address

server-name
string
DedicatedServer
Max 16 chars

max-players
1–8
8
Player slots

level-seed
int64 or empty
empty
Empty = random

world-size
classic|small|medium|large
classic
New world size

log-level
debug|info|warn|error
info
Verbosity

autosave-interval
5–3600
60
Seconds between autosaves

white-list
true/false
false
Enable whitelist

lan-advertise
true/false
false
LAN advertisement

Dedicated Server in Docker (Linux/Wine)

Recommended: Pull from GHCR (No Local Build)

# Start (pulls latest image automatically)
./start-dedicated-server.sh

# Start without pulling
./start-dedicated-server.sh --no-pull

# Equivalent manual command
docker compose -f docker-compose.dedicated-server.ghcr.yml up -d

Local Build Mode (Optional)

Requires a locally compiled Minecraft.Server.exe:

docker compose -f docker-compose.dedicated-server.yml up -d --build

Docker Persistent Volumes

Host Path
Container Path
Purpose

./server-data/server.properties
/srv/mc/server.properties
Server config

./server-data/GameHDD
/srv/mc/Windows64/GameHDD
World save data

Docker Environment Variables

Variable
Default
Description

XVFB_DISPLAY
:99
Virtual display number

XVFB_SCREEN
64x64x16
Virtual screen size (tiny, Wine needs it)

Project Structure (Key Areas)

MinecraftConsoles/
├── MinecraftConsoles.sln       # Visual Studio solution
├── CMakeLists.txt              # CMake build definition
├── COMPILE.md                  # Detailed compile instructions
├── CONTRIBUTING.md             # Contributor guide and project goals
├── docker-compose.dedicated-server.ghcr.yml  # Docker (GHCR image)
├── docker-compose.dedicated-server.yml       # Docker (local build)
├── start-dedicated-server.sh   # Quick-start script
├── server-data/
│   ├── server.properties       # Server config (auto-generated)
│   └── GameHDD/                # World save data
└── .github/
    └── banner.png

Common C++ Patterns in This Codebase

Adding a New Key Binding (Keyboard Input)

The project added keyboard/mouse support on top of the original controller-only code. When extending input:

// Typical pattern for checking key state in the input handler
// Find the keyboard input processing file and add your key check:

bool isKeyPressed(int virtualKey) {
    return (GetAsyncKeyState(virtualKey) & 0x8000) != 0;
}

// Example: adding a new toggle key
if (isKeyPressed(VK_F7)) {
    // toggle your feature
    myFeatureEnabled = !myFeatureEnabled;
}

Registering a Launch Argument

Follow the existing -name / -fullscreen pattern:

// In the argument parsing section (typically in main or init):
for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
    std::string arg = argv[i];

    if (arg == "-name" && i + 1 < argc) {
        username = argv[++i];
    }
    else if (arg == "-fullscreen") {
        launchFullscreen = true;
    }
    // Add your argument:
    else if (arg == "-myoption" && i + 1 < argc) {
        myOption = argv[++i];
    }
}

Reading server.properties

#include <fstream>
#include <sstream>
#include <map>
#include <string>

std::map<std::string, std::string> loadServerProperties(const std::string& path) {
    std::map<std::string, std::string> props;
    std::ifstream file(path);
    std::string line;

    while (std::getline(file, line)) {
        if (line.empty() || line[0] == '#') continue;
        auto eq = line.find('=');
        if (eq == std::string::npos) continue;
        std::string key = line.substr(0, eq);
        std::string val = line.substr(eq + 1);
        props[key] = val;
    }
    return props;
}

// Usage:
auto props = loadServerProperties("server.properties");
int port = std::stoi(props.count("server-port") ? props["server-port"] : "25565");
std::string serverName = props.count("server-name") ? props["server-name"] : "DedicatedServer";

Writing server.properties (Normalize / Auto-generate)

void writeServerProperties(const std::string& path,
                            const std::map<std::string, std::string>& props) {
    std::ofstream file(path);
    for (auto& [key, val] : props) {
        file << key << "=" << val << "\n";
    }
}

// Normalize level-id from level-name
std::string normalizeLevelId(const std::string& levelName) {
    std::string id = levelName;
    // Remove unsafe characters, lowercase, replace spaces with underscores
    for (char& c : id) {
        if (!std::isalnum(c) && c != '_' && c != '-') c = '_';
    }
    return id;
}

Troubleshooting

Build Fails: Missing Windows SDK

Open Visual Studio Installer → Modify → add Windows 10/11 SDK

Make sure the platform is set to Windows64 (not x86)

CMake Can't Find Visual Studio Generator

# Confirm VS 2022 is installed, then:
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
# "17 2022" is the generator name for VS 2022

Game Launches But No Display / Crashes Immediately

Ensure you're running from the directory containing all game assets

Check that your GPU drivers support the required DirectX version

Try Debug build for more verbose error output

Server Not Visible on LAN

Check firewall rules allow TCP 25565 and UDP 25566

Verify lan-advertise=true is NOT required for dedicated servers (it's for LAN broadcast; clients discover via Join Game)

Ensure both client and server are on the same subnet

Docker Server: Wine Can't Display

The XVFB_DISPLAY env var must match what Wine uses

The container uses a minimal 64x64x16 virtual framebuffer — don't change this unless you have a reason

Username Reset / UID Issues

Do not delete uid.dat — it stores your unique player ID

If you rename yourself via -name or username.txt, your existing uid.dat keeps world data linked to your account

macOS / Linux (Wine)

Download the Windows nightly .zip

Run via wine Minecraft.Client.exe or CrossOver

Stability issues (frametime pacing) are known and community-reported; not officially supported

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting PRs. Key points:

Follow existing code style and naming conventions

Console build compatibility should not be broken without discussion

Security fixes are always welcome

Check open issues (535+) for good first tasks

Join the Discord for contributor discussion

Platform Support Summary

Platform
Status

Windows (VS 2022)
✅ Fully supported

macOS / Linux (Wine)
⚠️ Community-reported working, unofficial

Android (Wine)
⚠️ Runs with frametime issues

iOS
❌ No support

Consoles
⚠️ Code present, not actively maintained