How crossplay works

You don't need to know any of this to play. But if you're curious about why a Bedrock player on a phone can fight a Java player on a desktop in the same world, here's the architecture.

The bridge

A server-side translation layer accepts native Bedrock connections on UDP port 19132 and translates them into the Java protocol the server speaks internally. From the server's perspective, every connection is "a Java player." From the Bedrock client's perspective, it's connecting to a normal Bedrock server. Neither end knows the other is using a different edition.

This bridge handles:

• Packet translation — Bedrock packets in, Java packets out, and back
• Inventory translation — Bedrock's slot-grid vs Java's container-windows
• Block ID mapping — most blocks have a 1:1 Bedrock↔Java match; the few that don't get the closest equivalent
• Item translation — same idea for items, tools, armor, enchantments
• Skin support — Bedrock skins display correctly to Java players

The auth bypass

A second component handles authentication without a Java account. When a Bedrock player connects:

1. Their Bedrock client provides standard Bedrock auth (Microsoft account or device-linked)
2. The bridge generates a deterministic linked Java identity from that Bedrock identity
3. The server treats the Bedrock player as a normal Java player with that linked identity
4. Their username appears in chat (with a small visual marker indicating Bedrock origin)

This is why the server is online-mode for Java but accepts Bedrock without a Java license. Bedrock players are authenticated by Microsoft on their own track; the bridge trusts that.

A custom Sunday Market bridge layer sits on top

In addition to the standard Bedrock bridge, Sunday Market runs a custom plugin that handles Sunday Market-specific edge cases — particularly around dimension extents, custom blocks, and brand-specific UI rendering. This is invisible to players; it just makes Bedrock support smoother on this specific server.

If you ever see a "DimensionDataPacket" error or other low-level Bedrock complaint, that's the kind of thing this layer is built to handle. Most players never see them.

What Bedrock players experience differently

Mostly nothing. The differences that exist:

• Inventory and chest UIs use Bedrock's native rendering (this is normal)
• Touch controls work; controller works; mouse-keyboard works (Win10/11 Bedrock)
• Some chat formatting (gradients, hover cards) renders simpler on Bedrock — the content is preserved, the richness is reduced
• A handful of custom block textures may show as the nearest vanilla equivalent if the resource pack hasn't loaded fully — accept the resource pack to fix this

Performance

Bedrock players generally see better performance per device because Bedrock's renderer is more optimized for low-end hardware. A phone or Switch can connect and play comfortably; a Java client of the same era would struggle.

The trade-off: some Java-side features are reduced or absent on Bedrock (richer chat formatting, certain mod-style UI menus that were built for Java's GUI system). The bridge does its best to preserve everything important.

See also

• Bedrock tips — controller, touch, hot-bar tips
• Version compat — what client versions can connect
• Connecting from Bedrock — step-by-step setup