Discord
Tools

Dynmap: an interactive server map in your browser

Dynmap is a server plugin that generates an interactive map of your Minecraft world and serves it in a web browser. Players get a 3D render of the terrain, the live positions of other players and marked points on the map, with nothing to install on the client. It is one of the oldest and most popular server plugins around.

What is Dynmap?

Dynmap (Dynamic Map) is a server-side plugin. You install it on your Minecraft server (Spigot, Paper, Bukkit), and it generates map tiles and serves them through a built-in HTTP server. Players open the address in a browser (for example http://yourserver.com:8123) and get an interactive map they can drag around, zoom and switch between layers.

The plugin has been around since 2011 and is one of the longest-maintained add-ons for Minecraft. Over the years it became a standard: many large servers offer Dynmap as part of the player experience.

The key advantage: players don't need to install anything. The map works in any browser, even on a phone. That sets Dynmap apart from map mods (JourneyMap, Xaero's), which have to be installed on the client.

Main features

3D map rendering

Dynmap renders the world in an isometric 3D perspective, so you see mountains, valleys, buildings and trees from above, with depth. Every block is drawn with its color and shape. 2D views are available too (a flat map, like GPS navigation), as well as a cave view.

Live player tracking

Player icons update live, so you can see who is online and where they are. Clicking a player shows their name, coordinates and current dimension (Overworld/Nether/End). Admins can turn off tracking for selected players or groups.

Markers and layers

Admins can add markers to the map to flag important places (spawn, shops, PvP arenas, clan territory). Markers can be grouped into layers and toggled on and off in the browser. Integration plugins (for example Dynmap-Towny and Dynmap-WorldGuard) automatically draw region borders on the map.

Chat

An optional chat on the map page: players in the browser can talk to players in the game (and the other way around). Handy for admins who monitor the server remotely.

Installation and setup

Requirements

  • A Spigot, Paper, Purpur or Bukkit server (it does not work on a vanilla server)
  • Java 17 or newer
  • Free disk space: rendered tiles can take anywhere from a few hundred MB to several GB, depending on the size of the world
  • A free HTTP port (8123 by default)

Step-by-step installation

  1. Download Dynmap from Modrinth or SpigotMC
  2. Put the .jar file in the server's plugins/ folder
  3. Restart the server
  4. Dynmap generates its configuration automatically in plugins/dynmap/
  5. Open http://localhost:8123 in a browser. The map should load

First render

After installation, Dynmap has to render the existing world. Run /dynmap fullrender world in the server console. The first full render can take anywhere from minutes (small world) to hours (a large world with lots of chunks). Later updates only re-render changed chunks, so they are fast.

Rendering modes

Dynmap offers several display modes:

  • 3D isometric - the default and the best looking. Shows the terrain in perspective, with buildings and landforms visible. Uses the most disk space
  • Flat (2D) - a top-down view, like a satellite map. Lighter, faster to render and uses less disk. A good extra layer next to 3D
  • Cave - shows caves and underground tunnels. Useful for finding mines, dungeons and underground bases
  • Surface - a simplified surface view, even lighter than Flat. A good fit for servers with limited disk space

Each mode is configured separately in configuration.txt. You can enable several modes at once, and players switch between them in the browser.

Impact on server performance

Dynmap puts load on the server while it renders: it reads chunks, processes blocks and generates images. On servers with many players you will notice it.

Ways to reduce the load:

  • Lower the update frequency - set a longer interval between renders in the config (for example every 5 minutes instead of every second)
  • Render at night - use crontab or a scheduler plugin so the full render starts when the server is empty
  • Limit the map radius - don't render an infinite world. Set a border (for example 10,000 blocks from spawn)
  • Turn off 3D mode - if performance is a problem, keep only Flat. It uses far fewer resources
  • Use a separate SSD - map tiles are thousands of small files, and an SSD handles them better than an HDD

Alternatives: BlueMap and Squaremap

Dynmap is a classic, but not the only option. Newer alternatives offer a different rendering style and different performance:

BlueMap

Renders the world in full 3D with WebGL, and the result looks spectacular, with shadows, water and depth. It is much prettier than Dynmap, but it uses more resources. It supports Spigot, Paper, Fabric and Forge. A good pick for servers with builds worth showing off.

Squaremap

A minimalist 2D map: very light, quick to render and easy on disk space. There is no 3D mode, but it barely loads the server. Ideal for survival servers with limited resources.

Which one to pick?

  • Dynmap - if you want a proven solution with a huge ecosystem of integration plugins
  • BlueMap - if looks matter to you and you have server resources to spare
  • Squaremap - if performance and simplicity come first

Related pages