UPDATE: Added the ablity to keep saves on the portable device. Thanks to Kenny for the fix. Redownload the launchers if you want this ablity.
Hello again. Today I’m going to teach you to make your minecraft install portable. Basically this allows you to run Minecraft from a portable hard drive, USB stick, or even on a network share. Please note that your saves will still be stored in the Appdata directory of the current user (I know no workaround for this except to keep coping the saves).
You will need:
A Copy of Minecraft (perferably the latest);
An reasonably up-to-date Java install (it MUST be Java Runtime 6);
A Windows/Linux/Mac PC;
Some Spare Time.
You need to run Minecraft at least once.
For Windows:
1. You need a run box, so press Windows Key+R. If your running Windows 7 or Vista, just open the start menu.
2.type in “%appdata%” without quotes.
3.for Windows XP, copy the .minecraft folder to your final destination. for Windows 7 and Vista, you’ll find the .minecraft folder inside the Roaming folder. Copy that to it’s final destination.
4.Once it’s finished copying, rename the .minecraft folder to just minecraft.
5.Okay, now you need the launcher. Head here (click here for mirror) to get them. Make sure to grab both, as some machines are 32bit, some are 64bit.
6.Place these in the same folder as your minecraft folder.
7.You’re done! Run the Launcher to start playing.
For Linux/Macs:
1. Now, the .minecraft folder is in your home directory, and it’s a hidden folder. You need to copy that to it’s final destination.
2.Once it’s finished copying, rename the .minecraft folder to minecraft.
3.open up a terminal in that folder, then run this command: java -Xms512m -Xmx1024m -cp “minecraftbin*” -Djava.library.path=”minecraftbinnatives” net.minecraft.client.Minecraft “minecraftportable”
4.Enjoy.
Some Extra Tips.
You probably saw the net.minecraft.client.Minecraft “mincraftporatble” bit in the command. the “minecraftportable” bit is your multiplayer name when you connect to a server which is in offline mode. Change that as you see fit. Windows users will find a similar command in their launchers; just open that file up in notepad and make the needed changes.
Also, be aware that any saves you create will be stored in the usual directory, not on your portable device.
If you need any help, or have any questions, please feel free to leave comments below.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Now if only there was a way to get around the lack of a command line in locked down education environments.
i wish schools computers allowed everything. well it’s in my dreams~
Enable command prompt:
1. Open notepad.
2. Type “command.com”
3. Save as command.bat
4. Open
5. Try not to get a detention
This used to work for me, but its been a long time since I was in high school. This also worked on the novel network at Tafe but again, that was a long tie ago.
hahahaha classic, a .bat file to start command line
Anyway to get multiplayer working?
Howto:
1. Download the Server from Minecraft.net.
2.Run the server ONCE.
3.Edit the server.proprties file, changing online-mode = true to online-mode=false.
4.Run and join your server.
Make sure the name you put in the launcher is under 15 characters if you have problems.
Also, make sure every player has a different name, identical names will cause players to be kicked from the server.
to have different names on a school server if you cant join minecraft.net you will have to use a hacked clint of minecraft
From Sarah
aka YoshiCraft
Multiplayer is dependent on your network and a whole different level of security. It is also a different program. Minecraft doesn’t have a listen server setup. You can download the server from the Minecraft site though.
i cant get this to work
i have followed all the steps but when i open it it says that it can’t open the java virtual machine
PLEASE HELP
is that on a school computer or a home computer?
if its a school computer there is nothing you can do =[
My school has it where you can open command prompt but as soon as you press a key it closes, any way around that?
it says could not find main class: net.minecraft.client.minecraft and program will exit
Be aware that with minecraft release, notch changed how the game launches, so it is possible that this trick doesn’t work anymore. I will update the article to suit.
i wish in minecraft they would add obsidian armor
if you look hard enough there is a mod for it =]
Hello
ima having problems with my portable…
i made it and it all worked but after some time when ever i wanted to move it somewhere like on a usb it wouldnt copy or anything. i dont know if it has anything to do with thw portable but i had to make a new one everytime =[
if you could help me that would be nice =]
From Sarah
aka YoshiCraft!
hello again
im still using portable and my dad has a portable of everything includeing 1.1.
what trick isnt working?
if its portable minecraft it is still working for me
Multiplayer support is now (very) temperamental. Even on offline mode servers using the portable version of the game can cause you to get kicked randomly.
To make Minecraft portable as of release, assuming your flash drive is F:
Make a batch file on F: with this text:
set appdata=%cd%
Minecraft.exe
Drop Minecraft.exe into the flash drive, run the batch file, sign in, and download Minecraft. Then, drop Minecraft.exe into the .minecraft folder and change the batch file’s contents to
set appdata=%cd%
.minecraftMinecraft.exe
And you’re done. This simply fools Minecraft into thinking that your appdata folder is on your flash drive, so Minecraft will run normally and won’t know that it’s any different than a normal install.
I might be wrong, but doesn’t this solution set the appdata path permamently? Otherwise yeah, this will work fine, and fix the saves problem.
No, it’s not permanent. The change only reaches as far as that batch file (and the instance of Minecraft it starts), it doesn’t affect anything not related to that batch file.
It’s the perfect way to make Minecraft portable because it works anywhere, I have 3 different versions of MC on my desktop using the batch file.
Yeah, I have a different batch file for multiple Minecraft versions, as some of my favourite mods don’t see updates.
Is there a way to change it so it saves your files on your flashdrives instead of the usual folder?
-Please Help!!
Updated the Launchers to solve this problem. Should save your world to your portable device now. Have fun!
I like this, but it isn’t working for me.
There where a number of problems which I fixed, and one which I just don’t know how to… yet.
Problems fixed:-
o jre6 is outdated, and may not (in my case, does not) exist.
o .bat files are for DOS… which is even MOAR outdated… use .cmd for NT based OS. XD
o can’t switch account without editing the script… I can now. ^_^
o two scripts for x86 and x64? No need.
What I don’t know how to fix:-
Error: Could not find or load main class bin\lwjgl.jar
and sometimes
Error: Could not find or load main class bin\jinput.jar
(random, but the files exist both on the machine and the portable device… so I don’t get the why I have the error)
Here’s my updated MCLauncher.cmd with fixes for the above:-
@echo off
set pf=%ProgramFiles%
if %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%==AMD64 set pf=%ProgramFiles(x86)%
set jre=jre6
if exist “%pf%\Java\jre7\README.txt” set jre=jre7
set /P MCID=User Name:
set appdata=%cd%
“%pf%\Java\%jre%\bin\java” -Xms512m -Xmx1024m -cp “bin\*” -Djava.library.path=”bin\natives” net.minecraft.client.Minecraft “%MCID%”
pause
Oh yea. I forgot to list that your scripts would not work if Windows is *not* installed on the C: drive. Mine will.
It’s pretty rare these days, but can still happen if you’re dual booting different versions of Windows. So it’s probably still worth mentioning, even though it’s not a major issue.
Addendum:-
Looks like jre7 will not accept * for libraries. I hope jre6 will still work with explicit package specification. Also fixed network login, I think. (which needs users password, ofc)
Final script:-
@echo off
set pf=%ProgramFiles%
if %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%==AMD64 set pf=%ProgramFiles(x86)%
set jre=jre6
if exist “%pf%\Java\jre7\README.txt” set jre=jre7
set /P MCID=User Name:
set /P pwd=Password:
set appdata=%cd%
“%pf%\Java\%jre%\bin\java” -Xms512m -Xmx1024m -cp “bin\minecraft.jar;bin\jinput.jar;bin\lwjgl.jar;bin\lwjgl_util.jar;bin\WorldEdit.jar” -Djava.library.path=”bin\natives” net.minecraft.client.Minecraft “%MCID%” “%pwd%”
pause