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Worlds

Joining a world

What to do with a link somebody sent you, and what the game does before it lets you in.

A friend sends you something starting with vbf:. It goes into Minecraft’s ordinary Add Server box, and from then on the world sits in your Multiplayer list like any other server.

Adding the world

What you should have been sent

In the game
Four words with vbf: in front. That is the only form the game can use to find a world, so if what you have looks different, ask again. An invite code is a different thing and will not work here.
vbf:frag-brisk-otter-cedar-lantern
1 of 3

Forms the game will accept

All of these are understood as the same world. The link is read leniently, because people paste what their phone gave them.

  • vbf:frag-brisk-otter-cedar-lantern
  • vbf://frag-brisk-otter-cedar-lantern
  • vbf:Brisk Otter Cedar Lantern, capitals and spaces and all
  • frag-brisk-otter-cedar-lantern on its own

A full stop at the end of a pasted sentence is ignored. A hostname that happens to begin with those letters is left alone and treated as an ordinary server.

What happens when you press Join

This is the sequence the first time you enter a world. Most of it happens only once.

  1. UsThe link is looked up
    It comes back with the world's name and its owner's name. This much works before you are a member of anything.
  2. The gameYour mods are compared with the world's
    If the world states a mod list, you are shown what you are missing before you commit to anything. That screen is covered in packs and mods.
  3. UsYou are admitted, or told why not
    Whitelisted, holding a membership, or entering a world open to anyone with the link. A refusal appears as a message in the corner rather than a disconnect screen.
  4. The gameYour own copy of the world is made
    Fragments are played from a copy on each machine, so the first join builds yours using the host's seed and settings. This happens without asking you anything.
  5. The gameThe first time only, you are told what gets sent
    One screen, once per installation. It is also readable any time with /vbf privacy, and in what we send.
  6. YouYou are in
    From here it is Minecraft. The next section of these docs covers what is different once you are inside.

When it will not let you in

Refusals arrive as a message in the top corner of the screen, quoted here as they appear.

Not whitelisted
“You’re not on this world’s whitelist — ask the host to add you.” The link found the world and the world does not know you. The host adds your exact Minecraft name.
Banned
“You’re banned from this world.” A fresh invitation will not change this. Only the host can undo it.
Gone
“That world no longer exists or you were removed.” Deleted worlds sit in a trash for a day before they are purged, so ask the host before assuming the worst.
No answer
“Couldn’t reach the coordinator — try again.” Nothing is wrong with your link.
Still signing in
“Verifying your account — try again in a moment.” The game had not finished proving who you are to Minecraft. Wait a few seconds and press Join again.
Invalid link
“Fragment link invalid.” Either a word is wrong or the host has rotated the link. Ask for it again, and paste rather than retype it.
What each refusal means and what to do about it.

Joining from a world you are already in

An invite code is redeemed with /vbf join <code> from inside any Fragment you already play. It makes you a member of the other world. You still need that world’s link to enter it, so a code on its own is not a way in.