What is using port 25565 on my Mac?

Port 25565 is the default for Minecraft: Java Edition servers. A listener means a Minecraft server is running on your Mac. Run lsof -i :25565 to confirm.

Is it safe to kill the process on port 25565?

It stops your Minecraft server. That's safe for macOS, but players will be disconnected and unsaved world changes since the last save may be lost. Use the server's stop command for a clean shutdown.

Do I need to forward port 25565?

Only if you want people outside your network to join. For that you'd forward 25565 on your router. For local play it stays on your Mac.

Port 25565: What's Using It and Is It Safe to Kill?

Port 25565 is the default port for Minecraft: Java Edition servers. A listener on 25565 means you’re hosting a Minecraft server on your Mac.

What typically listens on port 25565

Minecraft Java server: The official server and forks like Paper and Spigot default to 25565.
Server managers: Tools that launch Minecraft servers use the same port.

It’s in the registered range (1024-49151), so it binds without admin rights. Bedrock Edition uses a different port (19132 over UDP).

Is it safe to kill?

For macOS, yes. The caution is your world and players: killing the process disconnects anyone playing and can lose changes since the last save. Stop it cleanly from the server console with the stop command, then kill the PID only if it hangs.

Is it suspicious?

If you host Minecraft, no. If you don’t and see 25565 listening, identify the owning process; a game server you didn’t start is worth a look. The command below names it.

How to find what’s on port 25565 on macOS

lsof -i :25565

To stop a stuck server by PID:

kill $(lsof -ti :25565)

Portie shows port 25565 with the process behind it in its live view, so you can confirm your Minecraft server is running and which Java process owns it.