Minecraft Server Management Scripts

A collection of shell scripts to simplify the management of a Minecraft: Java Edition server on a Linux host. These scripts allow a non-root user to easily download, start, stop, and interact with the server, making multi-user management over SSH straightforward and secure.

Features

• Download Utility: Automatically download the latest stable Minecraft server JAR or a specific version using the official Mojang API.
• Lifecycle Management: Start the server in a detached background session, stop it gracefully, restart it, and check its status.
• Interactive Console: Easily attach to the live server console to monitor logs and run admin commands.
• Secure by Design: Designed to be run by a non-root user, enhancing server security.

Prerequisites

These scripts require a Java runtime and several command-line utilities to function correctly.

Java (JRE/JDK)

A Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 17 or newer is required to run the Minecraft server. The recommended method for installing and managing Java versions is SDKMAN!

Preferred Method: SDKMAN!

SDKMAN! is a tool for managing parallel versions of multiple Software Development Kits on most Unix-like systems.

1. Install SDKMAN! (if you don't already have it):

   curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash
   source "$HOME/.sdkman/bin/sdkman-init.sh"

   You may need to open a new terminal session after installation for the sdk command to be available.

2. Install a Long-Term Support (LTS) version of Java: This command will install a recommended Java 17 version from the Adoptium project (Temurin).

   sdk install java 17.0.11-tem

Alternative: Platform-Specific Package Managers

If you prefer not to use SDKMAN!, you can use your system's package manager as a fallback.

• On Debian/Ubuntu:

  sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y default-jre

• On Fedora/RHEL/CentOS:

  sudo dnf install -y java-17-openjdk-headless

• On macOS (using Homebrew):

  brew install openjdk@17

  Note: After installing, you may need to follow post-install instructions from Homebrew to correctly symlink the JDK for command-line use.

Other Tools

You will also need curl, jq, wget, and screen.

• On Debian/Ubuntu:

  sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y curl jq wget screen

• On Fedora/RHEL/CentOS:

  sudo dnf install -y curl jq wget screen

• On macOS (using Homebrew):

  brew install jq wget screen

Scripts Guide

setup.sh (Server Configuration)

This project uses a .env file to store persistent configuration for your server. To get started, run the interactive setup script:

./setup.sh

This will ask for your desired Minecraft version and memory allocation and will generate the .env file for you.

Environment Variables

The following variables are supported:

• MC_VERSION: The version of the Minecraft server to download. This can be a specific version number (e.g., 1.18.2) or latest for the newest stable release.
• MC_MEMORY: The maximum memory (in Gigabytes) to allocate to the server (e.g., 4). This controls the -Xmx Java flag.
• MC_USE_NEOFORGE: Set to FALSE by default. If you want to use NeoForge, set this to the version you wish to use (e.g., 21.4.111-beta).

The settings in the .env file serve as defaults.

---

download.sh

This script downloads the official server.jar file from Mojang or a NeoForge server, if configured. It's the first step to setting up your server.

Usage

• To download the server:

  ./download.sh

  If MC_USE_NEOFORGE is set in your .env file, this will download and install the specified NeoForge version. Otherwise, it will download the vanilla Minecraft server version specified by MC_VERSION.

• To download a specific version: Use the -v flag followed by the version number.

  ./download.sh -v 1.18.2

  Using the -v flag in the download.sh script overrides the MC_VERSION variable in the .env file.

• To display help:

  ./download.sh -h

---

minecraft.sh

This script is used to control the server's lifecycle (start, stop, etc.). It uses screen to run the server in a detached session, meaning it will keep running even if you log out.

Configuration

Before using this script, you may want to adjust the configuration variables at the top of the file:

• SESSION_NAME: The unique name for the screen session. You generally don't need to change this.
• JAR_FILE: The name of your server JAR file. Defaults to server.jar.
• JAVA_OPTS: The Java Virtual Machine options, most importantly the memory allocation.
  • -Xmx2G sets the maximum RAM to 2 Gigabytes or the maximum set by the MC_MEMORY variable in the .env file.
  • -Xms1G sets the initial RAM to 1 Gigabyte.

Usage

• To start the server:

  ./minecraft.sh start

• To stop the server: This sends a graceful stop command to ensure the world is saved properly.

  ./minecraft.sh stop

• To check the server's status:

  ./minecraft.sh status

• To restart the server: This will gracefully stop and then start the server again.

  ./minecraft.sh restart

• To view the server console: This attaches you to the live console.

  ./minecraft.sh console

  To detach from the console and leave the server running in the background, press Ctrl+A followed by D.

Quick Start Workflow

1. Clone this repository and cd into the directory.

2. Download the server JAR:

   ./download.sh
   

3. Start your server:

   ./minecraft.sh start
   

   Your server is now running in the background!

Resources

• Minecraft Wiki - Server Properties Configuration
• NeoForge - Installing a NeoForge Server