244 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
244 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Minecraft Server on Docker ⛏ 🐳
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date: 2022-05-24
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lastmod: 2024-07-20
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author: "ahmza"
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draft: false
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weight:
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tags: ["games", "docker"]
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description: "Ever wanted to build a Minecraft server in docker !! Start here"
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---
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## **Introduction**
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Minecraft is a great game that becomes even more enjoyable when played with
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friends. One of the best ways to do this is by setting up a dedicated server.
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This guide will help you do just that!
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Setting up and running a Minecraft server does not require a lot of resources,
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but based on my experience, allocating more resources significantly enhances
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performance. Especially when you start to add mods and increase player count.
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## **Prerequisites**
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- Docker
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- Docker Compose
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See [Pi Cluster](/posts/pi-docker-swarm/)
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for more information about my docker setup.
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## **Requirements**
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_Requirements Gathered from [here](https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Server/Requirements/Dedicated#Unix_.28Linux.2C_BSD.2C_macOS.29)_
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### **Minimum (1-5 Players)**
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- Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon based CPU
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- 512 MB RAM
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- 2 GB Storage space
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### **Recommended (10-15 Players)**
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- Intel Core or AMD K8 based CPU
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- 3 GB RAM
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- 16 GB Storage Space
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### **Optimal (20+ Players)**
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- Intel i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7 Based CPU
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- 6 GB RAM
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- 35 GB Storage Space
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**My opinion**:
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I personally went with the **optimal** settings as I wanted to run mods as well
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as have the capacity for ~10 players. This gives the server breathing room.
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However if you will be runing no mods or a few light weight mods and only a few
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players then there really is no need to go higher than 3-4 GB.
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## **Building the Container**
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Lets get started on building the Minecraft server
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1. **Create a directory for the Minecraft server files**:
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```bash
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# Make the folder
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mkdir minecraft-server
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# Enter the folder
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cd minecraft-server
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```
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2. **Create an environment file for the Docker Container**:
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- The _.env_ file allows us to specify variables used in the build process.
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```bash
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# Create a .env file
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touch .env
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# Open in a text editor
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vim .env
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# Enter the following variables
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CONTAINER_NAME=minecraft-server
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SERVER_MEM=4096 #change this to your desired value (in MB)
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SERVER_JAR=<downloaded-server-file>.jar # Minecraft server jar file. Change this later
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```
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3. **Create the _docker-compose.yml_ file**:
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```bash
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# Create the file
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touch docker-compose.yml`
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# Open in a text editor
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vim docker-compose.yml
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```
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- _docker-compose.yml_ is the spec of our Minecraft server.
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- Build a docker image using context . and pass some ARGS.
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- Attach volume .server-data, where Minecraft's files will be stored.
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- Open network ports to access to the Docker container
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- Give the docker container a name
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- The container will always restart unless we tell it to stop.
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```yaml
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services:
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minecraft-server:
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build:
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context: .
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args:
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SERVER_MEM: ${SERVER_MEM}
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SERVER_JAR: ${SERVER_JAR}
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volumes:
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- .server-data:/server
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ports:
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- 25565:25565 # Game
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- 25575:25575 # RCON
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container_name: ${CONTAINER_NAME}
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restart: unless-stopped
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volumes:
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server-data:
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```
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4. **Create the _Dockerfile_ file**:
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- requested in docker-compose.yml build stage as context .
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- The _Dockerfile_ is the spec for software running inside the container
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```bash
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# Create the file
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touch Dockerfile
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# Open the file in a text editor
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vim Dockerfile
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```
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- We use the [eclipse-temurin:21](https://hub.docker.com/_/eclipse-temurin) image to provide the java JRE
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- Use the required java version for the version of Minecraft you are running
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- Collect the ARGs from the .env file
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- Set the environment variables
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- Set the working directory to /server which on our local system is .server-data
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- Run the minecraft server jar with the ENV variables
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```Dockerfile
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FROM eclipse-temurin:21
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ARG SERVER_MEM
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ARG SERVER_JAR
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ENV SERVER_MEM=${SERVER_MEM}
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ENV SERVER_JAR=${SERVER_JAR}
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WORKDIR /server
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CMD echo "Minecraft Server is starting\n" && java -Xms128M -Xmx${SERVER_MEM}M -jar ${SERVER_JAR} nogui
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```
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## **Setup the Server files**
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We’re almost there, just a few steps to go.
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When you try to start the container, you might encounter the following error:
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```bash
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Minecraft Server is starting
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Error: Unable to access jarfile server.jar
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```
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This happens because we haven't downloaded the server jar file yet. Let's do
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that now
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1. **Create a folder in the minecraft-server folder called .server-data**:
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```bash
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mkdir .server-data
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cd .server-data
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```
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2. **Download a Minecraft server jar file**:
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- [Vanilla Minecraft Server](https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server)
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- Right click the green link that says minecraft_server.<version>.jar and copy the link address
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- Download with: `curl -o server.jar <link you copied here>`
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- [Fabric Mod loader server](https://fabricmc.net/use/server/)
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- Select the Minecraft version, Fabric Loader Version and the Installer Version of your choice. I tend to go with the latest.
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- Download with: `Copy the curl command under CLI download`
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3. **Go back to the root minecraft-server folder**
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```bash
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cd ..
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```
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4. **Edit SERVER_JAR in .env with the name of the .jar you just downloaded**:
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```bash
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# Open in a text editor
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vim .env
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# Enter the following variables
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CONTAINER_NAME=minecraft-server
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SERVER_MEM=4096
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SERVER_JAR=<downloaded-server-file>.jar # Change this to the name of the .jar you downloaded
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```
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5. **Run the container to generate necessary files like 'eula.txt'**:
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```bash
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docker compose up
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```
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you will see something like this:
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```bash
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minecraft-server | Starting net.minecraft.server.Main
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minecraft-server | [18:05:50] [ServerMain/INFO]: You need to agree to the EULA in order to run the server. Go to eula.txt for more info.
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minecraft-server exited with code 0
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```
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6. **Accept the EULA**:
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```bash
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# edit eula.txt in a text editor
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vim .server-data/eula.txt
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# change `eula=false` to `eula=true`
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eula=true
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```
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7. **Make any additional changes you want**:
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- Notable files:
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- **server.properties** - Configure server name, game mode, world type etc…
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- **ops.json** - server operators (can be set in-game)
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- **whitelist.json** - players allowed to join the server (can be set in-game)
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## Run the Minecraft Server
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1. **Run the container in detached mode**:
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```bash
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# The -d flag allows the container to run in detached mode, i.e., in the background
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docker compose up -d
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```
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```bash
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# monitor the logs as the server starts. Use CTRL+C to exit
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docker logs minecraft-server --follow
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# If you see the following lines, your server is up and running:
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[18:17:01] [Server thread/INFO]: Time elapsed: 25529 ms
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[18:17:01] [Server thread/INFO]: Done (34.571s)! For help, type "help"
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```
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## **Conclusion**
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Congratulations! You've successfully set up a Minecraft server. Now it's time
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to play!
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There are many exciting possibilities from here, such as installing mods or
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creating scripts to manage the server. Enjoy your Minecraft adventures!
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