Minecraft Server Hosting

This is the easiest way to run your own Minecraft server! Perfect for hosting survival worlds, creative builds, or mini-game servers for your friends and family.

Who this is for: Anyone who wants to run Minecraft servers without dealing with complex technical setup.

Note: These instructions are for Minecraft Java Edition only. At the time of writing, there are no options to self-host Minecraft Bedrock Edition.

What You Get

🌍 Instant Minecraft Worlds: Create new survival or creative worlds in minutes
🔄 Always Up-to-Date: Automatically uses the latest Minecraft server version
🎮 Multiple Worlds: Run different worlds simultaneously (survival, creative, mini-games)
🛡️ Safe & Isolated: Each world runs independently and securely
🌐 Friends Can Join: Accessible to anyone on your local network
� Easy Management: Simple commands to create, start, stop, and backup worlds
💾 World Persistence: Your builds and progress are automatically saved

Prerequisites

Docker Desktop installed on your computer
Basic comfort with command line
Router access (optional, for internet access)

How to Start a Default Survival World

The fastest way to get a standard survival world running:

Create your world settings:
```
cp .env.example .env
```
Start your world:
```
docker-compose up -d
```
That's it! Your survival world is now running and accessible at:
- Local network: <your-computer-ip>:25565
- Same computer: localhost:25565

Your world will have:

Difficulty: Easy
Game mode: Survival
PvP: Disabled (friendly for families)
Max players: 20
World name: "world"

How to Stop a World

docker-compose down

This safely shuts down your world and saves all player progress.

How to Delete a World

⚠️ Warning: This permanently deletes all builds, items, and player data!

# Stop the world first
docker-compose down

# Delete all world data
docker-compose down -v

How to Backup a World

Quick Backup

# Create a backup file with today's date (replace "my-minecraft-server" with your LEVEL_NAME)
docker run --rm -v minecraft-server-hosting_my-minecraft-server-data:/data -v "$(pwd)":/backup ubuntu tar czf /backup/my-world-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /data .

Restore from Backup

# Stop the world first
docker-compose down

# Restore from backup file (replace "my-minecraft-server" with your LEVEL_NAME)
docker run --rm -v minecraft-server-hosting_my-minecraft-server-data:/data -v "$(pwd)":/backup ubuntu tar xzf /backup/my-world-backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz -C /data

# Start the world again
docker-compose up -d

How to Create a New World

Option 1: Different World Name (keeps old world)

Edit your world settings:

nano .env  # Linux/Mac
notepad .env  # Windows

Change the world name:
```
LEVEL_NAME=my-new-world
```

Restart to create the new world:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Option 2: Fresh Start (deletes old world)

# Stop and delete current world
docker-compose down -v

# Start fresh
docker-compose up -d

How to Run Multiple Worlds at the Same Time

You can run different types of worlds simultaneously! Here's how to set up multiple worlds:

Example: Survival + Creative Worlds

Create settings for your creative world:
```
cp .env.example .env.creative
```

Edit .env.creative for creative mode:

# Give it a unique world name and port
LEVEL_NAME=creative-world
SERVER_PORT=25566
RCON_PORT=25576

# Creative world settings
GAMEMODE=creative
DIFFICULTY=peaceful
PVP=false
MOTD=Creative Building Server

Create a second docker-compose file:

cp docker-compose.yml docker-compose.creative.yml

Edit docker-compose.creative.yml to use the creative settings:

services:
  minecraft-server:
    env_file:
      - .env.creative
    ports:
      - "25566:25565"  # Different port
      - "25576:25575"  # Different RCON port
    volumes:
      - creative-world-data:/opt/minecraft/server

volumes:
  creative-world-data:

Start both worlds:

# Start survival world (port 25565)
docker-compose up -d

# Start creative world (port 25566)  
docker-compose -f docker-compose.creative.yml up -d

Connect to different worlds:
- Survival: <your-ip>:25565
- Creative: <your-ip>:25566

Example: Multiple Themed Worlds

You can create as many worlds as you want:

# Mini-games world
cp .env.example .env.minigames
# Edit: LEVEL_NAME=minigames-hub, SERVER_PORT=25567, etc.

# Hardcore world  
cp .env.example .env.hardcore
# Edit: LEVEL_NAME=hardcore-survival, SERVER_PORT=25568, HARDCORE=true, etc.

# Start all worlds
docker-compose up -d                                           # Main world
docker-compose -f docker-compose.creative.yml up -d            # Creative  
docker-compose -f docker-compose.minigames.yml up -d           # Mini-games
docker-compose -f docker-compose.hardcore.yml up -d            # Hardcore

Customizing Your World

Easy Settings (.env file)

Edit your .env file to customize your world:

# World basics
LEVEL_NAME=my-awesome-world
MOTD=Welcome to My Server!
MAX_PLAYERS=10

# Gameplay
GAMEMODE=survival          # survival, creative, adventure, spectator
DIFFICULTY=normal          # peaceful, easy, normal, hard
HARDCORE=false            # true = permanent death
PVP=true                  # true = players can fight each other

# World generation
LEVEL_TYPE=minecraft:normal    # normal, flat, large_biomes, etc.
LEVEL_SEED=12345678           # Leave empty for random

# Server behavior  
SPAWN_PROTECTION=16       # Blocks around spawn where only ops can build
VIEW_DISTANCE=10          # How far players can see (higher = more lag)

Apply changes by restarting your world:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Advanced Settings

For fine-grained control, you can access all Minecraft server settings through the .env file. See .env.example for the complete list of available options.

Managing Your World

View Server Logs

# See what's happening in your world
docker-compose logs -f

# See recent activity
docker-compose logs --tail=20

Run Admin Commands

Connect to your world's console:

docker exec -it $(docker-compose ps -q) mcrcon -H localhost -P 25575 -p minecraft

Make yourself an admin:
```
op YourPlayerName
```

Other useful commands:

list                    # See who's online
weather clear           # Clear weather
time set day           # Set time to day
gamemode creative YourPlayerName  # Change player's game mode
teleport YourPlayerName ~ ~10 ~   # Teleport player up 10 blocks

Exit console:
```
quit
```

Check World Performance

# See memory and CPU usage
docker stats $(docker-compose ps -q)

# See server status
docker ps

Connecting to Your World

Local Network (Friends at Your House)

Find your computer's IP address:
- Windows: Open Command Prompt, type ipconfig
- Mac: System Preferences → Network
- Linux: Terminal, type ip addr
In Minecraft Java Edition:
- Multiplayer → Add Server
- Server Address: 192.168.1.xxx:25565 (replace xxx with your IP)

Internet Access (Friends from Anywhere)

Forward port 25565 in your router to your computer
- Log into your router's admin page
- Find "Port Forwarding" or "Virtual Servers"
- Forward external port 25565 to your computer's IP:25565
Find your external IP: Visit whatismyipaddress.com
Share with friends: your-external-ip:25565

⚠️ Security Note: Opening ports to the internet has security implications. Only do this if you understand the risks.

Common Issues & Solutions

"Connection refused" Error

Check if world is running: docker ps
Check firewall: Ensure port 25565 is allowed
Windows networks: Change from Public to Private network in Settings

World Won't Start

# Check what went wrong
docker-compose logs

# Try rebuilding
docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d --build

Out of Memory

# Edit .env file to increase memory
MEMORY_MAX=4G

# Restart world
docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Can't Connect from Same Computer

Use localhost:25565 instead of your IP address.

File Locations & Advanced Access

Access Your World Files Directly

# Open a terminal inside your world
docker exec -it $(docker-compose ps -q) bash

# List world files
docker exec $(docker-compose ps -q) ls -la /opt/minecraft/server/

# Copy files out (e.g., for external map viewers)
docker cp $(docker-compose ps -q):/opt/minecraft/server/world ./world-backup

Included Management Scripts

Windows: minecraft-docker.ps1 - PowerShell management script
Linux/Mac: start-server.sh - Bash management script

Getting Help

Quick Diagnostics

# Is your world running?
docker ps

# What's in the logs?
docker-compose logs --tail=50

# What's the server saying?
docker exec -it $(docker-compose ps -q) mcrcon -H localhost -P 25575 -p minecraft

Reset Everything (⚠️ Deletes All Worlds)

docker-compose down -v
docker system prune -f

Advanced Setup Options

If you need more control, performance, or want to run on a dedicated Linux server without Docker, check out the Advanced Linux Setup →

The advanced setup provides:

Maximum performance (no container overhead)
Native Linux systemd integration with scheduling
Template-based multi-server management
Advanced security configurations
Production-ready deployment options

Best for: Dedicated servers, advanced users, or production deployments where maximum performance is required.

License & Contributing

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Feel free to submit issues, improvements, or additional features
Both basic and advanced approaches are actively maintained
Star the repo if you find it helpful! ⭐

Happy crafting!

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 12 Commits
advanced		advanced
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
download-server.ps1		download-server.ps1
download-server.sh		download-server.sh
minecraft-docker.ps1		minecraft-docker.ps1
start-server.sh		start-server.sh
workspace.code-workspace		workspace.code-workspace

License

brianwarner/minecraft-server-hosting

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