mscs/README

MinecraftServerControlScript
=============================

A powerful command-line control script for Linux-powered Minecraft servers.


Installation
-----------------------------
To get your server to run the script on startup, and cleanly down the server
on shutdown, you need to copy the script to /etc/init.d, set execute
permissions on the file, and instruct the system to use the script on startup
and shutdown.  The following commands will work in Debian and Ubuntu like
environments, ymmv in others.

sudo cp minecraft_server /etc/init.d/minecraft_server
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/minecraft_server
sudo update-rc.d minecraft_server defaults


For security reasons, the script uses a user account named minecraft rather
than root.  As such, you need to create the user before using this script:

sudo adduser minecraft

If the Minecraft server software is not located when the server start command
is issued, the software will be downloaded to the proper location:
  /home/minecraft/minecraft_server/minecraft_server.jar


Requirements
-----------------------------
I've made an attempt to utilize only features that are normally installed in
most Linux and UNIX environments in this script, but there are a few
requirements that this script has that may not already be in place:

Java 6/7 JRE   The Minecraft server software requires this.
Perl 5         Most, if not all, Unix and Linux like systems have this
                 preinstalled.
Python         Required by the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software.
GNU Screen     Allows the script to run the Java process as a background
                 daemon and send commands to the server.
GNU Wget       Allows the script to download software updates via the
                 internet.
rdiff-backup   Allows the script to efficiently run backups.
Iptables       Although not explicitly required, a good firewall should be
                 installed.

If you are running Debian or Ubuntu, you can make sure that these are
installed by running:

sudo apt-get install default-jre perl screen wget rdiff-backup iptables


Mapping Software
-----------------------------
The script now uses the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software to generate
maps of your worlds.  You can download premade binaries for supported systems
(Debian/Ubuntu, CentOS/RHEL/Fedora), or build your own binary from source if
needed.


Multiple Worlds
-----------------------------
The script can handle running multiple Minecraft world servers, just add a
directory for the world to the /home/minecraft/worlds/ directory.  A
server.properties file must exist in the world directory in order for the
server to start.


Firewall / NAT
-----------------------------
If you have a firewall installed on your computer, or a router using NAT
installed in your network, you will need to route some ports to your server.
Instructions on how to accomplish this are beyond the scope of this post, but
here are some things you will need to know:
  The default port for the Minecraft server is: 25565.
  If you wish to run multiple world servers using this script, you will
    want to open a range of ports (for example 25565 - 25575).

If you are using iptables, and you should be, here is a very basic ruleset
that you can use.

*filter
:INPUT DROP [0:0]
:FORWARD DROP [0:0]
:OUTPUT DROP [0:0]

# Handle loopback addresses
-A INPUT -i lo -j ACCEPT
-A OUTPUT -o lo -j ACCEPT

# Allow outbound packets if state related, and inbound if established
-A OUTPUT -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

# Drop stealth scans
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags FIN,SYN,RST,PSH,ACK,URG NONE
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags SYN,FIN SYN,FIN
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags SYN,RST SYN,RST
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags FIN,RST FIN,RST
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags ACK,FIN FIN
-A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -m tcp --tcp-flags ACK,URG URG

# Allow ICMP pings
-A OUTPUT -p icmp -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -p icmp -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

# Allow port 22 for SSH
-A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

# Allow port 80 for HTTP
-A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

# Allow port 443 for HTTPS
-A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT

# Allow ports 25565 - 25575 for Minecraft world servers
-A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 25565:25575 -j ACCEPT

COMMIT


Usage
-----------------------------
All commands below assume that you are running them as either the minecraft
user or as root (through sudo).

Note: If the script is run as the root user, all important server processes
will be started using the minecraft user for security purposes.

su minecraft
/etc/init.d/minecraft_server <option>

or

sudo /etc/init.d/minecraft_server <option>


Options
    start <world>
      Start the Minecraft world server.  Starts all world servers by default.
    stop <world>
      Stop the Minecraft world server.  Stops all world servers by default.
    force-stop <world>
      Forcibly stop the Minecraft world server.  Forcibly stops all world
      servers by default.
    restart <world>
      Restart the Minecraft world server.  Restarts all world servers by
      default.
    force-restart <world>
      Forcibly restart the Minecraft world server.  Forcibly restarts all
      world servers by default.
    status <world>
      Display the status of the Minecraft world server.  Displays the status
      of all world servers by default.
    send <world> <command>
      Send a command to a Minecraft world server.
    logrotate <world>
      Rotate the server.log file.  Rotate the server.log file for all worlds
      by default.
    backup <world>
      Backup the Minecraft world.  Backup all worlds by default.
    screen <world>
      Connect to the Screen holding the world's console.  See more detailed
      notes below.
    watch <world>
      Watch the log file for the Minecraft world server.
    map <world>
      Run the Mincraft Overviewer mapping software on the Minecraft world.
      Maps all worlds by default.
    update
      Update the client and server software packages.


To start all of the world servers, issue the command:

/etc/init.d/minecraft_server start


To start just the world named alpha, issue the command:

/etc/init.d/minecraft_server start alpha


To send a command to a world server, issue the command:

/etc/init.d/minecraft_server send <world> <command>

ie.
/etc/init.d/minecraft_server send alpha say Hello world!


Screen
-----------------------------
The screen option allows an admin to connect to and interact with the Screen
holding the Minecraft world server's console.  To exit out of this Screen
requires the admin to hit Ctrl-A, followed by the letter d.


Message of the Day (MOTD)
-----------------------------
To whisper the message of the day to users as they log into the world, add a
file called motd.txt to the /home/minecraft directory.

nano /home/minecraft/motd.txt


Colors
-----------------------------
To add colors to your Help or MOTD files, insert the following color codes
into your text:
    §0 - black
    §1 - blue
    §2 - deep green
    §3 - aqua
    §4 - deep red
    §5 - purple
    §6 - gold
    §7 - gray
    §8 - dark gray
    §9 - light blue
    §a - green
    §b - teal
    §c - red
    §d - magenta
    §e - yellow
    §f - white

Example motd.txt:

§fWelcome to Minecraft!
§fToday's theme is §4red§f.
§fLook out for those §2creepers§f!


CraftBukkit
-----------------------------
To use the CraftBukkit server distribution instead of the default Mojang
server, modify the following lines of code:

## Minecraft server options.

# Choose only one server distribution, leave the other commented out.

# Default Mojang server distribution.
SERVER_URL="http://www.minecraft.net/download/minecraft_server.jar"
SERVER_JAR="minecraft_server.jar"
SERVER_ARGS="nogui"

# CraftBukkit server distribution.
# SERVER_URL="http://ci.bukkit.org/job/dev-CraftBukkit/promotion/latest/Recommended/artifact/target/craftbukkit-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar"
# SERVER_JAR="craftbukkit-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar"
# SERVER_ARGS=""


Bukkit plugins are world specific and are contained within the plugins
directory of the world. ie.

/home/minecraft/worlds/alpha/plugins


If you would prefer to use the same plugins directory for all of your worlds,
you can create symlinks for each world.  ie.

mkdir /home/minecraft/plugins
ln -s /home/minecraft/plugins /home/minecraft/worlds/alpha/plugins
ln -s /home/minecraft/plugins /home/minecraft/worlds/beta/plugins


Lib Notify
-----------------------------
On systems that support lib notify, you can modify the script to print a
message on your desktop of important server events.

First, you need to know the name of the display you want to route the
messages to.  This is usually ":0.0", but it may be something different on
your system.

glxinfo | grep "name of display"


If your username is different than the user used for the Minecraft server,
replace $USER_NAME in LIBNOTIFY_USER_NAME=$USER_NAME with the correct
username.

Modify the following lines of code in the script:

# To use lib-notify to print a message on your desktop of important server
events, change the following to a 1.
USE_LIBNOTIFY=0

# The username and display that notifications will be routed to.
LIBNOTIFY_USER_NAME=$USER_NAME
LIBNOTIFY_DISPLAY=":0.0"


License
-----------------------------
See LICENSE

Issues
-----------------------------
I have only tested this code in a Debian/Ubuntu environment, but there is no
reason that it shouldn't work in any appropriately configured UNIX-like
environment, including Apple Mac OSX and the other BSD variants, with only
minor modifications.  If you experience errors running this script, please
post a copy of the error message and a note detailing the operating
environment where the error occurs to the support thread, and I'll try to
work out a solution with you.

Support thread:  http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=129833