Minecraft Server Control Script

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

Index

• Features
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• [First-time Usage](#first-time usage)
• Server Customization
• License
• Issues

Features

• Run multiple Minecraft worlds.
• Start, stop, and restart single or multiple worlds.
• Create, delete, disable, and enable worlds.
• Includes support for additional server types: Forge, BungeeCord, SpigotMC, etc.
• Users automatically notified of important server events.
• Uses the Minecraft [Query protocol](http:b //wiki.vg/Query) to keep track of current server conditions.
• LSB and systemd compatible init script, allows for seamless integration with your server's startup and shutdown sequences.
• Map worlds using the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software.
• Backup worlds, and remove backups older than X days.
• Update the server and client software automatically.
• Send commands to a world server from the command line.

See the Usage section below for a description on how to use these features.

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have done the following before installing MSCS:

Required Programs

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

• Java JRE - The Minecraft server software requires this.
• Perl - Most, if not all, Unix and Linux like systems have this preinstalled.
• Python - Required by the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software.
• GNU Wget - Allows the script to download software updates via the internet.
• rdiff-backup - Allows the script to efficiently run backups.
• Socat - Allows the script to communicate with the Minecraft server.
• 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 python wget rdiff-backup socat iptables

Configuring the 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).

See the iptables.rules file for a very basic set of rules that you can use with the Iptables firewall.

Mapping Software (Optional)

The script uses the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software to generate maps of your worlds. Minecraft Overviewer is a command-line tool for rendering high-resolution maps of Minecraft worlds. It generates a set of static html and image files and uses the Google Maps API to display a nice interactive map.

If you wish to use the mapping software, you can download premade binaries for supported systems, or build your own binary from source if needed.

Repositories for automatic installation are also available:

• Debian/Ubuntu
• RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

Installation

Downloading the script

The easiest way to download the script is to make a clone of the git repository. You must have git installed first. To install git:

    sudo apt-get install git

Then:

    git clone https://github.com/sandain/MinecraftServerControlScript.git

Note that it will be downloaded into the current directory which you are working in.

Other ways to download

• Get the latest stable release.

• Get the development version as a zip file:

    wget https://github.com/sandain/MinecraftServerControlScript/archive/master.zip
  

Configuration

Navigate to the MinecraftServerControlScript directory that you just downloaded. Configuration can be done with the included Makefile in Debian and Ubuntu like environments by running:

    sudo make install

That's it! If you wish to configure the script manually, please visit the wiki page.

First-time Usage

So you successfully installed the script--great! There are a few important locations that you should know when using MinecraftServerControlScript:

• /usr/local/bin -- This contains the MSCS and MSCTL scripts used to power MinecraftServerControlScript. When modifying the script, you're going to want to modify one of these files (more in the adjusting options section).
• /opt/mscs -- All of your worlds and backups are stored in here.

From here, you probably want to [create a new world](#Create new world) or [import an existing world](#Import existing world) into the script. Then, you should adjust the amount of RAM and other settings for the server.

Create new world

The command to create a new world is:

    mscs create [world] [port] <ip>

Where world is the name of the world you specify, and port is the server port (by default, use 25565). ip is optional and will be used if you wish to create multiple worlds across different servers. For now, leave it blank.

If you get a permission error, such as mkdir: cannot create directory then type the following:

    chmod -R u+w /opt/mscs
    chown -R minecraft:minecraft /opt/mscs

This will give the user you created in the config (by default, the user minecraft) access to write in the /opt/mscs folder. If you configured MSCS manually when you installed the script, then replace minecraft with the name of the user you made.

Import existing world

Adjusting server options

Scheduling Backups

EULA

As of Minecraft version 1.7.10, Mojang requires that users of their software read and agree to their EULA. After you have read through the document, you need to modify the eula.txt file in your world's folder, changing the value of the eula variable from false to true.

#By changing the setting below to TRUE you are indicating your agreement to our EULA (https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula).
eula=true

Usage

Permissions

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 instead for security purposes.

sudo mscs [option]

Options

• start [world]

  Start the Minecraft world server. Start all worlds by default.

• stop [world]

  Stop the Minecraft world server. Stop all worlds by default.

• force-stop [world]

  Forcibly stop the Minecraft world server. Forcibly stop all worlds by default.

• restart [world]

  Restart the Minecraft world server. Restart all worlds by default.

• force-restart [world]

  Forcibly restart the Minecraft world server. Forcibly restart all worlds by default.

• create [world] [port] [ip]

  Create a Minecraft world server. The world name and port must be provided, the IP address is usually blank.

• delete [world]

  Delete a Minecraft world server.

• disable [world]

  Temporarily disable a world server.

• enable [world]

  Enable a disabled world server.

• list [option]

  Display a list of worlds. Options:

  • enabled

    Display a list of enabled worlds, default.

  • disabled

    Display a list of disabled worlds.

  • running

    Display a list of running worlds.

  • stopped

    Display a list of stopped worlds.

• status [world]

  Display the status of the Minecraft world server. Display the status of all worlds by default.

• broadcast [command]

  Broadcast a command to all running Minecraft world servers.

• 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.

• list-backups [world]

  List the datetime of the backups for the world.

• restore-backup [world] [datetime]

  Restore a backup for a world that was taken at the datetime.

• console [world]

  Connect to the Minecraft world server's console. Hit [Ctrl-D] to detach.

• watch [world]

  Watch the log file for the Minecraft world server.

• map [world]

  Run the Minecraft Overviewer mapping software on the Minecraft world. Map all worlds by default.

• update

  Update the client and server software packages.

Examples

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

sudo mscs start

To create a world named alpha, issue the command:

sudo mscs create alpha 25565

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

sudo mscs start alpha

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

sudo mscs send [world] [command]

ie.

sudo mscs send alpha say Hello world!

Import Existing Worlds

You just need to create a new directory in the worlds folder for the world you wish to import. Suppose the world you wish to import is called alpha, you would create a new folder in /opt/mscs/worlds, then copy the data files over to that directory.

If the directory containing the world alpha you wish to import looks like this:

$ ls
alpha
banned-ips.txt
banned-players.txt
crash-reports
logs
ops.txt
server.properties
white-list.txt

You can just copy your world into the worlds directory:

mkdir /opt/mscs/worlds/alpha
cp -R * /opt/mscs/worlds/alpha

Make sure you check server-port and query.port in server.properties to make sure it does not overlap with other servers created by the MSCS script. Also ensure that enable-query is set to true. If you do not have enable-query and a query.port set, you will not be able to check the status of the world with the script.

Server Customization

The default values in the script can be overwritten by modifying the /etc/default/mscs file.

For example, to modify the default MAPS_URL variable, add the following line to the file:

MAPS_URL="http://server.com/minecraft/maps"

The server settings for each world can be customized by adding certain key/value pairs to the world's mscs.properties file.

The following keys are available:

• mscs-enabled - Enable or disable the world server.
• mscs-version-type - Assign the version type (release or snapshot).
• mscs-client-version - Assign the version of the client software.
• mscs-client-jar - Assign the .jar file for the client software.
• mscs-client-url - Assign the download URL for the client software.
• mscs-client-location - Assign the location of the client .jar file.
• mscs-server-version - Assign the version of the server software.
• mscs-server-jar - Assign the .jar file for the server software.
• mscs-server-url - Assign the download URL for the server software.
• mscs-server-args - Assign the arguments to the server.
• mscs-initial-memory - Assign the initial amount of memory for the server.
• mscs-maximum-memory - Assign the maximum amount of memory for the server.
• mscs-server-location - Assign the location of the server .jar file.
• mscs-server-command - Assign the command to run for the server.

The following variables may be used in some of the values of the above keys:

• $JAVA - The Java virtual machine.
• $CURRENT_VERSION - The current Mojang Minecraft release version.
• $CLIENT_VERSION - The version of the client software.
• $SERVER_VERSION - The version of the server software.
• $SERVER_JAR - The .jar file to run for the server.
• $SERVER_ARGS - The arguments to the server.
• $INITIAL_MEMORY - The initial amount of memory for the server.
• $MAXIMUM_MEMORY - The maximum amount of memory for the server.
• $SERVER_LOCATION - The location of the server .jar file.

Example key/value pairs

Equivalent to the default values:

mscs-enabled=true
mscs-version-type=release
mscs-client-version=$CURRENT_VERSION
mscs-client-jar=$CLIENT_VERSION.jar
mscs-client-url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/$CLIENT_VERSION/$CLIENT_VERSION.jar
mscs-client-location=/opt/mscs/client/$CLIENT_VERSION
mscs-server-version=$CURRENT_VERSION
mscs-server-jar=minecraft_server.$SERVER_VERSION.jar
mscs-server-url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/$SERVER_VERSION/minecraft_server.$SERVER_VERSION.jar
mscs-server-args=nogui
mscs-initial-memory=128M
mscs-maximum-memory=2048M
mscs-server-location=/opt/mscs/server
mscs-server-command=$JAVA -Xms$INITIAL_MEMORY -Xmx$MAXIMUM_MEMORY -jar $SERVER_LOCATION/$SERVER_JAR $SERVER_ARGS

Run a Minecraft version 1.6.4 server:

mscs-client-version=1.6.4
mscs-server-version=1.6.4

Use Forge to run a 1.8.4 server (requires additional setup):

mscs-client-version=1.8.4
mscs-server-version=1.8.4
mscs-server-jar=forge-1.8-11.14.1.1419-universal.jar
mscs-server-url=http://files.minecraftforge.net/maven/net/minecraftforge/forge/1.8-11.14.1.1419/forge-1.8-11.14.1.1419-universal.jar

Use the latest BungeeCord successful build (requires additional setup):

mscs-server-jar=BungeeCord.jar
mscs-server-url=http://ci.md-5.net/job/BungeeCord/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/bootstrap/target/BungeeCord.jar

Additional documentation

More examples and documentation on server customization can be found on the wiki page.

License

See LICENSE

Issues

We 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 we will try to work out a solution with you.

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

Github Issues: https://github.com/sandain/MinecraftServerControlScript/issues