How to Host a Minecraft Server on Linux – A Comprehensive Guide

Hey Dev, are you planning to host a Minecraft server on your Linux system? Well, you have come to the right place! This guide will help you set up and configure your server from scratch.

Pre-requisites

Before we jump into the installation process, let’s make sure we have all the necessary tools and software in place.

Hardware Requirements

A basic Minecraft server can run on almost any machine with a decent internet connection. However, since Minecraft heavily relies on CPU and memory, we recommend using a machine with the following minimum specifications:

Component	Minimum Requirement
CPU	Dual-Core 1.5 GHz
RAM	4 GB
Storage	20 GB SSD

Of course, if you plan on hosting a server with a large number of players or plugins, you should consider investing in more powerful hardware.

Software Requirements

Here are the software requirements for hosting a Minecraft server on Linux:

• Ubuntu 18.04 or higher
• Java SE Development Kit 8 or higher
• OpenSSH server

If your system does not have these tools already installed, you can easily install them via the terminal.

Installation

Now that we have all the necessary tools and software, we can begin the installation process.

Step 1: Create a New User

It is always good practice to create a dedicated user for running your Minecraft server. To create a new user, open a terminal and enter the following command:

sudo adduser minecraft

Replace ‘minecraft’ with the username of your choice.

Step 2: Install Java

Minecraft relies heavily on Java, so make sure you have Java SE Development Kit 8 or higher installed on your system. If Java is not installed, you can install it by running the following command on the terminal:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk

You can verify whether Java is installed by typing java -version in the terminal.

Step 3: Download the Minecraft Server

Download the latest version of the Minecraft server from the official website (https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/). Once the download is complete, move the file to your new user’s home directory.

Step 4: Create a Server Directory

Create a new directory where you want to store all the Minecraft server files. We recommend creating a directory with the same name as your Minecraft server.

To create a directory, run the following command in the terminal:

mkdir minecraft_server

Replace ‘minecraft_server’ with the name of your directory.

Step 5: Configure Minecraft Server

Now that we have all the necessary files in place, we can start configuring our Minecraft server.

Create a Script

Create a new launch script by running the following command in the terminal:

nano start.sh

Copy and paste the following code into the text editor:

#!/bin/bashcd /home/minecraft/minecraft_serverjava -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui

Replace ‘/home/minecraft/minecraft_server’ with the path to your Minecraft server directory.

Save and close the file by pressing CTRL + X, followed by Y, and then Enter.

Make the script executable by running the following command:

chmod +x start.sh

Start the Server

Run the newly created script by entering the following command in the terminal:

./start.sh

This will start the Minecraft server in the background.

Step 6: Configure Firewall

Since our Minecraft server will be accessible over the internet, it is important to secure it by configuring the firewall.

Add a new rule to allow incoming TCP traffic on port 25565 by running the following command:

sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp

Reload the firewall by running the following command:

sudo ufw reload

That’s it! Your Minecraft server is now up and running.

FAQ

How can I configure server.properties file?

The server.properties file contains all the configuration settings for your Minecraft server. To customize the settings, open the file in a text editor and modify the desired values. Some of the commonly modified settings include server name, difficulty level, and game mode.

Can I run multiple Minecraft servers on the same machine?

Yes, you can run multiple Minecraft servers on the same machine. Simply repeat the installation process for each server and assign a different port number for each server. Make sure to configure the firewall rules accordingly.

How do I add plugins to my Minecraft server?

You can add plugins to your Minecraft server by downloading them from the official Bukkit website (https://dev.bukkit.org/). Once downloaded, move the plugin files to the ‘plugins’ folder in your Minecraft server directory. Restart the server to activate the plugins.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully set up and configured your very own Minecraft server on Linux. With the right hardware and software, you can now host a server that can accommodate multiple players and plugins. We hope this guide has been helpful to you. Happy gaming!