A Minecraft server in 60 seconds. No account, no cloud, no monthly fee. Your machine is the server.
Windows
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OutBlade/mineblade/main/scripts/setup.ps1 | iexmacOS / Linux
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OutBlade/mineblade/main/scripts/setup.sh | bash
What the script does • Dashboard • Server types • Java • Port forwarding • Requirements
Renting a Minecraft server costs 5 to 20 dollars a month. For a world you play in twice a week with three friends, that is absurd.
mineblade is a single command that turns your own machine into the server. It installs Java, downloads the server jar, writes the configs, opens the firewall, and starts a local web dashboard. Total time from clean machine to running server: under a minute.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. pick server type | Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, or Forge |
| 2. pick version | latest 8 versions fetched live from Mojang / PaperMC / Fabric |
| 3. install Java | queries Mojang for the exact Java version this MC release needs, installs via winget / brew / apt / dnf / pacman if missing |
| 4. download server jar | straight from the official source for the chosen type |
| 5. write config | eula.txt, server.properties with your chosen RAM and player cap |
| 6. open firewall | TCP port 25565 inbound rule added automatically on Windows |
| 7. install dashboard | Python HTTP server at localhost:8080, zero dependencies |
| 8. start and open browser | the dashboard loads, you click Start, the server boots |
No state lives anywhere except ~/mineblade-server/. Uninstall is a single rm -rf of that folder.
After setup the browser opens to http://localhost:8080.
status online / offline
players live count from server stdout
console last 120 lines, auto-refreshing
controls Start, Stop, restart on failure
The dashboard is a single Python file that streams server.jar stdout, parses player counts out of the MOTD handshake lines, and exposes a small JSON API. It detects UnsupportedClassVersionError immediately and stops the server with an actionable message instead of crash-looping.
It also auto-picks the highest installed Java version, so a server that needs Java 25 does not try to start on a stale Java 17 that happens to be first on PATH.
| Type | What it is | When to pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | the official Mojang server | you want the plain game |
| Paper | high-performance drop-in replacement | 4+ players, bigger render distance, faster chunk loading |
| Fabric | lightweight mod loader | you want mods, you care about startup speed |
| Forge | heavyweight mod loader | the mods you want are Forge-only |
Vanilla, Paper, and Fabric are fully automatic. Forge still needs you to drop the installer jar in the server folder manually; Forge Inc. does not publish a clean download API.
The right Java version matters. Minecraft 1.17 needs Java 16. 1.20 needs Java 21. 1.21.4+ needs Java 25. Running the wrong one gives you UnsupportedClassVersionError: class file version 69.0 and an endless restart loop.
The setup script does not guess. It reads javaVersion.majorVersion from Mojang's version manifest for the exact release you picked, then:
1. scans every java.exe on the system: PATH, registry, JAVA_HOME, and
common install directories (Eclipse Adoptium, Microsoft, Zulu, Corretto)
2. runs each one with -version and parses the major version
3. picks the highest installation that meets the requirement
4. if nothing qualifies, installs via winget / brew / apt / dnf / pacman
5. writes the resolved path to mineblade-server/java.txt so the dashboard
uses the exact same exe
No reliance on stale session PATH. No silent fallback to a wrong version.
Friends on the same Wi-Fi can join immediately using your local IP (the setup script prints it). Friends outside your network need port forwarding:
1. find your router IP (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1)
2. log in and find Port Forwarding in the admin UI
3. forward TCP port 25565 to this machine's local IP
Share your public IP from https://whatismyipaddress.com. That is all.
For machines behind CGNAT or a locked-down router, use playit.gg as a free tunnel. mineblade itself only listens on 25565 and does not care how traffic reaches it.
- Windows 10/11, macOS 12+, or any modern Linux
- 2 GB RAM minimum, 4 GB recommended
- Python 3 (pre-installed on macOS and Linux; auto-installed on Windows via winget)
- internet connection for the initial download
No admin account needed. No firewall changes outside the single 25565 rule.
rm -rf ~/mineblade-serverThat is everything. Java stays installed because you might want it for other things; winget uninstall Microsoft.OpenJDK.25 removes it if you do not.
claude-code-hooks - safety nets for Claude Code: blocks rm -rf, force-push to main, and API key commits before they happen.
MIT license. By OutBlade.