This docker image provides a Minecraft Server that will automatically download the latest stable version at startup. You can also run/upgrade to any specific version or the latest snapshot. See the Versions section below for more information.
To simply use the latest stable version, run
docker run -d -p 25565:25565 --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
where the standard server port, 25565, will be exposed on your host machine.
If you want to serve up multiple Minecraft servers or just use an alternate port, change the host-side port mapping such as
docker run -p 25566:25565 ...
will serve your Minecraft server on your host's port 25566 since the -p syntax is
host-port:container-port.
Speaking of multiple servers, it's handy to give your containers explicit names using --name, such as
docker run -d -p 25565:25565 --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
With that you can easily view the logs, stop, or re-start the container:
docker logs -f mc
( Ctrl-C to exit logs action )
docker stop mc
docker start mc
RCON is enabled by default, so you can exec into the container to
access the Minecraft server console:
docker exec -i mc rcon-cli
Note: The -i is required for interactive use of rcon-cli.
To run a simple, one-shot command, such as stopping a Minecraft server, pass the command as
arguments to rcon-cli, such as:
docker exec mc rcon-cli stop
The -i is not needed in this case.
In order to attach and interact with the Minecraft server, add -it when starting the container, such as
docker run -d -it -p 25565:25565 --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
With that you can attach and interact at any time using
docker attach mc
and then Control-p Control-q to detach.
For remote access, configure your Docker daemon to use a tcp socket (such as -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375)
and attach from another machine:
docker -H $HOST:2375 attach mc
Unless you're on a home/private LAN, you should enable TLS access.
Mojang now requires accepting the Minecraft EULA. To accept add
-e EULA=TRUE
such as
docker run -d -it -e EULA=TRUE -p 25565:25565 --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
In order to readily access the Minecraft data, use the -v argument
to map a directory on your host machine to the container's /data directory, such as:
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data ...
When attached in this way you can stop the server, edit the configuration under your attached /path/on/host
and start the server again with docker start CONTAINERID to pick up the new configuration.
NOTE: By default, the files in the attached directory will be owned by the host user with UID of 1000 and host group with GID of 1000. You can use an different UID and GID by passing the options:
-e UID=1000 -e GID=1000
replacing 1000 with a UID and GID that is present on the host. Here is one way to find the UID and GID:
id some_host_user
getent group some_host_group
To use a different Minecraft version, pass the VERSION environment variable, which can have the value
- LATEST
- SNAPSHOT
- (or a specific version, such as "1.7.9")
For example, to use the latest snapshot:
docker run -d -e VERSION=SNAPSHOT ...
or a specific version:
docker run -d -e VERSION=1.7.9 ...
This image contains Dinnerbone's mcstatus and uses
its ping command to continually check on the container's. That can be observed
from the STATUS column of docker ps
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
b418af073764 mc "/start" 43 seconds ago Up 41 seconds (healthy) 0.0.0.0:25565->25565/tcp, 25575/tcp mc
You can also query the container's health in a script friendly way:
> docker container inspect -f "{{.State.Health.Status}}" mc
healthy
Finally, since mcstatus is on the PATH you can exec into the container
and use mcstatus directly and invoke any of its other commands:
> docker exec mc mcstatus localhost status
version: v1.12 (protocol 335)
description: "{u'text': u'A Minecraft Server Powered by Docker'}"
players: 0/20 No players online
Enable Forge server mode by adding a -e TYPE=FORGE to your command-line.
By default the container will run the RECOMMENDED version of Forge server
but you can also choose to run a specific version with -e FORGEVERSION=10.13.4.1448.
$ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data -e VERSION=1.7.10 \
-e TYPE=FORGE -e FORGEVERSION=10.13.4.1448 \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
To use a pre-downloaded Forge installer, place it in the attached /data directory and
specify the name of the installer file with FORGE_INSTALLER, such as:
$ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data ... \
-e FORGE_INSTALLER=forge-1.11.2-13.20.0.2228-installer.jar ...
To download a Forge installer from a custom location, such as your own file repository, specify
the URL with FORGE_INSTALLER_URL, such as:
$ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data ... \
-e FORGE_INSTALLER_URL=http://HOST/forge-1.11.2-13.20.0.2228-installer.jar ...
In both of the cases above, there is no need for the VERSION or FORGEVERSION variables.
In order to add mods, you have two options.
This is the easiest way if you are using a persistent /data mount.
To do this, you will need to attach the container's /data directory
(see "Attaching data directory to host filesystem”).
Then, you can add mods to the /path/on/host/mods folder you chose. From the example above,
the /path/on/host folder contents look like:
/path/on/host
├── mods
│ └── ... INSTALL MODS HERE ...
├── config
│ └── ... CONFIGURE MODS HERE ...
├── ops.json
├── server.properties
├── whitelist.json
└── ...
If you add mods while the container is running, you'll need to restart it to pick those up:
docker stop mc
docker start mc
This is the easiest way if you are using an ephemeral /data filesystem,
or downloading a world with the WORLD option.
There are two additional volumes that can be mounted; /mods and /config.
Any files in either of these filesystems will be copied over to the main
/data filesystem before starting Minecraft.
This works well if you want to have a common set of modules in a separate location, but still have multiple worlds with different server requirements in either persistent volumes or a downloadable archive.
Enable Bukkit/Spigot server mode by adding a -e TYPE=BUKKIT -e VERSION=1.8 or -e TYPE=SPIGOT -e VERSION=1.8 to your command-line.
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data \
-e TYPE=SPIGOT -e VERSION=1.8 \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
If you are hosting your own copy of Bukkit/Spigot you can override the download URLs with:
- -e BUKKIT_DOWNLOAD_URL=
- -e SPIGOT_DOWNLOAD_URL=
NOTE: to avoid pegging the CPU when running Spigot, you will need to
pass --noconsole at the very end of the command line and not use -it. For example,
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data \
-e TYPE=SPIGOT -e VERSION=1.8 \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server --noconsole
You can install Bukkit plugins in two ways...
This is the easiest way if you are using a persistent /data mount.
To do this, you will need to attach the container's /data directory
(see "Attaching data directory to host filesystem”).
Then, you can add plugins to the /path/on/host/plugins folder you chose. From the example above,
the /path/on/host folder contents look like:
/path/on/host
├── plugins
│ └── ... INSTALL PLUGINS HERE ...
├── ops.json
├── server.properties
├── whitelist.json
└── ...
If you add plugins while the container is running, you'll need to restart it to pick those up:
docker stop mc
docker start mc
This is the easiest way if you are using an ephemeral /data filesystem,
or downloading a world with the WORLD option.
There is one additional volume that can be mounted; /plugins.
Any files in this filesystem will be copied over to the main
/data/plugins filesystem before starting Minecraft.
This works well if you want to have a common set of plugins in a separate location, but still have multiple worlds with different server requirements in either persistent volumes or a downloadable archive.
Enable PaperSpigot server mode by adding a -e TYPE=PAPER -e VERSION=1.9.4 to your command-line.
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data \
-e TYPE=PAPER -e VERSION=1.9.4 \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
NOTE: to avoid pegging the CPU when running PaperSpigot, you will need to
pass --noconsole at the very end of the command line and not use -it. For example,
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data \
-e TYPE=PAPER -e VERSION=1.9.4 \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server --noconsole
If you are hosting your own copy of PaperSpigot you can override the download URL with:
- -e PAPER_DOWNLOAD_URL=
You can install Bukkit plugins in two ways...
This is the easiest way if you are using a persistent /data mount.
To do this, you will need to attach the container's /data directory
(see "Attaching data directory to host filesystem”).
Then, you can add plugins to the /path/on/host/plugins folder you chose. From the example above,
the /path/on/host folder contents look like:
/path/on/host
├── plugins
│ └── ... INSTALL PLUGINS HERE ...
├── ops.json
├── server.properties
├── whitelist.json
└── ...
If you add plugins while the container is running, you'll need to restart it to pick those up:
docker stop mc
docker start mc
This is the easiest way if you are using an ephemeral /data filesystem,
or downloading a world with the WORLD option.
There is one additional volume that can be mounted; /plugins.
Any files in this filesystem will be copied over to the main
/data/plugins filesystem before starting Minecraft.
This works well if you want to have a common set of plugins in a separate location, but still have multiple worlds with different server requirements in either persistent volumes or a downloadable archive.
Enable SpongeVanilla server mode by adding a -e TYPE=SPONGEVANILLA to your command-line.
By default the container will run the latest STABLE version.
If you want to run a specific version, you can add -e SPONGEVERSION=1.11.2-6.1.0-BETA-19 to your command-line.
docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data -e TYPE=SPONGEVANILLA \
-p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc razerok/minecraft-server
You can also choose to use the EXPERIMENTAL branch.
Just change it with SPONGEBRANCH, such as:
$ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data ... \
-e TYPE=SPONGEVANILLA -e SPONGEBRANCH=EXPERIMENTAL ...
Rather than type the server options below, the port mappings above, etc
every time you want to create new Minecraft server, you can now use
Docker Compose. Start with a
docker-compose.yml file like the following:
minecraft-server:
ports:
- "25565:25565"
environment:
EULA: "TRUE"
image: razerok/minecraft-server
container_name: mc
tty: true
stdin_open: true
restart: always
and in the same directory as that file run
docker-compose up -d
Now, go play...or adjust the environment section to configure
this server instance.
The difficulty level (default: easy) can be set like:
docker run -d -e DIFFICULTY=hard ...
Valid values are: peaceful, easy, normal, and hard, and an
error message will be output in the logs if it's not one of these
values.
To whitelist players for your Minecraft server, pass the Minecraft usernames separated by commas via the WHITELIST environment variable, such as
docker run -d -e WHITELIST=user1,user2 ...
If the WHITELIST environment variable is not used, any user can join your Minecraft server if it's publicly accessible.
To add more "op" (aka adminstrator) users to your Minecraft server, pass the Minecraft usernames separated by commas via the OPS environment variable, such as
docker run -d -e OPS=user1,user2 ...
A server icon can be configured using the ICON variable. The image will be automatically
downloaded, scaled, and converted from any other image format:
docker run -d -e ICON=http://..../some/image.png ...
To use rcon use the ENABLE_RCON and RCON_PASSORD variables.
By default rcon port will be 25575 but can easily be changed with the RCON_PORT variable.
docker run -d -e ENABLE_RCON=true -e RCON_PASSWORD=testing
Enabling this will enable the gamespy query protocol.
By default the query port will be 25565 (UDP) but can easily be changed with the QUERY_PORT variable.
docker run -d -e ENABLE_QUERY=true
By default max players is 20, you can increase this with the MAX_PLAYERS variable.
docker run -d -e MAX_PLAYERS=50
This sets the maximum possible size in blocks, expressed as a radius, that the world border can obtain.
docker run -d -e MAX_WORLD_SIZE=10000
Allows players to travel to the Nether.
docker run -d -e ALLOW_NETHER=true
Allows server to announce when a player gets an achievement.
docker run -d -e ANNOUNCE_PLAYER_ACHIEVEMENTS=true
Enables command blocks
docker run -d -e ENABLE_COMMAND_BLOCK=true
Force players to join in the default game mode.
-
false - Players will join in the gamemode they left in.
-
true - Players will always join in the default gamemode.
docker run -d -e FORCE_GAMEMODE=false
Defines whether structures (such as villages) will be generated.
-
false - Structures will not be generated in new chunks.
-
true - Structures will be generated in new chunks.
docker run -d -e GENERATE_STRUCTURES=true
If set to true, players will be set to spectator mode if they die.
docker run -d -e HARDCORE=false
The maximum height in which building is allowed. Terrain may still naturally generate above a low height limit.
docker run -d -e MAX_BUILD_HEIGHT=256
The maximum number of milliseconds a single tick may take before the server watchdog stops the server with the message, A single server tick took 60.00 seconds (should be max 0.05); Considering it to be crashed, server will forcibly shutdown. Once this criteria is met, it calls System.exit(1). Setting this to -1 will disable watchdog entirely
docker run -d -e MAX_TICK_TIME=60000
Determines if animals will be able to spawn.
docker run -d -e SPAWN_ANIMALS=true
Determines if monsters will be spawned.
docker run -d -e SPAWN_MONSTERS=true
Determines if villagers will be spawned.
docker run -d -e SPAWN_NPCS=true
Sets the amount of world data the server sends the client, measured in chunks in each direction of the player (radius, not diameter). It determines the server-side viewing distance.
docker run -d -e VIEW_DISTANCE=10
If you want to create the Minecraft level with a specific seed, use SEED, such as
docker run -d -e SEED=1785852800490497919 ...
By default, Minecraft servers are configured to run in Survival mode. You can
change the mode using MODE where you can either provide the standard
numerical values or the
shortcut values:
- creative
- survival
- adventure
- spectator (only for Minecraft 1.8 or later)
For example:
docker run -d -e MODE=creative ...
The message of the day, shown below each server entry in the UI, can be changed with the MOTD environment variable, such as
docker run -d -e 'MOTD=My Server' ...
If you leave it off, the last used or default message will be used. The example shows how to specify a server message of the day that contains spaces by putting quotes around the whole thing.
By default, servers are created with player-vs-player (PVP) mode enabled. You can disable this with the PVP
environment variable set to false, such as
docker run -d -e PVP=false ...
By default, a standard world is generated with hills, valleys, water, etc. A different level type can
be configured by setting LEVEL_TYPE to
- DEFAULT
- FLAT
- LARGEBIOMES
- AMPLIFIED
- CUSTOMIZED
Descriptions are available at the gamepedia.
When using a level type of FLAT and CUSTOMIZED, you can further configure the world generator
by passing custom generator settings.
Since generator settings usually have ;'s in them, surround the -e value with a single quote, like below.
For example (just the -e bits):
-e LEVEL_TYPE=flat -e 'GENERATOR_SETTINGS=3;minecraft:bedrock,3*minecraft:stone,52*minecraft:sandstone;2;'
You can either switch between world saves or run multiple containers with different saves by using the LEVEL option,
where the default is "world":
docker run -d -e LEVEL=bonus ...
NOTE: if running multiple containers be sure to either specify a different -v host directory for each
LEVEL in use or don't use -v and the container's filesystem will keep things encapsulated.
Instead of mounting the /data volume, you can instead specify the URL of
a ZIP file containing an archived world. This will be downloaded, and
unpacked in the /data directory; if it does not contain a subdirectory
called world/ then it will be searched for a file level.dat and the
containing subdirectory renamed to world. This means that most of the
archived Minecraft worlds downloadable from the Internet will already be in
the correct format.
The ZIP file may also contain a server.properties file and modules
directory, if required.
docker run -d -e WORLD=http://www.example.com/worlds/MySave.zip ...
NOTE: Unless you also mount /data as an external volume, this world
will be deleted when the container is deleted.
NOTE: This URL must be accessible from inside the container. Therefore, you should use an IP address or a globally resolveable FQDN, or else the name of a linked container.
Like the WORLD option above, you can specify the URL of a "mod pack"
to download and install into mods for Forge or plugins for Bukkit/Spigot.
To use this option pass the environment variable MODPACK, such as
docker run -d -e MODPACK=http://www.example.com/mods/modpack.zip ...
NOTE: The referenced URL must be a zip file with one or more jar files at the
top level of the zip archive. Make sure the jars are compatible with the
particular TYPE of server you are running.
When the option above is specified (MODPACK) you can also instruct script to
delete old mods/plugins prior to installing new ones. This behaviour is desirable
in case you want to upgrade mods/plugins from downloaded zip file.
To use this option pass the environment variable REMOVE_OLD_MODS="TRUE", such as
docker run -d -e REMOVE_OLD_MODS="TRUE" -e MODPACK=http://www.example.com/mods/modpack.zip ...
NOTE: This option will be taken into account only when option MODPACK is also used.
WARNING: All content of the mods or plugins directory will be deleted
before unpacking new content from the zip file.
By default, server checks connecting players against Minecraft's account database. If you want to create an offline server or your server is not connected to the internet, you can disable the server to try connecting to minecraft.net to authenticate players with environment variable ONLINE_MODE, like this
docker run -d -e ONLINE_MODE=FALSE ...
By default, the image declares a Java initial and maximum memory limit of 1 GB. There are several ways to adjust the memory settings:
MEMORY, "1G" by default, can be used to adjust both initial (Xms) and max (Xmx) memory settings of the JVMINIT_MEMORY, independently sets the initial heap sizeMAX_MEMORY, independently sets the max heap size
The values of all three are passed directly to the JVM and support format/units as
<size>[g|G|m|M|k|K].
In order to adapt to differences in UID and GID settings the entry script will attempt to correct ownership and writability of the /data directory. This logic can be disabled by setting -e SKIP_OWNERSHIP_FIX=TRUE.
General JVM options can be passed to the Minecraft Server invocation by passing a JVM_OPTS
environment variable. Options like -X that need to proceed general JVM options can be passed
via a JVM_XX_OPTS environment variable.
You may configure the use of an HTTP/HTTPS proxy by passing the proxy's URL via the PROXY
environment variable. In the example compose file it references
a companion squid proxy by setting the equivalent of
-e PROXY=proxy:3128