Servers and Marketplace
Choose New Server and then a game. Native Minecraft, V Rising, Valheim, and Terraria all run in isolated Helix containers. Nothing is installed on the host OS. The chooser uses original Helix marks, not publisher artwork. Create lets you set RAM and an optional CPU cap; Helix applies those as Docker limits.
The server list can be filtered to Helix (native servers only), Minecraft, V Rising, Valheim, Terraria, or imported Connections. Helix-native and imported servers keep visibly different ownership labels.
Owner setup asks whether to include the Servers page. Existing owners keep it. Settings can hide or restore it later; hiding the page does not stop running game containers.
V Rising is not a Linux dedicated server. Helix builds helix-vrising-runtime:1
from an embedded Dockerfile the first time you create a V Rising server. Game
files, saves, and the isolated runtime live in that instance’s data directory.
The host never receives Wine packages. That first image build writes Docker CLI
state under Helix native data, not the execution backend’s home directory, so
it works with helix-privd’s locked-down service.
Create is one click after you pick a name, memory, an optional CPU cap, and UDP
ports. Show on the V Rising server list is on by default. That writes
ListOnEOS, ListOnSteam, and HideIPAddress in
save/Settings/ServerHostSettings.json. Friends can join from the in-game
browser through EOS without a port-forward. Direct Connect to a public IP is
separate: it still needs UDP game plus query forwarded, or Helix public setup
(UPnP for both UDP ports). You can change listing later on Overview; a running
server needs a restart for that file to take effect.
The create window keeps a spinner, a percent, and elapsed time while SteamCMD downloads and the server boots. First install often takes 10–30 minutes; later creates reuse the runtime and finish faster. Allocated memory and CPU cap can be changed later from Overview. Player counts are not queried. There is no RCON command console and no Modrinth marketplace. Backups, start-on-boot, files, and logs work the same way as Minecraft. Update restarts the container so SteamCMD runs again. Uninstalling the last V Rising server removes the runtime image.
When the last active V Rising server is removed, Helix deletes the runtime image. Trashed data stays recoverable; restore rebuilds the image if needed. This path is implemented and unvalidated. It is not publisher-supported.
Helix builds helix-valheim-runtime:1 and installs Steam dedicated app 896660.
Create is private-LAN UDP by default: the game port plus the next two. The create
window uses the same spinner, percent, and elapsed time as V Rising. Optional
public setup requests UDP UPnP for those three ports. Allocated memory and CPU
cap can be changed later from Overview. There is no RCON console. For mods, drop a BepInEx pack zip at
/data/bepinex-pack.zip and plugin files in /data/plugins, then restart.
Uninstalling the last Valheim server removes that runtime image. Implemented and
unvalidated.
Helix builds helix-terraria-runtime:1. Vanilla downloads the publisher
dedicated zip. tModLoader uses Steam app 1281930. Create uses the same spinner,
percent, and elapsed time as V Rising. Edit serverconfig.txt in
Files. Drop .tmod files in /data/mods and restart. Allocated memory and CPU
cap can be changed later from Overview. Public TCP UPnP is optional at create.
Implemented and unvalidated.
Native Helix servers persist a start-on-boot flag in the instance manifest and tell Docker to start that container again after Linux or Docker restarts. The checkbox is on by default when you create a server. You can change it later on the server page or in Settings → Helix data. Turning it on or off does not start or stop the server right now. After a host reboot, Docker brings back servers that opted in. This is separate from Settings → Host integration, which only covers the Helix dashboard and gateway containers.
The native creation wizard supports Paper, Purpur, Folia, Leaves, Fabric, Forge,
NeoForge, Quilt, Pufferfish, Vanilla, and a guarded custom server JAR. The Minecraft version field loads published
releases for the selected software, including an explicit Latest stable choice
except for custom JARs. Paper, Folia, and Leaves omit experimental Minecraft
versions that create would refuse. The wizard collects the name, software, Minecraft release, memory, optional CPU cap, player limit,
automatic-pool or specific port, private/public player-access choice,
start-after-boot choice, and EULA acknowledgement. While create runs, that
window shows a spinner, percent, and elapsed time. Paper, Purpur, Folia,
Leaves, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt, Pufferfish, and Vanilla are default
create choices. Forge uses the official installer for Minecraft 1.17 and newer
and launches with generated unix_args. Pufferfish comes from the publisher
CI over HTTPS without a checksum pin, same honesty as Purpur.
After creation, a native server has Overview, Console, Settings, Files, Performance, Backups, Advanced, and compatible Marketplace tools. Lifecycle buttons start, stop, restart, kill a hung container, update to the newest compatible build for the configured Minecraft release, and back up through bounded background jobs. Stop waits up to 45 seconds for a clean Minecraft shutdown. Kill is a confirmed native-only SIGKILL for when that stop is stuck; unsaved chunks can be lost. Imported AMP instances do not get Kill. Arbitrary historical Paper/Purpur build IDs are not selectable; Helix still updates to the newest compatible build for the chosen Minecraft release.
Use your own JAR accepts a dropped .jar from this computer, an Upload
picker, or an absolute path that already lives inside Storage. Dropped folders
are rejected. Uploads go through bounded JSON chunks into Helix's private
import root (16 KiB–768 MiB, ZIP magic on the first chunk). Storage-browser
paths still have to sit inside a configured executable-import root. The wizard
also asks for the exact Minecraft release and Java 17, 21, or 25.
Helix cannot prove what an arbitrary JAR contains, infer its Java requirement,
offer a compatibility-filtered marketplace, or choose a publisher update, so
those actions stay manual and are labeled that way.
Helix always keeps a private {state_root}/imports directory for dropped JARs.
Extra Storage paths can be added with native.custom_artifact_roots; / is
never inherited as an import root. If the native manager is down, Custom JAR
stays visibly unavailable instead of silently trusting the whole host.
The console opens at the newest output and follows it until the operator scrolls away. History is captured by the host even when no browser is open and spans retained boots. Retention is bounded, not unlimited. Minecraft commands use RCON on 127.0.0.1 only. That is loopback: the host talking to itself. Players never use that port, and it is not published to the LAN or internet. The Advanced tab labels this Console: Loopback only and the info tip explains the same thing. Helix also drops the noisy “Thread RCON Client … started / shutting down” lines that TPS sampling used to spam into the log.
The list TPS column for native Minecraft is a short local /tps sample over
that same RCON channel, not the status ping. Paper, Purpur, Folia, Leaves,
Pufferfish, and some plugins report a number. Vanilla and most Fabric/Forge/Quilt
servers stay as an em dash. Imported AMP servers still use AMP’s TPS metric.
Settings mark fields that need a restart and keep a pending-restart state after
save. The game port can be changed there; Helix rebinds the published container
immediately, skips ports AMP already has claimed, and removes public access on
the old port. Allocated memory and CPU cap can be changed from Overview; Helix
rebinds the container so Docker, and Minecraft -Xmx for RAM, pick up the new
limits.
Removing a native server stops and removes its exact container, then moves its managed data into recoverable trash. Removed and hidden can restore it in the stopped state, or Delete forever after you type the exact server name. That wipe includes world files, Helix backups, and console history. Helix never auto-purges. This is not an off-host backup.
Back up now stops a running server, archives the data folder, then starts it again. Restore replaces the live data with that archive.
You can delete any backup at any time. The default delete moves it to Deleted backups, where Undo puts it back. Delete forever (from the active list or from trash, after a confirm) removes it from disk.
Each server can keep a maximum number of backups (1–50, or 0 for no count limit) and/or a maximum age in days (1–365, or 0 for no age limit). After a backup, or when you save / apply those rules, extras move to trash oldest first. The newest copy from the backup that just finished is kept even if the count would otherwise drop it. Trash is not auto-purged; delete forever is always a person clicking it.
Every native or imported server can use one of the lightweight Helix presets or a custom PNG/JPEG. The browser crops/resizes the image locally and uploads at most 512 KiB. Stored images are validated by magic bytes and dimensions and are served from the authenticated same-origin API.
Marketplace results use real project artwork through Helix's bounded image
proxy. Image elements authenticate with the normal same-origin session cookie.
Modrinth icons go through /api/v1/marketplace/modrinth/image; CurseForge
avatars go through /api/v1/marketplace/curseforge/image. Both still require
games.view, validate the exact CDN path, bound the response, and derive the
media type from image bytes.
Toggle Modrinth or CurseForge. CurseForge needs an API key in Settings → Catalogs (from console.curseforge.com). Paper-family servers get plugins (CurseForge lists those as Bukkit plugins / addons). Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt get mods, and on CurseForge they can also browse Modpacks. A modpack JAR is not dropped onto an existing world; create a new server from Start with a modpack instead. Search and details stay filtered by the exact server software, loader, and Minecraft release:
- Paper, Purpur, Leaves, and Pufferfish receive compatible plugins;
- Folia requires content declaring Folia compatibility;
- Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt receive matching mod JARs;
- a missing or negative Modrinth server-side flag is shown as a warning, not a dead end; and
- Vanilla does not get an install action.
Project pages render the catalog description the way Modrinth and CurseForge write it (markdown or HTML), with scripts stripped and only https images from known hosts. After a successful install the search card and project header show Installed.
Install on a search card, or Review installation on the project page,
writes the verified JAR into that server's plugins/ or mods/ folder and
leaves Minecraft running. Helix picks a compatible release automatically on the
list button; open the project if you want a different build. Restart the server
yourself when you want the files loaded. Helix does not take a world backup for
this path. Optional dependencies are never added silently.
“Start with a modpack” can search Modrinth without an extra key. CurseForge
needs an API key in Settings → Catalogs (api.curseforge.com). Modrinth packs
use .mrpack hash checks. CurseForge packs use manifest.json plus forgecdn
files. Both pin a
matching loader and start an isolated server. The result is a server-safe
subset, not a full client copy. Long titles and descriptions are clipped in the
browser; open the catalog or View releases for the rest.
AMP stays separate. Helix can import verified instance identity, status, players, ports, console data, and supported lifecycle actions that the adapter can prove. AMP Idle (sleep) is not treated as online: the game is hibernated, the AMP manager is often still running, and Helix offers Start to wake it instead of Restart. Stopped, starting, failed, and AMP-manager-stopped states are shown as themselves. Helix does not force-kill AMP instances; use Stop here or kill from the AMP panel. Open AMP uses the configured public panel port, not the private loopback API port. AMP-only settings stay in AMP.
Hide removes an import from this browser's list without touching AMP. From Removed and hidden, Forget here also stays in this browser: the AMP instance is unchanged, and the connection leaves both the Servers list and that section. Settings → Helix data can put it back on Servers. Deleting the upstream AMP instance must happen in AMP; Helix will not reinterpret Hide or Forget as destructive upstream deletion. If AMP disappears, inventory becomes unavailable/degraded and stale imports can be cleared instead of crashing the dashboard.
Each native detail Overview shows a LAN address, a separately detected Tailscale
address when present, and the public IP plus the game port when Helix can see a
WAN address. That public row is the address people would use from the internet.
Copy on those rows flips to Copied so you can tell it landed. Overview
can request or remove Helix public setup (UPnP plus a matching UFW rule when
UFW is already active). Manual port-forward still works: TCP for Minecraft and
Terraria, UDP game plus query for V Rising, and UDP game through game+2 for
Valheim.
Minecraft, V Rising, Valheim, and Terraria create can request that same UPnP public access on the private IPv4 gateway and refuse to overwrite an existing router rule. V Rising listing on the in-game browser is separate from Direct Connect.
A forwarded game port is reachable from the public internet. Scanners walk common game ports and will try yours without anyone handing out the IP. Helix does not advertise the server to Minecraft server lists. Remove public player access on Overview if you only want LAN or Tailscale. For Minecraft, Settings → Whitelist still lets only approved accounts join even while the port is open.
If Helix says AMP already has a port claimed, it is refusing to steal a number
AMP still lists. Open AMP (the error card has a link when Helix can see the
instance), stop that instance, open Configuration → Server Settings / Portals,
change the listed port to a free number, Apply, then retry. You can also leave
AMP on that number and let Helix auto-pick from Port pools; automatic create
already skips AMP numbers. Helix will not edit AMP instance files, kvp, or
server.properties.
If the AMP instance is already gone and only a leftover UPnP mapping remains
(description starts with AMP, no instance file still lists the port), Helix
asks you to type REMOVE AMP FORWARD <port>. That deletes the leftover router
forward only. It does not stop AMP or rewrite AMP files. Helix-owned public
access on that port is removed from the Helix server instead.
Change the Helix game port in Settings if you want Helix to use a different number. Public setup requests the exact TCP or UDP mappings for that game, verifies the internal IP/port/description returned by the router, and journals ownership. If UFW is already active, Helix also adds matching owned rules; it never turns UFW on as a side effect.
A router-confirmed mapping is not the same as an outside test. Helix labels it that way and recommends testing from cellular or another network. A CGNAT or private upstream WAN address is shown as a blocker because local forwarding cannot bypass it. Routers without compatible UPnP get a clear manual-forwarding explanation instead of a fabricated public address.
Open Port pools on the Servers page to set Minecraft or V Rising ranges and optional individual priority ports. Automatic allocation tries the individual list first, then each range in order, skipping duplicates, ports assigned to another Helix server, ports AMP already has claimed, and ports currently bound on the host. AMP-claimed numbers in the pool are listed on that dialog. Up to 32 ranges, 256 individual entries, and 4,096 unique ports are accepted. The summary shows total capacity, assigned ports, and the next available candidate.
The Minecraft public-setup default only preselects the visible creation choice.
A public request still requires network.firewall.write; failure to configure
the router does not roll back an otherwise healthy new server, and the
creation result points back to the Join section for a safe retry. V Rising,
Valheim, and Terraria have the same optional default.
