Minecraft Server Manager

This is a Minecraft Java Edition server manager built using Streamlit.

The goal of this project is to provide a simple web interface that my kids can use to manage Minecraft servers. The interface is deliberately simple, and allows kids to easily:

• Create servers
• Start & stop servers
• Change settings
• Create backups

Setup

Create a virtual environment, install requirements and create empty settings file with:

pip install invoke
invoke setup

Activate the environment and install requirements:

source venv/bin/activate

Update the settings.ini config with JAVA_HOME.

Running the Streamlit server

This section covers how to launch the Streamlit web interface. Note that this won't result in a running Minecraft server, but once the Streamlit app is running you can create and manage Minecraft servers.

Run the streamlit in the foreground (for development)

Run locally with:

invoke run

Run the Streamlit app in the background

Run in the background with:

./start.sh

Console output will be written to nohup.out in the project directory, and the server PID will be written to streamlit_server.pid.

Check the status of the server with:

./status.sh

Stop the Streamlit server with:

./stop.sh

Note that this will stop the Streamlit web interface, but it won't change the status of any running Minecraft servers.

Creating a Minecraft server

When the app is first launched you will be presented with the Home screen. Here you can select a server to manage, however on first launch there will be no servers available.

Select Create server from the side menu, and provide details for the server, then click the Create button.

This will run for a few moments, then you should see a success message:

Navigating back to the Home screen, you will see the server is running, and you will see the server log file:

From this screen you can stop and restart the Minecrat server. You can also issue commands:

Changing game rules and the weather

An easy interface is provided for changing various game rules and the weather:

Taking backups

Backups can be easily created. This is recommended when you have world that you've put a lot of effort into, or when inviting guests to play in your worlds.

Note that there is no automated mechanism for restoring worlds. This can be done manually. The goal is to provide a mechanism where my kids can create backups regularly, and, as an admin, I can restore them manually in the very occasional situation that it is required.

Updating server properties

You can change server properties using the Properties menu. After making a change to the server properties (when the Save button is pressed) the Minecraft server will restart.

Upgrading the Minecraft server

When a new version of Minecraft Java Edition is released the game clients will often update to the new version immediately. This can result in frustrated little ones as they try to connect. Upgrading to a new version is as easy as navigating to the Version menu, and entering the new Minecraft version.

WHen you press Enter behind the scenes the following steps happen:

• Download the server jar file to the downloads directory
• Shut down the Minecraft server
• Backup the server
• Upgrade the server jar file
• Start the server

Deleting a Minecraft server

No provision is made to delete minecraft server. This is deliberate, with the intention to make it difficult to accidentally delete a server.

In order to manually delete a server, first stop the Minecraft server.

Next, locate the server directory in the servers/ directory. You can delete the server directory, which will remove the server, all configuration, and any worlds on the server. Use caution!!