A Minecraft bot that joins your server and keeps it alive around the clock. It reconnects automatically if kicked or if the server restarts, and can be hosted for free on several platforms.
The bot uses Mineflayer to join your Minecraft server as a fake player. It moves around, swings its arm, and does small random actions so the server does not detect it as idle. If it gets kicked or disconnected for any reason, it reconnects on its own using an exponential backoff so it does not spam the server.
A small web server runs alongside the bot. You can visit the URL your host gives you to see a live dashboard showing whether the bot is connected, its uptime, and its coordinates.
- A GitHub account
- A Minecraft server (see compatibility section below)
- A hosting account for the bot (see deployment options below)
Not all servers are the same. Here is an honest breakdown of how well the bot will survive long-term on each type.
Survival rating: Low
Aternos shuts the whole server down after a period with no real player activity. This happens at the platform level and your bot cannot stop it no matter how good the code is. The bot handles the vanilla idle-kick fine, but Aternos's own shutdown system will eventually end the session.
What you can do: set player-idle-timeout=0 in server.properties to stop the vanilla kick. Beyond that, someone needs to actually log in periodically to reset Aternos's timer. This bot is better used to keep the server alive while real players are online and have just stepped away briefly.
Survival rating: Medium
Minehut is less aggressive than Aternos about shutting servers down. The bot will last longer here, but Minehut still has its own activity detection and will eventually hibernate your server. Same advice applies: set player-idle-timeout=0 and expect occasional shutdowns.
Survival rating: Medium
Similar to Minehut. Less restrictive than Aternos. The bot performs better here but you are still subject to the host's inactivity rules.
Survival rating: Very High
If you run your own Paper/Spigot server on a VPS, there is no third party shutting you down. Set player-idle-timeout=0 and the bot stays in the server permanently as long as the bot host is running. Oracle Cloud gives you a free ARM VM with 4 cores and 24GB RAM forever with no credit card tricks. This is the setup that actually achieves near-permanent uptime.
Survival rating: High
These hosts do not have aggressive inactivity shutdowns. The bot will stay connected as long as the Minecraft server is running. Combined with a reliable bot host and UptimeRobot, uptime is consistently high. Costs around $3-8/month depending on the host.
Survival rating: Very Low
Large servers have anti-bot systems. They will detect movement patterns that are too regular, flag accounts with no purchase history, and ban the bot quickly. This bot is designed for private SMPs and small servers, not public networks.
- Install Paper or Bukkit on your server.
- Enable offline/cracked mode so the bot can join without a paid account.
- Install these plugins: ViaVersion, ViaBackwards, ViaRewind. These let the bot connect even if its version does not exactly match the server.
- In server.properties, set player-idle-timeout=0. This stops Minecraft from kicking the bot for being idle.
Open settings.json and fill in these fields:
"bot-account": {
"username": "YourBotUsername"
}
"server": {
"ip": "your.server.ip",
"port": 25565
}
"utils": {
"auto-auth": {
"enabled": true,
"password": "YourAuthPassword"
}
}Add your Minecraft username to the tp whitelist so only you can move the bot:
"chat": {
"tpWhitelist": ["YourMinecraftUsername"]
}Upload all the files to a new GitHub repository when done.
Pick one platform to host the bot. All of them run Node.js and work with this bot.
The build command is always npm install and the start command is always npm start.
Best for: people who want the easiest setup and reliable free hosting.
Railway gives you $5 of credit per month on the free tier, which is enough to run this bot 24/7. It does not sleep the way Render does.
- Go to railway.app and sign in with GitHub.
- Click New Project, then Deploy from GitHub Repo.
- Select your repository.
- Railway detects Node.js and deploys automatically.
- Go to Variables and add your environment variables (see below).
- The bot starts within a minute.
Environment variable to add:
- RAILWAY_STATIC_URL is set automatically by Railway, which activates the self-ping system.
Best for: people already using Render, or who pair it with UptimeRobot.
Render's free tier sleeps services that have no inbound traffic for 15 minutes. The self-ping system in this bot helps, but Render changed their free tier in 2024 and self-pinging is no longer fully reliable. You must use UptimeRobot alongside Render to keep it awake.
- Go to render.com and create an account.
- Click New, then Web Service.
- Connect your GitHub repository.
- Set Build Command to: npm install
- Set Start Command to: npm start
- Deploy.
- Copy the URL Render gives you.
- Go to uptimerobot.com, create a free monitor pointing to your Render URL + /ping.
- Set interval to 5 minutes.
Environment variable to add in Render's dashboard:
- RENDER_EXTERNAL_URL: your full Render URL, example https://your-bot.onrender.com
Without that variable the self-ping will not activate.
Best for: people who want maximum uptime and full control at zero cost.
Oracle gives you a free ARM VM (4 cores, 24GB RAM) that never expires and has no inactivity shutdowns. You run both the Minecraft server and the bot on the same machine if you want. This is the most powerful free option available.
Setup takes about 30 minutes but you never have to touch it again.
- Go to cloud.oracle.com and create a free account. You need a credit card to verify identity but you will not be charged.
- Go to Compute, then Instances, then Create Instance.
- Change the shape to Ampere (ARM), which is part of the always-free tier.
- Download the SSH key it gives you.
- Once the VM is running, SSH into it: ssh -i your-key.key ubuntu@YOUR_VM_IP
- Install Node.js: curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
- Clone your GitHub repo: git clone https://github.com/YourUsername/YourRepo.git cd YourRepo npm install
- Install pm2 to keep the bot running after you close SSH: sudo npm install -g pm2 pm2 start index.js --name afkbot pm2 save pm2 startup
- The bot now runs permanently and restarts automatically if it crashes.
To check status: pm2 status To see logs: pm2 logs afkbot To restart: pm2 restart afkbot
Best for: people already familiar with AWS or who need AWS specifically.
AWS gives you a t2.micro or t3.micro instance free for 12 months. After 12 months it costs around $8-10/month. If you want free forever, use Oracle Cloud instead.
- Go to aws.amazon.com and create an account.
- Go to EC2 and click Launch Instance.
- Choose Ubuntu 22.04 as the OS.
- Choose t2.micro (free tier eligible).
- Create or select a key pair and download it.
- In Security Groups, allow inbound traffic on port 5000 (or whatever PORT you set).
- Launch the instance.
- SSH into it: ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_EC2_IP
- Install Node.js and follow the same steps as Oracle Cloud above (steps 6-9).
Note: set a billing alert in AWS so you know if you accidentally go over the free tier.
Best for: people comfortable with a CLI-based workflow.
Fly.io has a generous free tier and does not sleep like Render.
- Install the Fly CLI: https://fly.io/docs/getting-started/installing-flyctl/
- Run: fly auth signup
- In your project folder run: fly launch
- Follow the prompts. Choose the free plan.
- Deploy with: fly deploy
- Set environment variables with: fly secrets set BOT_USERNAME=YourName
UptimeRobot pings your bot's /ping endpoint every 5 minutes for free. This guarantees your bot host never sleeps.
- Go to uptimerobot.com and create a free account.
- Click Add New Monitor.
- Set type to HTTP(s).
- Set the URL to your deployment URL + /ping. Example: https://your-bot.railway.app/ping
- Set interval to 5 minutes.
- Save.
Set these in your hosting platform's dashboard instead of putting credentials in settings.json. This keeps your passwords off GitHub.
| Variable | What it does |
|---|---|
| BOT_USERNAME | The bot's Minecraft username |
| BOT_PASSWORD | The bot's Minecraft password (if needed) |
| BOT_AUTH_PASSWORD | The password for /login on the server |
| PORT | The port for the web dashboard (optional) |
Once the bot is running, visit your deployment URL to see the status dashboard. It shows whether the bot is connected, its uptime, coordinates, and server IP.
Visit /tutorial on the same URL for a quick setup reminder. Visit /health for a raw JSON status response. Visit /ping to confirm the service is running.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| bot-account.username | The bot's Minecraft username |
| bot-account.type | Set to "offline" for cracked servers |
| server.ip | Your server's IP address |
| server.port | Your server's port (default 25565) |
| server.version | Leave blank to auto-detect |
| utils.auto-auth.enabled | Turn on if the server uses AuthMe or similar |
| utils.chat-messages.repeat-delay | Seconds between periodic chat messages |
| movement.circle-walk.enabled | Bot walks in a circle to appear human |
| movement.circle-walk.radius | How wide the circle is in blocks |
| modules.combat | Bot attacks nearby mobs |
| modules.avoidMobs | Bot runs from mobs (turn off if combat is on) |
| discord.enabled | Send connect/disconnect events to Discord |
| discord.webhookUrl | Your Discord webhook URL |
| chat.tpWhitelist | Usernames allowed to use the !tp command |
- In Discord, go to your server settings, then Integrations, then Webhooks.
- Create a webhook and copy the URL.
- In settings.json set discord.enabled to true and paste the URL.
- Choose which events to send under discord.events.
- The bot username must not be the same as any real player on the server.
- On Aternos and similar free hosts, the server itself may shut down regardless of what the bot does. player-idle-timeout=0 only prevents the vanilla idle kick.
- This project is not affiliated with Aternos, Mojang, or Microsoft. Use it responsibly and make sure it complies with your server's rules.
- Slobos (Discord: sloboscc) - Original idea and creator
- MrJuice (Discord: MrJuice3046) - Rewrites, fixes, and maintenance
License: MIT