Minecraft Server Manager

A lightweight, web-based Minecraft server manager. Point it at an existing server folder and it attaches automatically, or let it create a brand-new vanilla server from scratch. No Docker, no Java wrappers, no bloat — just Node.js and a browser.

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Features

• Attach to any existing server — paste a folder path, hit Detect, and it reads the jar to figure out the type automatically
• Create vanilla servers — picks any release or snapshot from Mojang's API and downloads the jar for you
• Works with modded and plugin servers — Forge, Fabric, NeoForge, Paper, Spigot, Bukkit, Purpur, Sponge
• Startup script support — run run.sh or run.bat instead of a jar file, ideal for Forge and Fabric installs
• Real-time console — WebSocket-powered terminal with command input and scrollback buffer
• Properties editor — edit server.properties through a form, common settings shown prominently
• File browser — navigate your server directory from the web interface
• Per-server settings — RAM allocation, Java path, extra JVM flags, jar file selection, startup script
• playit.gg integration — start a playit tunnel from the sidebar, see the tunnel address and claim URL live Cancelled since I can't get it to work
• Windows and Linux — no platform-specific dependencies
• No build step — vanilla HTML/CSS/JS frontend, runs straight from node server.js

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Screenshots

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Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• Java (any version your server needs, must be in PATH or set manually per server)
• A Minecraft server folder, or an internet connection to download one

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Installation

git clone https://github.com/zaloguj12/minecraft-server-manager.git
cd minecraft-server-manager
npm install
npm start

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

To use a different port:

$env:PORT = 9000; node server.js

On Linux:

PORT=9000 node server.js

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Running as a Service (Linux / systemd)

To have MSM start automatically on boot, you can run it as a systemd service. A ready-to-use template is included at extras/msm.service.

1. Copy the service file to systemd

sudo cp extras/msm.service /etc/systemd/system/msm.service

2. Edit the service file

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/msm.service

You must update three fields:

User= --> The Linux user that will run MSM. Do NOT use root.

WorkingDirectory= --> The absolute path to this project folder.

ExecStart= --> The full path to your node binary, followed by server.js. Find your node path with: which node

Example of a filled-in service file:

  [Unit]
  Description=Minecraft Server Manager
  After=network.target

  [Service]
  Type=simple
  User=minecraft
  WorkingDirectory=/home/minecraft/minecraft-server-manager
  ExecStart=/usr/bin/node server.js
  Restart=on-failure
  RestartSec=5
  StandardOutput=journal
  StandardError=journal
  SyslogIdentifier=msm

  [Install]
  WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and start the service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl enable msm

sudo systemctl start msm

MSM will now start automatically on every boot.

Checking status and logs

sudo systemctl status msm <- current status

sudo journalctl -u msm -f <- live log output

sudo journalctl -u msm -n 100 <- last 100 log lines

Stopping and disabling

sudo systemctl stop msm

sudo systemctl disable msm

Notes

• MSM does not need to run as root. Any user that has read/write access to your server folders will work.

• If you use nvm instead of a system-wide Node.js install, the node binary will NOT be at /usr/bin/node. Use the full nvm path instead, for example:

  ExecStart=/home/natalie/.nvm/versions/node/v20.11.0/bin/node server.js

  Run which node while nvm is active to get the correct path.

• If you change the port MSM listens on, you can pass it as an environment variable by adding this line inside the [Service] block:

  Environment=PORT=9090

• MSM will automatically restart itself if it crashes (Restart=on-failure).

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Adding a Server

Usage

Attaching an existing server

1. Click + Add Server in the sidebar
2. Select the Attach Existing tab
3. Paste the full path to your server folder (e.g. C:\servers\my-smp or /home/minecraft/server)
4. Click Detect — it will read the folder and identify the server type, version, jar file, and any startup scripts
5. Set a display name and RAM limits, then click Add Server

Creating a new vanilla server

1. Click + Add Server in the sidebar
2. Select the Create New tab
3. Choose a Minecraft version from the dropdown (snapshots optional)
4. Set a name, install path, and RAM
5. Accept the EULA and click Create Server

The jar is downloaded directly from Mojang's API. A progress bar updates in real time.

Startup scripts

Many server distributions (Forge, Fabric, NeoForge) generate a startup script — run.sh on Linux or run.bat on Windows — that contains JVM flags tuned for that loader. MSM can run these scripts directly instead of invoking java -jar itself.

Setting a startup script:

1. Open the server's Settings tab
2. Under Startup Script, type the filename (e.g. run.sh) or click Refresh to pick from a list of scripts found in the server folder
3. Click Save Settings

To go back to jar mode, clear the Startup Script field and save.

How it works:

Script type	Command used
.bat / .cmd on Windows	cmd /c <script>
.sh on any platform	bash <script>

The working directory is always the server folder, so relative paths inside the script resolve correctly.

When a startup script is set, the Min RAM, Max RAM, and Extra JVM Args fields are ignored — all memory and flag tuning should be done inside the script itself.

Auto-detection on attach:

When you click Detect, MSM also looks for common script names in the server folder. If one is found it appears in the detection result and is automatically associated when you click Add Server. You can change or clear it any time in Settings.

Scripts are detected in this priority order:

Platform	Priority order
Linux / Mac	run.sh, start.sh, launch.sh, then .bat/.cmd variants
Windows	run.bat, run.cmd, start.bat, start.cmd, then .sh variants

Notes by server type:

• Forge / NeoForge — generates run.bat / run.sh after first install; use those for best compatibility
• Fabric — the installer generates a run.sh; works fine as the startup script
• Paper / Purpur / Spigot — direct jar invocation works well, but a script is supported if you prefer custom flags
• Vanilla — no script is generated; use jar mode

Supported server types

Type	Detected by
Vanilla	jar name contains minecraft_server or server
Forge	jar name contains forge
Fabric	jar name contains fabric-server or fabric-loader
NeoForge	jar name contains neoforge
Paper	jar name contains paper
Purpur	jar name contains purpur
Spigot	jar name contains spigot
Bukkit / CraftBukkit	jar name contains bukkit or craftbukkit
Sponge	jar name contains sponge

If the type can't be determined from the jar name, it falls back to checking whether a mods/ or plugins/ folder exists.

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Project Structure

minecraft-server-manager/
|-- server.js               Express + WebSocket server, all REST and WS routes
|-- package.json
|-- .gitignore
|
|-- src/
|   |-- serverManager.js    CRUD for server configs stored in data/servers.json
|   |-- serverDetector.js   Detects server type/jar/script from folder, reads/writes server.properties
|   |-- serverCreator.js    Downloads vanilla server jars from Mojang's API
|   |-- processManager.js   Spawns and manages Java/script processes, WebSocket console broadcast
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|-- public/
|   |-- index.html          SPA shell
|   |-- style.css           Dark theme
|   `-- app.js              All frontend logic (vanilla JS, no framework)
|
`-- data/                   Auto-created at runtime, excluded from git
    `-- servers.json        Persisted server configs

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API Reference

All endpoints return JSON.

Servers

Method	Path	Description
GET	/api/servers	List all servers with live status
POST	/api/servers	Attach an existing server
GET	/api/servers/:id	Get a single server
PUT	/api/servers/:id	Update server config
DELETE	/api/servers/:id	Remove from manager (no files deleted)
POST	/api/servers/:id/start	Start the server
POST	/api/servers/:id/stop	Graceful stop (sends stop command)
POST	/api/servers/:id/kill	Force kill (SIGTERM)
POST	/api/servers/:id/restart	Graceful restart
GET	/api/servers/:id/properties	Read server.properties
PUT	/api/servers/:id/properties	Write server.properties
GET	/api/servers/:id/files	Browse server directory (?dir=relative/path)

Utilities

Method	Path	Description
POST	/api/detect	Detect server type from a path without adding it
POST	/api/list-jars	List .jar files in a directory ({ serverPath })
POST	/api/list-scripts	List .sh/.bat/.cmd files in a directory ({ serverPath })
GET	/api/minecraft/versions	List Minecraft versions from Mojang (?snapshots=true)
POST	/api/minecraft/create	Create a new vanilla server (async, progress via WebSocket)

WebSocket

Channel	Description
ws://host/ws/console/:serverId	Bidirectional — server pushes log lines, client sends commands
ws://host/ws/notifications	Server pushes status change events and creation progress

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Configuration

There is no config file. Everything is set per server through the Settings tab in the UI.

The only global option is the port, set via the PORT environment variable (default: 8080).

Server configs are persisted automatically to data/servers.json which is created on first run.

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Known Limitations

• File browser is read-only (navigation only, no editing)
• No player list, ops, or whitelist management UI
• No scheduled tasks or auto-restart on crash
• No backup management
• No authentication — intended for local or LAN use only
• No HTTPS — run behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) if you need remote access
• Running .sh scripts on Windows requires bash in PATH (e.g. Git Bash or WSL)

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License

CC BY-NC 4.0 — free to use and modify for non-commercial purposes, with attribution.