Run Minecraft servers on your own Linux box
MC Server Manager for Linux puts the whole app in your browser and runs the servers on a machine you already own. One command to install, no desktop needed. It works the same over SSH on a headless box as it does on the PC under your desk.
What this is for
The Windows app runs servers on the PC in front of you. This does the same job on Linux, with a browser tab where the window would be.
It's for the machine that's already on. An old laptop, a mini PC in a cupboard or a VPS you rent for something else can all run your servers. You aren't paying anyone monthly for hardware you already have.
Editing server.properties over ssh, hunting for the right Java version and trying to remember which screen session the server's in all turn into a page you click around in. The dashboard runs from our site, so you can start a server, check the console or ban someone from your phone without the machine being reachable from the internet.
The same as on Windows
- Server types
- Mods and modpacks
- Backups
- Schedules
- Players
- Relays
- Extra dashboard users
What it looks like
The Linux edition has no window of its own. It lives in the web dashboard, so it looks like this whichever machine or phone you open it on. Each Linux box gets its own group in the list on the left.
Installing it
There are two ways in and both end up with the same service. Either takes about a minute on a normal connection.
Subscribe on your account page
£12 for the year. The install options appear on your account as soon as it goes through. They're tied to your account so nobody else's machine can use them.
Download the installer, or paste one line
The installer is a single file. Download it from your account page and run it, or copy the one line version if you're already in a terminal. Same file either way. A fresh Ubuntu has no curl, so if the one line says it isn't found, run the downloaded installer instead, it installs curl for you.
Approve the machine in your browser
The installer prints a link and opens it if the machine has a desktop. You sign in, check the machine name is the right one, then click Approve. The installer carries on by itself. There's no code to copy between machines, though you can use one from your account page if you'd rather.
It shows up in the dashboard
Your machine appears in the web dashboard a few seconds later with a New server button next to it. From there it's the same as the app, pick a type and version and it downloads Java and the server for you.
On Ubuntu, Debian or Mint?
There's a .deb as well, so it can live in your package manager and update with everything else. Your account page gives you the exact commands. Fedora, Arch and openSUSE use the installer script. Both paths install the same service with the same settings.
What you can do with it
- Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Spigot, Forge, Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge and Bedrock servers, plus Velocity and BungeeCord proxy networks
- Bedrock players on a Java server through Geyser. One button on the Network tab downloads the Geyser team's own build and shows the Bedrock address
- The right Java downloaded for each server, so 1.7 and 1.21 can run side by side
- Mods and plugins searched and installed from the dashboard, with the versions filtered to what your server can load
- Whole modpacks from CurseForge, server files, mods and config in one go
- A live console with a command box. Players, whitelist, ops and bans get screens of their own
- A file manager for editing configs, uploading jars or fixing something by hand
- Backups kept locally or in Cloud Storage, restored to the same server or a brand new one. Java servers back up live, the world is held still for the copy while the server keeps running
- Restarts and tasks on a timer, a cron line or when something happens, with Discord and your own webhook told about joins, leaves, crashes and restarts
- An API key from your account page, to drive all of it from a script, Home Assistant or a Discord bot
- Crash diagnosis that reads the crash report, says what broke in plain words and offers a one-click fix where it's safe
- Worlds created, swapped, uploaded and downloaded, with datapacks and Bedrock packs handled too
- A relay on any server, for an address players can join without port forwarding
- Extra dashboard users with roles, so someone else can restart a server without touching anything else
What it does to your machine
You're about to run an installer as root on a machine you care about. This is what it does with that.
It runs as its own unprivileged user
The installer makes an mcservermanager account with no shell and no password and the service runs as that. Root is only needed to create the service in the first place.
It opens no ports
Your machine makes one outgoing connection to us and the dashboard talks back down it. Minecraft still needs a port for players, or a relay instead.
systemd keeps it boxed in
The service can't read your home directory, can't gain new privileges and can't change the system's own files, /usr, /boot and /etc are read-only to it. Past that it's an ordinary unprivileged user, so it writes to its own three directories and nowhere that user isn't already allowed.
It checks the download's sha256
The installer checks the agent against its published sha256 before installing it. If the file doesn't match, it stops and installs nothing. It uses sha256sum, shasum or openssl for that, almost every Linux has one. On a machine with none it says it's skipping the check rather than staying quiet.
Servers are plain files in /var/lib/mcservermanager
Removing the package deliberately leaves them alone. Nothing is stored in a format you'd need us to open.
Error reports are off unless you turn them on
Crash and error logs are only collected or sent if you switch that on in settings. Left alone, nothing about what you run leaves your machine except the server list the dashboard has to show you.
It updates itself when nothing's running
A fix reaches your machine without you doing anything. It never restarts a server out from under your players to do it.
What you need
If your machine runs systemd and you can sudo on it, you're almost certainly fine.
- Processor
- 64-bit x86 (x86_64 or amd64). There's an arm64 build for Pi class boards, but it's never been run on real ARM hardware, so message us before buying for one and we'll be straight with you about it.
- System
- Any Linux with systemd. Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE and anything close to them.
- Access
- sudo or root, once, to install the service.
- Memory
- Whatever your servers need, plus about 200MB for the manager itself.
- Network
- Outbound internet. No port forwarding needed to manage it, only to let players in. A relay covers that if your connection won't.
- Desktop
- Not needed. Headless over SSH is the normal case.
Price
Already on Plus? The Linux edition comes with it, so you don't need to buy this.
That's £1 a month, billed once a year. The first week is free, cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
- Three machines connected at once
- As many servers on each as your hardware can handle
- Updates and new features as they land
What's in the £12
The full web dashboard with extra users and roles, on up to three machines at once. It renews each year until you cancel it from the For Linux tab on your account page. On its own it suits a box with a public IP that doesn't need a relay. Prices are in GBP, outside the UK you'll see and pay in your local currency at checkout.
How the free week works
You put a card in at the start and nothing is charged until the seven days are up. Cancel from the For Linux tab before then and your servers just stop, nothing on your machine is deleted.
Once the £12 goes through you can ask for it back inside a week of paying, as long as you've run servers for under 3 hours in total. Time during the free week counts towards those 3 hours and your account page shows the figure. Paid straight away without the free week? The same rule covers you.
Questions
Is this the Windows app running on Linux?
No. The app's window is Windows only. What runs on Linux is the same engine underneath with no window at all. The web dashboard is the interface. Feature by feature they're kept in step, which is most of the work that went into this.
Can I copy files to my servers with my own login?
Yes. Your servers are in /var/lib/mcservermanager/Servers and the installer adds you to the mcservermanager group, so after logging out and back in once you can copy files in with SFTP, WinSCP or FileZilla and the servers can still change them. Installed before October 2026? Run the install command again first, it keeps your servers. If you move files in from somewhere else on the machine and a server can't write them, restart the service with sudo systemctl restart mcservermanager-agent and it hands them back.
Which distributions work?
Anything 64-bit x86 with systemd. There's a .deb for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint. Everything else uses the installer script. Both end up with the same service, the same paths and the same settings.
Do I have to keep the browser open?
No. Your servers run on your machine as a background service, so they keep going with every browser on earth closed. The dashboard is just how you look at them.
Can I use it on a VPS I rent somewhere else?
Yes. It doesn't care whose hardware it's on, so a cheap VPS from anyone works fine.
Three machines, what counts as one?
Three connected at the same time. Reinstalling or moving to a new box doesn't burn a slot. You can sign a machine out from your account page whenever you like.
What happens if I stop paying?
Anything running keeps running for 7 days and you can't start anything new. After that your machine stops the servers on its own. Nothing gets deleted. Subscribing again brings it all straight back without pairing anything.
Is there a Docker image or a Flatpak?
Neither, on purpose. Flatpak is made for sandboxed desktop apps and this is a system service that runs Java processes and binds ports, so it's the wrong shape. Docker we may look at later. For now the .deb and the installer are what we support.
How do I uninstall it?
Remove the package, or stop and disable the service and delete /opt/mcservermanager. Your servers and worlds in /var/lib/mcservermanager are left where they are, deliberately, so an uninstall can never eat someone's world. Delete that folder yourself if you want it gone.
The free week starts from the store. If you're weighing it up against the relay or Plus, the pricing page has everything side by side.