Your Linux box, running your servers
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 has always been the way to run servers on your own machine. This is the same thing for Linux, except the interface is a browser tab instead of a window.
Your spare machine is already on
An old laptop, a mini PC in a cupboard, a VPS you rent for other things. If it runs Linux it can run your servers. You're not paying anyone monthly for hardware you already have.
SSH and screen sessions get old fast
Editing server.properties over ssh, hunting for the right Java version, remembering which screen session the server is in. All of that becomes a page you click around in.
Manage it from anywhere
The dashboard runs from our site, so you can start a server, check the console or ban someone from your phone without your machine being reachable from the internet.
Everything the app does
This isn't a cut down version. Server types, mods, modpacks, backups, schedules, players, relays, extra dashboard users, they all work the same as they do on Windows.
What it looks like
It isn't the Windows window. The Linux edition lives in the web dashboard, so it looks like this on every machine you connect, phone included. Each Linux box gets its own group in the list on the left.
Installing it
Two ways in and they end up in exactly the same place, so pick whichever you like. Both take about a minute on a normal connection.
Subscribe on your account page
£12 for the year, paid once. 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.
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
Everything below runs from the web dashboard, on the machine you installed it on.
- Every server type, Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Forge, Fabric, NeoForge and Bedrock. Proxy networks (Velocity and BungeeCord) are Windows only for now, they're coming to Linux
- Java handled for you, the right version is downloaded per 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
- Modpacks installed whole from CurseForge, server files, mods and config in one go
- Console and commands live, with players, whitelist, ops and bans on their own screens
- File manager for editing configs, uploading jars or fixing something by hand
- Backups local or to Cloud Storage, restored to the same server or a brand new one
- Live backups on Java servers, the world is held still for the copy instead of the server being stopped
- Scheduled restarts and Discord webhooks for joins, leaves, crashes and restarts
- Worlds created, swapped, uploaded and downloaded, with datapacks and Bedrock packs handled too
- Relay Pro attached to 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, so here's exactly what that gets you.
It runs as its own user, not as root
The installer makes an unprivileged mcservermanager account with no shell and no password. The service runs as that. Root is only needed to create the service in the first place.
Nothing new is exposed to the internet
The manager opens no ports at all. 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.
It's locked down at the systemd level
The service can't read your home directory, can't gain new privileges and can only write to its own three directories. Not because we expect trouble, just because there's no reason for it to have more.
The download is checked, not trusted
The installer checks the agent against its published sha256 before installing it. If the file doesn't match, it stops and installs nothing.
Your worlds stay yours
Servers live in /var/lib/mcservermanager as ordinary files. 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.
Updates come to you
The agent updates itself when nothing is running, so 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
One price, nothing else to buy. Prices are in GBP. If you're outside the UK you'll see and pay in your local currency at checkout.
That's £1 a month, billed once a year. It renews on its own until you cancel it from your account page.
- Three machines connected at once
- As many servers on each as your hardware can handle
- The full web dashboard, with extra users and roles
- Updates and new features as they land
- Relay Pro and Cloud Storage work with it, both sold separately
Changed your mind? Three hours, one week
If you've run servers for less than 3 hours in total you've got a week from paying to ask for your £12 back. Request it on your account page, where it also shows how much of that you've used so there's no guessing. Past either of those we'll still read your email, we just can't promise anything.
Common 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.
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. If you'd rather not run the machine at all we sell cloud servers where we do that part.
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 built 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, but the honest answer today is that 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.
Put the machine you've already got to work
£12 a year, three machines, installed in one command. Ask for your money back inside a week if it turns out not to be for you.