This docker image provides a Minecraft Server that will automatically download the latest stable
version at startup. You can also run/upgrade to any specific version or the
latest snapshot. See the *Versions* section below for more information.

To simply use the latest stable version, run

    docker run -d -p 25565:25565 --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

where the standard server port, 25565, will be exposed on your host machine.

If you want to serve up multiple Minecraft servers or just use an alternate port,
change the host-side port mapping such as

    docker run -p 25566:25565 ...

will serve your Minecraft server on your host's port 25566 since the `-p` syntax is
`host-port`:`container-port`.

Speaking of multiple servers, it's handy to give your containers explicit names using `--name`, such as

    docker run -d -p 25565:25565 --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

With that you can easily view the logs, stop, or re-start the container:

    docker logs -f mc
        ( Ctrl-C to exit logs action )

    docker stop mc

    docker start mc

## Interacting with the server

In order to attach and interact with the Minecraft server, add `-it` when starting the container, such as

    docker run -d -it -p 25565:25565 --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

With that you can attach and interact at any time using

    docker attach mc

and then Control-p Control-q to **detach**.

For remote access, configure your Docker daemon to use a `tcp` socket (such as `-H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375`)
and attach from another machine:

    docker -H $HOST:2375 attach mc

Unless you're on a home/private LAN, you should [enable TLS access](https://docs.docker.com/articles/https/).

## EULA Support

Mojang now requires accepting the [Minecraft EULA](https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula). To accept add

        -e EULA=TRUE

such as

        docker run -d -it -e EULA=TRUE -p 25565:25565 --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

## Attaching data directory to host filesystem

In order to readily access the Minecraft data, use the `-v` argument
to map a directory on your host machine to the container's `/data` directory, such as:

    docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data ...

When attached in this way you can stop the server, edit the configuration under your attached `/path/on/host`
and start the server again with `docker start CONTAINERID` to pick up the new configuration.

**NOTE**: By default, the files in the attached directory will be owned by the host user with UID of 1000.
You can use an different UID by passing the option:

    -e UID=1000

replacing 1000 with a UID that is present on the host.
Here is one way to find the UID given a username:

    grep some_host_user /etc/passwd|cut -d: -f3

## Versions

To use a different Minecraft version, pass the `VERSION` environment variable, which can have the value

* LATEST
* SNAPSHOT
* (or a specific version, such as "1.7.9")

For example, to use the latest snapshot:

    docker run -d -e VERSION=SNAPSHOT ...

or a specific version:

    docker run -d -e VERSION=1.7.9 ...

## Running a Forge Server

Enable Forge server mode by adding a `-e TYPE=FORGE` to your command-line.
By default the container will run the `RECOMMENDED` version of [Forge server](http://www.minecraftforge.net/wiki/)
but you can also choose to run a specific version with `-e FORGEVERSION=10.13.4.1448`.

    $ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data -e VERSION=1.7.10 \
        -e TYPE=FORGE -e FORGEVERSION=10.13.4.1448 \
        -p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

In order to add mods, you have two options.

### Using the /data volume

This is the easiest way if you are using a persistent `/data` mount.

To do this, you will need to attach the container's `/data` directory
(see "Attaching data directory to host filesystem”).
Then, you can add mods to the `/path/on/host/mods` folder you chose. From the example above,
the `/path/on/host` folder contents look like:

```
/path/on/host
├── mods
│   └── ... INSTALL MODS HERE ...
├── config
│   └── ... CONFIGURE MODS HERE ...
├── ops.json
├── server.properties
├── whitelist.json
└── ...
```

If you add mods while the container is running, you'll need to restart it to pick those
up:

    docker stop mc
    docker start mc

### Using separate mounts

This is the easiest way if you are using an ephemeral `/data` filesystem,
or downloading a world with the `WORLD` option.

There are two additional volumes that can be mounted; `/mods` and `/config`.  
Any files in either of these filesystems will be copied over to the main
`/data` filesystem before starting Minecraft.

This works well if you want to have a common set of modules in a separate 
location, but still have multiple worlds with different server requirements
in either persistent volumes or a downloadable archive.

## Running a Bukkit/Spigot server

Enable Bukkit/Spigot server mode by adding a `-e TYPE=BUKKIT -e VERSION=1.8` or `-e TYPE=SPIGOT -e VERSION=1.8` to your command-line.

The VERSION option should be set to 1.8, as this is the only version of CraftBukkit and Spigot currently
available.  The latest build in this branch will be used.

    $ docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data \
        -e TYPE=SPIGOT -e VERSION=1.8 \
        -p 25565:25565 -e EULA=TRUE --name mc itzg/minecraft-server

You can install Bukkit plugins in two ways.

### Using the /data volume

This is the easiest way if you are using a persistent `/data` mount.

To do this, you will need to attach the container's `/data` directory
(see "Attaching data directory to host filesystem”).
Then, you can add plugins to the `/path/on/host/plugins` folder you chose. From the example above,
the `/path/on/host` folder contents look like:

```
/path/on/host
├── plugins
│   └── ... INSTALL PLUGINS HERE ...
├── ops.json
├── server.properties
├── whitelist.json
└── ...
```

If you add plugins while the container is running, you'll need to restart it to pick those
up:

    docker stop mc
    docker start mc

### Using separate mounts

This is the easiest way if you are using an ephemeral `/data` filesystem,
or downloading a world with the `WORLD` option.

There is one additional volume that can be mounted; `/plugins`.  
Any files in this filesystem will be copied over to the main
`/data/plugins` filesystem before starting Minecraft.

This works well if you want to have a common set of plugins in a separate 
location, but still have multiple worlds with different server requirements
in either persistent volumes or a downloadable archive.

## Using Docker Compose

Rather than type the server options below, the port mappings above, etc
every time you want to create new Minecraft server, you can now use
[Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/). Start with a
`docker-compose.yml` file like the following:

```
minecraft-server:
  ports:
    - "25565:25565"

  environment:
    EULA: TRUE

  image: itzg/minecraft-server

  container_name: mc

  tty: true
  stdin_open: true
  restart: always
```

and in the same directory as that file run

    docker-compose -d up

Now, go play...or adjust the  `environment` section to configure
this server instance.    

## Server configuration

### Difficulty

The difficulty level (default: `easy`) can be set like:

    docker run -d -e DIFFICULTY=hard ...

Valid values are: `peaceful`, `easy`, `normal`, and `hard`, and an
error message will be output in the logs if it's not one of these
values.

### Whitelist Players

To whitelist players for your Minecraft server, pass the Minecraft usernames separated by commas via the `WHITELIST` environment variable, such as

	docker run -d -e WHITELIST=user1,user2 ...

If the `WHITELIST` environment variable is not used, any user can join your Minecraft server if it's publicly accessible.

### Op/Administrator Players

To add more "op" (aka adminstrator) users to your Minecraft server, pass the Minecraft usernames separated by commas via the `OPS` environment variable, such as

	docker run -d -e OPS=user1,user2 ...

### Server icon

A server icon can be configured using the `ICON` variable. The image will be automatically
downloaded, scaled, and converted from any other image format:

    docker run -d -e ICON=http://..../some/image.png ...

### Level Seed

If you want to create the Minecraft level with a specific seed, use `SEED`, such as

    docker run -d -e SEED=1785852800490497919 ...

### Game Mode

By default, Minecraft servers are configured to run in Survival mode. You can
change the mode using `MODE` where you can either provide the [standard
numerical values](http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Game_mode#Game_modes) or the
shortcut values:

* creative
* survival
* adventure
* spectator (only for Minecraft 1.8 or later)

For example:

    docker run -d -e MODE=creative ...

### Message of the Day

The message of the day, shown below each server entry in the UI, can be changed with the `MOTD` environment variable, such as

    docker run -d -e 'MOTD=My Server' ...

If you leave it off, the last used or default message will be used. _The example shows how to specify a server
message of the day that contains spaces by putting quotes around the whole thing._

### PVP Mode

By default, servers are created with player-vs-player (PVP) mode enabled. You can disable this with the `PVP`
environment variable set to `false`, such as

    docker run -d -e PVP=false ...

### Level Type and Generator Settings

By default, a standard world is generated with hills, valleys, water, etc. A different level type can
be configured by setting `LEVEL_TYPE` to

* DEFAULT
* FLAT
* LARGEBIOMES
* AMPLIFIED
* CUSTOMIZED

Descriptions are available at the [gamepedia](http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Server.properties).

When using a level type of `FLAT` and `CUSTOMIZED`, you can further configure the world generator
by passing [custom generator settings](http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Superflat).
**Since generator settings usually have ;'s in them, surround the -e value with a single quote, like below.**

For example (just the `-e` bits):

    -e LEVEL_TYPE=flat -e 'GENERATOR_SETTINGS=3;minecraft:bedrock,3*minecraft:stone,52*minecraft:sandstone;2;'

### World Save Name

You can either switch between world saves or run multiple containers with different saves by using the `LEVEL` option,
where the default is "world":

    docker run -d -e LEVEL=bonus ...

**NOTE:** if running multiple containers be sure to either specify a different `-v` host directory for each
`LEVEL` in use or don't use `-v` and the container's filesystem will keep things encapsulated.

### Downloadable world

Instead of mounting the `/data` volume, you can instead specify the URL of
a ZIP file containing an archived world.  This will be downloaded, and
unpacked in the `/data` directory; if it does not contain a subdirectory
called `world/` then it will be searched for a file `level.dat` and the 
containing subdirectory renamed to `world`.  This means that most of the
archived Minecraft worlds downloadable from the Internet will already be in
the correct format.

The ZIP file may also contain a `server.properties` file and `modules`
directory, if required.

    docker run -d -e WORLD=http://www.example.com/worlds/MySave.zip ...

**NOTE:** Unless you also mount `/data` as an external volume, this world
will be deleted when the container is deleted.

**NOTE:** This URL must be accessible from inside the container.  Therefore,
you should use an IP address or a globally resolveable FQDN, or else the
name of a linked container.

### Downloadable mod pack

Like the `WORLD` option above, you can specify the URL of a "mod pack"
to download and install into the `mods` directory. To use this option
pass the environment variable `MODPACK`, such as

    docker run -d -e MODPACK=http://www.example.com/mods/modpack.zip ...

**NOTE:** The referenced URL must be a zip file with one or more Forge jar files at the
top level of the zip archive.

## JVM Configuration

### Memory Limit

The Java memory limit can be adjusted using the `JVM_OPTS` environment variable, where the default is
the setting shown in the example (max and min at 1024 MB):

    docker run -e 'JVM_OPTS=-Xmx1024M -Xms1024M' ...