new post: hosting a minecraft server on a pi5

2026-08-23 21:41:57 +02:00
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+---
+layout: post
+author: Sam Hadow
+tags: games sysadmin
+---
+
+This guide assumes you already have a minimal install of debian 13 on your Pi5. 
+
+# Steps
+
+## 1. Installing the required packages
+
+```bash
+sudo apt install default-jre openjdk-25-jre
+```
+
+## 2. Running the server
+
+### 2.1) Creating a dedicated user:
+```bash
+sudo useradd -m minecraft
+```
+
+### 2.2) Enabling autologin for minecraft on TTY2
+```bash
+sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty2.service.d
+```
+and in this folder I created this file:
+```ini
+#/etc/systemd/system/getty@tty2.service.d/autologin.conf
+[Service]
+ExecStart=
+ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin minecraft --noclear %I $TERM
+```
+
+### 2.3) Enabling lingering for minecraft (which is needed to start user systemd services even without a shell session)
+```bash
+sudo loginctl enable-linger minecraft
+```
+
+### 2.4) Downloading the minecraft server:
+
+Download the latest version of fabric minecraft server from [here](https://fabricmc.net/use/server/)  
+For example:  
+```bash
+sudo curl -o /home/minecraft/server.jar https://meta.fabricmc.net/v2/versions/loader/26.2/0.19.3/1.1.2/server/jar
+```
+
+### 2.5) Creating the systemd service
+First creating the folder:
+```bash
+sudo mkdir -p /home/minecraft/.config/systemd/user
+```
+And then a service unit file:
+```ini
+#/home/minecraft/.config/systemd/user/minecraft.service
+[Unit]
+Description=Minecraft Server
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+WorkingDirectory=/home/minecraft
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xmx4G -jar /home/minecraft/server.jar nogui
+
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
+```
+
+After this make sure the ownership is correct:
+```bash
+sudo chown -R minecraft:minecraft /home/minecraft
+```
+
+And then to start the service:
+```bash
+sudo systemctl --user --machine=minecraft@.host daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl --user --machine=minecraft@.host start minecraft
+```
+
+after the first start you'll need to accept the EULA:
+```ini
+#/home/minecraft/eula.txt
+eula=TRUE
+```
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl --user --machine=minecraft@.host restart minecraft
+```
+
+
+## 3. Checking logs
+
+To check the minecraft server related logs, we can use the following command:
+```bash
+sudo journalctl _UID=$(id -u minecraft)
+```
+
+## 4. Additional remarks
+
+### 4.1) Server properties
+
+You can change the server properties in `/home/minecraft/server.properties`.  
+I recommend enabling the whitelist if your server is exposed on the internet.
+
+### 4.2) Executing commands
+
+In `/home/minecraft/server.properties` enable RCON:
+```ini
+enable-rcon=true
+rcon.port=25575
+rcon.password=CHANGE_ME
+```
+
+Ideally you now want strict permissions on this file since it contains your RCON password in cleartext:
+```bash
+sudo chmod 600 /home/minecraft/server.properties
+```
+
+Then you can administer your server with a RCON client like mcrcon:
+```bash
+mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p 'YOUR_RCON_PASSWORD'
+```
+
+### 4.3) Mods
+
+Put your mods in `/home/minecraft/mods`  
+I recommend installing these mods:
+ - [fabric api](https://modrinth.com/mod/fabric-api)
+ - [carpet](https://modrinth.com/mod/carpet) : For technical minecraft players
+ - [lithium](https://modrinth.com/mod/lithium) : For optimizations