How to Use Vultr’s Minecraft Marketplace Application

Deploy and manage a production-ready Minecraft server on Vultr with security, customization, and performance tuning.

Minecraft is a popular sandbox video game that allows players to build, explore, and survive in procedurally generated worlds. The Vultr Minecraft (Vanilla) Marketplace Application deploys a ready-to-use vanilla Minecraft Java Edition server on Ubuntu, including Java runtime, systemd-based service management, and screen session access for real-time console interaction.

This guide explains deploying and using Vultr’s Minecraft (Vanilla) Marketplace Application. You will deploy a server, verify the installation, configure firewall security, customize server settings, manage players with whitelists and operators, optimize performance, set up backups, and troubleshoot common issues.

Deploy Vultr’s Minecraft (Vanilla) Marketplace Application

Log in to your Vultr Customer Portal and click the Deploy Server button.
Select your preferred server type.
Choose a server location.
Select a server plan based on expected player count:
- 1GB RAM, 1 CPU: 1-5 players (testing/small groups)
- 2GB RAM, 2 CPU: 5-10 players (recommended minimum)
- 4GB RAM, 2 CPU: 10-20 players
- 8GB RAM, 4 CPU: 20+ players (large communities)
Click the Configure button to proceed.
Under Marketplace Apps, search for Minecraft (Vanilla) and select it as the Marketplace Application.
Select the Limited Login option from the Additional Features section to create a limited user with sudo access.
Review your configurations and click the Deploy Now button to start deployment.

Note

It may take up to 10 minutes for your server to finish installing Minecraft and Java.
After the instance shows the status of Running, navigate to the Server Overview page and copy the SSH connection details.

Initial Setup and Configuration

After deployment, verify the installation, configure a memorable server address, and secure your Minecraft server before allowing players to connect.

Create a DNS A record pointing to your server’s IP address, such as mc.example.com. This provides a memorable address for players.
Connect to your Vultr server instance over SSH using the connection details from the Server Overview page.

Verify Minecraft Installation

Check the Minecraft service status.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl status minecraft.service
```
The service should show as active (running).

Verify the Java installation.

console

$ java -version

Output:

openjdk version "21.0.3" 2024-04-16

Check the Minecraft server files.
console
```
$ ls -la /home/minecraft/
```
You should see server files including server.jar, server.properties, world/, and other directories.

Configure Firewall Security

Secure your server by configuring the firewall to allow only necessary traffic. This is critical for preventing unauthorized access.

Allow SSH connections.
console
```
$ sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
```
Allow Minecraft server traffic (default port 25565).
console
```
$ sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp
```
Enable the firewall.
console
```
$ sudo ufw enable
```
Verify firewall status.
console
```
$ sudo ufw status
```

Connect with the Minecraft Client

After configuring firewall security, connect to your server using the Minecraft Java Edition client.

Launch the Minecraft Java Edition game client.
Click Multiplayer.
Click Add Server or Direct Connect.
In the server address field, enter your server’s IP or domain:
```
YOUR_SERVER_IP:25565
```
Or if you configured DNS:
```
mc.example.com:25565
```
Click Join Server to connect.

Configure Server Settings

Customize your Minecraft server by editing the server.properties file to control game mode, difficulty, player limits, and other settings.

Stop the Minecraft server before making changes.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl stop minecraft.service
```

Edit the server configuration file.

console

$ sudo nano /home/minecraft/server.properties

Configure important settings:
ini
```
# Server identity
motd=Welcome to My Vultr Minecraft Server
server-port=25565

# World settings
level-name=world
gamemode=survival
difficulty=normal
hardcore=false
pvp=true

# Player limits
max-players=20
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=10

# Server behavior
spawn-protection=16
allow-nether=true
enable-command-block=false

# Security
online-mode=true
white-list=false
```
Key settings explained:
- motd: Message shown in the server list
- gamemode: survival, creative, adventure, or spectator
- difficulty: peaceful, easy, normal, or hard
- max-players: Maximum concurrent players
- view-distance: How far players can see (2-32 chunks, affects performance)
- online-mode: Set to true to require valid Minecraft accounts
- white-list: Set to true to enable whitelist-only access
Save and close the file.

Start the Minecraft server.

console

$ sudo systemctl start minecraft.service

Manage Players

Control who can access your server and assign administrative privileges using whitelists and operators.

Enable Whitelist

Edit the server properties to enable whitelist.
console
```
$ sudo nano /home/minecraft/server.properties
```
ini
```
white-list=true
enforce-whitelist=true
```
Save, close, and restart the server.
Add players via the server console (see “Access Server Console” section):
```
whitelist add PlayerName
whitelist remove PlayerName
whitelist reload
```

Whitelist settings are stored in /home/minecraft/whitelist.json.

Manage Server Operators

Operators (OPs) have administrative privileges on the server.

Add a player as an operator (in server console):
```
op PlayerName
```
Remove operator status:
```
deop PlayerName
```

Ban and pardon players:

ban PlayerName Reason for ban
pardon PlayerName

Access Server Console

Interact with the running Minecraft server in real-time using the screen session.

Attach to the screen session running Minecraft.
console
```
$ sudo screen -r
```

Run commands in the console:

list
say Welcome to the server!
time set day
weather clear
save-all

To disconnect from the screen session without stopping the server, press Ctrl + A, then D.

Performance Tuning

Optimize your Minecraft server’s performance by adjusting JVM memory allocation and garbage collection settings.

Edit the Minecraft startup script.

console

$ sudo nano /home/minecraft/minecraft_server.sh

Update memory allocation based on your server’s RAM (example for 4GB RAM server):
bash
```
#!/bin/bash
cd /home/minecraft
java -Xms2G -Xmx3G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -jar server.jar nogui
```
Key JVM flags:
- -Xms: Initial heap size
- -Xmx: Maximum heap size (allocate 50-75% of total RAM)
- -XX:+UseG1GC: Use G1 garbage collector (recommended for Minecraft)
For servers with different RAM, adjust -Xms and -Xmx proportionally. Save and close the file.
Restart the Minecraft server to apply changes.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl restart minecraft.service
```

Optimize view distance for better performance if needed.

console

$ sudo nano /home/minecraft/server.properties

ini

view-distance=8
simulation-distance=8

Backup and Recovery

Protect your Minecraft world data with regular backups to prevent data loss.

Manual Backup

Stop the Minecraft server to ensure a consistent backup.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl stop minecraft.service
```

Create a compressed backup of the world data.

console

$ sudo tar -czf /root/minecraft-backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /home/minecraft world world_nether world_the_end server.properties whitelist.json ops.json

Start the server again.

console

$ sudo systemctl start minecraft.service

Automated Backup

Create a backup script.

console

$ sudo nano /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh

bash

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/root/minecraft-backups"
DATE=$(date +%F)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/backup-$DATE.tar.gz" -C /home/minecraft world world_nether world_the_end server.properties whitelist.json ops.json
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "backup-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

Save and close the file.

Make the script executable.

console

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh

Schedule daily backups with cron (3 AM daily).

console

$ sudo crontab -e

Add:

0 3 * * * /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh

Restore from Backup

Stop the server, back up current data, extract the backup, and restart.

console

$ sudo systemctl stop minecraft.service
$ sudo mv /home/minecraft/world /home/minecraft/world.old
$ sudo tar -xzf /root/minecraft-backups/backup-2025-11-03.tar.gz -C /home/minecraft/
$ sudo chown -R minecraft:minecraft /home/minecraft/
$ sudo systemctl start minecraft.service

Manage the Minecraft Service

The Minecraft server runs as a systemd service for automatic startup and management.

Check service status.

console

$ sudo systemctl status minecraft.service

Start, stop, or restart the server.

console

$ sudo systemctl start minecraft.service
$ sudo systemctl stop minecraft.service
$ sudo systemctl restart minecraft.service

Enable or disable automatic startup on boot.

console

$ sudo systemctl enable minecraft.service
$ sudo systemctl disable minecraft.service

View service logs.

console

$ sudo journalctl -u minecraft.service -e

Best Practices and Configuration

Implement these recommendations to ensure your Minecraft server runs securely and efficiently.

Security Hardening

Use whitelist mode for private servers.
ini
```
white-list=true
enforce-whitelist=true
```
Enable online mode to prevent cracked clients.
ini
```
online-mode=true
```

Disable unnecessary features.

ini

enable-command-block=false
enable-rcon=false

Keep the system and Java updated.

console

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Regular Maintenance

Monitor disk space usage.

console

$ df -h /home/minecraft
$ du -sh /home/minecraft/world

Clean up old log files periodically.

console

$ sudo find /home/minecraft/logs -type f -mtime +30 -delete

Monitor server performance with htop.
console
```
$ sudo apt install htop -y
$ htop
```

Customize Server Appearance

Set a custom server icon by placing a 64×64 pixel PNG file named server-icon.png in /home/minecraft/. The icon will appear in the client’s multiplayer server list after a restart.

Troubleshooting

This section covers common issues and diagnostic commands.

Check Service Status and Logs

Verify the Minecraft service is running.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl status minecraft.service
```

View recent server logs.

console

$ sudo journalctl -u minecraft.service -e
$ sudo tail -f /home/minecraft/logs/latest.log

Common Issues

Players Cannot Connect

Verify the firewall allows port 25565.
console
```
$ sudo ufw status | grep 25565
```
Check if the server is listening on the correct port.
console
```
$ sudo netstat -tulpn | grep 25565
```
Ensure server-ip is empty in server.properties.

Server Crashes or Lags

Check available memory and increase JVM heap size if needed.
console
```
$ free -h
```
Reduce view distance to improve performance.
ini
```
view-distance=6
```

Review crash reports.

console

$ sudo cat /home/minecraft/crash-reports/crash-*.txt

Server Won’t Start

Check for port conflicts.
console
```
$ sudo netstat -tulpn | grep 25565
```

Verify file permissions.

console

$ sudo chown -R minecraft:minecraft /home/minecraft/

Review service logs for errors.

console

$ sudo journalctl -u minecraft.service -n 50

Use Cases

The Vultr Minecraft (Vanilla) Marketplace application provides a reliable platform for various Minecraft server scenarios:

Private Multiplayer Gaming: Host a secure Minecraft world for friends, family, or gaming communities with whitelist protection.
Survival or Creative Builds: Create persistent worlds for survival challenges or massive creative construction projects.
Learning Environments: Use Minecraft for educational purposes or to teach server administration and redstone engineering.
Always-On Personal World: Keep your world running 24/7 on a dedicated cloud instance with automatic backups and DDoS protection.
Community Servers: Build and manage public or semi-public community servers with proper player management and performance optimization.

Conclusion

In this guide, you deployed Vultr’s Minecraft (Vanilla) Marketplace Application and configured it for production use. You secured the server with firewall rules, customized game settings, implemented player management with whitelists and operators, optimized performance with JVM tuning, set up automated backups, and learned troubleshooting procedures. With this production-ready Minecraft server, you can host reliable multiplayer worlds for your community with proper security, performance, and management capabilities.

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