Minecraft Servers

With Strela, you can create a single Minecraft server, including proxies like Velocity or BungeeCord, or normal servers like Spigot or Paper. You don't want to use a MinecraftServer in most cases, as you usually want to use a MinecraftDeployment or a MinecraftStatefulSet to create multiple servers.

A MincraftServer has no replicas, so if you want to create multiple servers, you have to use a MinecraftDeployment or a MinecraftStatefulSet.

Get started with Minecraft servers

We're getting started with a paper server, as they are most common used for single Minecraft server instances.

The first thing you need to do is to create a MinecraftServer resource. In this case we're using a Docker image that is based on itzg/minecraft-server. You can read their documentation, if you want to use a different configuration.

For this example we'll name the file example-minecraft-server.yaml and we'll use the following content:

example-minecraft-server.yaml

apiVersion: strela.dev/v1
kind: MinecraftServer
metadata:
  labels:
    # We define this label to be able to create a service, so the Minecraft server can be accessed from the server list.
    app: example-minecraft-server
  name: example-minecraft-server
spec:
  # You can set the number of maximal players, but keep in mind that this doesn't change any configuration on the server itself.
  # This is just for our Autoscaler, so it can allocate the right amount of resources.
  maxPlayers: 20
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
        # We use our Docker image for a Minecraft proxy server.
        # You can use any other image, but make sure it's starting a Minecraft server.
        - image: ghcr.io/strela-dev/docker-minecraft-server:main
          imagePullPolicy: Always
          name: server
          tty: true
          stdin: true
          ports:
            # This might be different for your image, but it's usually 25565 for Minecraft servers.
            - containerPort: 25565
              name: main
          env:
            # Our image is based on itzg/minecraft-server, so we use a variable to start a velocity server.
            # If you use a different image, you might need to use a different variable.
            - name: "EULA"
              value: "true"

After you've created the file, you can apply it to your Kubernetes cluster using the following command:

kubectl apply -f example-minecraft-server.yaml

Interact with a started MinecraftServer

If you want to interact with a started MinecraftServer, you have to find the pod name of the server. You can do so by using the following command:

kubectl get pods

After you've found the pod name, you can use the following command to attach with the server:

kubectl attach -it POD_NAME

Now you can run any command you want to run on the server. For example, you can kick a player by using the following command:

kick Fllip

Spec Fields

The MinecraftServerSpec defines the desired state of a MinecraftServer instance. Below are the properties you can configure:

  • Name
    container
    Type
    string
    Description

    The name of the Docker container image to use for the Minecraft server. This allows for the specification of custom Minecraft server images.

  • Name
    configDir
    Type
    string
    Description

    Specifies the directory where the Minecraft server's configuration files are stored. This path is relative to the container's filesystem.

  • Name
    template
    Type
    corev1.PodTemplateSpec
    Description

    A template for creating the pod that will host the Minecraft server. This includes configurations for resources, volumes, and more.

  • Name
    configurationMode
    Type
    ConfigurationMode
    Description

    Determines the server configuration mode. Options include "BUNGEECORD", "VELOCITY", "PAPER_VELOCITY", and "SPIGOT_BUNGEECORD".

  • Name
    maxPlayers
    Type
    integer
    Description

    The maximum number of players that can join the Minecraft server. Helps in allocating resources and managing server load.

    Keep in mind that this doesn't change any configuration on the server itself.

Status Fields

The MinecraftServerStatus reflects the observed state of the MinecraftServer. It provides runtime information about the server's status:

  • Name
    ingame
    Type
    boolean
    Description

    Indicates whether a game is currently in progress on the server.

  • Name
    ready
    Type
    boolean
    Description

    Shows whether the Minecraft server is ready to accept players. A server is considered ready once it has successfully started and initialized.

  • Name
    playerCount
    Type
    integer
    Description

    The current number of players connected to the server. This provides real-time insight into server utilization.

Configuration Modes

ConfigurationMode is an enumeration that specifies the server's configuration mode, impacting how the server is set up and interacts with clients and other servers:

  • BUNGEECORD: For servers using the BungeeCord proxy system.
  • VELOCITY: For servers utilizing the modern Velocity proxy system.
  • PAPER_VELOCITY: A specialized setup for servers that combine PaperMC with Velocity.
  • SPIGOT_BUNGEECORD: For Spigot servers configured to work with BungeeCord.

A ConfigurationMode is only required if you are running a proxy server and want that the server is configured correctly, so the proxy can redirect players to the server, if the server is registered.

Ensure you apply the correct YAML configuration based on this specification to manage your Minecraft servers effectively within your Kubernetes cluster.

Using an SDK

If you want to use an API to deploy Minecraft server, you can use on of our official SDKs. They offer a simple way to interact with the Strela API and create and manage MinecraftServers.

Check out our list of first-party SDKs

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