Minecraft

Server Hosting via Docker (Java Edition)

This project provides a complete Minecraft Java Edition server setup using Docker – without relying on prebuilt images. It uses the official server.jar from Mojang, referenced via its SHA1 hash.

Minecraft

Overview

Dockerfile – Builds the server image from an OpenJDK base
docker-compose.yml – Orchestrates the container with volumes, ports & build args
.env – Manages server configuration through environment variables

Prerequisites

A Linux VM or server (e.g., Hetzner cloud VM)
Docker and Docker Compose installed
Port 8888 must be open to the internet

Quickstart

Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:GeorgStrassberger/minecraft_server_hosting.git
cd minecraft_server_hosting

Create a .env file:
```
cp .env.example .env
```
Add the correct SHA1 for the server.jar (see below)
Build and Start the server:
```
docker compose up -d --build
```
Connect in your Minecraft client:
```
<your-ip>:8888
```

Mojang-Hash SHA1 for server.jar

Open Mojang’s official version manifest:

https://launchermeta.mojang.com/mc/game/version_manifest.json

This is a JSON file containing all official versions.

{
    "latest":	{ "release": "1.21.8", "snapshot": "25w31a" },
    "versions": [
       { "id": "25w31a", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/6ec665b6b0b60df1d0ffe92812bf7a860a4953ea/25w31a.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.8", "type": "release", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/24b08e167c6611f7ad895ae1e8b5258f819184aa/1.21.8.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.8-rc1", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/d2573833c5dc21fb1e9033b3d7b912168786cd1b/1.21.8-rc1.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.7", "type": "release", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/cd36d4744092cc0cca8d3fbf8e9222b0fdc00541/1.21.7.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.7-rc2", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/b9e024e78ab57a6d1e72c7d047d25c3140adc439/1.21.7-rc2.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.7-rc1", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/6b949410815e34f47301eb610b8063833aac9473/1.21.7-rc1.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.6", "type": "release", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/e2a26a825f525a8cc72066d632d07aa8af67b19a/1.21.6.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.6-rc1", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/dda6dc2c16765e4a3819a9f985baf659ee14bd2d/1.21.6-rc1.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.6-pre4", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/4fa7a83b157486431d8e4267fe95fe9dcabf0d49/1.21.6-pre4.json", … },
       { "id": "1.21.6-pre3", "type": "snapshot", "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/938dac32ffc4a6c064c2cbf89e9dfd1920ec8a50/1.21.6-pre3.json", … }
    ]
}

Find your version (e.g. id:1.21.8 & type: release) in the list:

{
   "id": "1.21.8",
   "type": "release",
   "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/24b08e167c6611f7ad895ae1e8b5258f819184aa/1.21.8.json",
   "time": "2025-07-17T12:13:03+00:00",
   "releaseTime": "2025-07-17T12:04:02+00:00"
}

Copy the associated url, for example:

{
  "url": "https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/24b08e167c6611f7ad895ae1e8b5258f819184aa/1.21.8.json"
}

Open that URL and look for:

{
    "downloads": {
       "server": {
          "sha1": "6bce4ef400e4efaa63a13d5e6f6b500be969ef81",
          "url": "https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/6bce4ef400e4efaa63a13d5e6f6b500be969ef81/server.jar"
       },
       "id":"1.21.8"
    }
}

Copy the sha1 value and paste it into your .env:

SHA1=6bce4ef400e4efaa63a13d5e6f6b500be969ef81

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`EULA`	Must be set to TRUE to accept the EULA
`SHA1`	SHA1 hash of the server.jar from Mojang
`VERSION`	Informational only (not directly used)
`MEMORY`	RAM allocation for the server (e.g., 2G)
`MOTD`	Message of the Day
`MAX_PLAYERS`	Max number of concurrent players
`RCON_PASSWORD`	Optional for remote console access

Hint: If you want to specify additional properties, you can find a list of all properties under www.minecraftinfo.de. Add it to the .env file. Then declare the ARG in the Dockerfile and initialize the ENV variable with the key from the .env file. Finally, adjust the CMD command with “echo ‘mc_propertiename=${ENV_NAME}’ >> server.properties && \”. This will overwrite the default value.

Project structur

./minecraft_server_hosting
├── Dockerfile                      # Builds server image using Java & SHA1 jar
├── docker-compose.yml              # Manages port, volume, and build settings
├── .gitignore                      # Excludes sensitive files like .env
├── .env.example                    # Configuration template file
├── Minecraft_Server_Checkliste.pdf # DA Checklist
└── README.md                       # Readme file

Testing

To verify the setup:

Run the container and connect using a Minecraft client
Check server status using mcstatus:

python3 -m pip install mcstatus
mcstatus YOUR_SERVER_IP:8888 status

Example output:

(minecraft-venv) PS C:\DEVELOPMENT\minecraft-server-status> python -m mcstatus localhost:8888 status
version: Java 1.21.8 (protocol 772)
motd: A Minecraft Server
players: 0/20 No players online
ping: 51.56 ms

Restart the server and verify world data persists
Stop the container and confirm it restarts automatically

Table of Contents​

Overview​

Prerequisites​

Quickstart​

Mojang-Hash SHA1 for server.jar​

Environment Variables​

Project structur​

Testing​

Table of Contents