Initial Set Up

Minecraft server set up on a Linus distribution (Ubuntu 12.04 in this case) is quite easier than you think.

Make sure you have at least 2GB RAM for your server. In this tutorial, we will be covering the setup of minecraft server on Ubuntu using command line tool. Connect to the server through SSH using Terminal on Mac or PuTTY on a PC.

Open the terminal window and log in:

ssh name@youripaddress

Enter the password and make the connection.

Installing Dependencies for Minecraft Server

Before we get down into setup of Minecraft server, we need to update the apt-get using the command:

sudo apt-get update

Java is a system prerequisite for this set up and you need to make sure that Java is installed on your server. Run the following command to check:

java -version

If Java is installed, it will return the details. Else, it will throw the message “java: command not found”.

Download Java using apt-get package:

sudo apt-get install default-jdk

Screen is also required to keep the server running if the connection is dropped. Install screen using the command:

sudo apt-get install screen

Installation of Minecraft Server

First of all, create a directory where you can store the Minecraft files:

mkdir minecraft

Switch into the newly created directory:

cd minecraft

Now, download the Minecraft Server software using the command:

wget -O minecraft_server.jar https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.7.4/minecraft_server.1.7.4.jar

Run the Screen with the command:

screen -S "Minecraft server"

The –S option will set the sessions title.

Once the file is downloaded completely, you will be able to run it with java.

java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui

You will be given a launching text which will look similar to this:

2012-08-06 21:12:52 [INFO] Loading properties
2012-08-06 21:12:52 [WARNING] server.properties does not exist
2012-08-06 21:12:52 [INFO] Generating new properties file
2012-08-06 21:12:52 [INFO] Default game type: SURVIVAL
2012-08-06 21:12:52 [INFO] Generating keypair
2012-08-06 21:12:53 [INFO] Starting Minecraft server on *:25565
2012-08-06 21:12:53 [WARNING] Failed to load operators list: java.io.FileNotFoundException: ./ops.txt (No such file or directory)
2012-08-06 21:12:53 [WARNING] Failed to load white-list: java.io.FileNotFoundException: ./white-list.txt (No such file or directory)
2012-08-06 21:12:53 [INFO] Preparing level "world"
2012-08-06 21:12:53 [INFO] Preparing start region for level 0
2012-08-06 21:12:54 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 4%
2012-08-06 21:12:56 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 20%
2012-08-06 21:13:04 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 69%
2012-08-06 21:13:05 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 77%
2012-08-06 21:13:06 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 85%
2012-08-06 21:13:07 [INFO] Preparing spawn area: 93%
2012-08-06 21:13:08 [INFO] Done (15.509s)! For help, type "help" or "?"

Now, minecraft server is set up. You may exit the screen by pressing ctl-a d.

You can reattach the screen using the command:

screen -R

If you want to change the server settings, you can do that by opening the server properties file and update it:

vi ~/minecraft/server.properties