Minecraft Paper Server

This project runs a Minecraft Java server with Docker.

What this setup includes

The stack in docker-compose.yml starts three services:

• minecraft-paper: the game server (itzg/minecraft-server)
• websockify: TCP-to-WebSocket bridge
• nginx: HTTP endpoint for the tunnel (/minecraft-tunnel)

Current game settings in Compose:

• Server type: Paper
• Version: 1.21.11
• Memory: 4G
• Server port: 25575
• Online mode: FALSE

This setup is Java Edition only.

Folder layout

• docker-compose.yml: service definitions
• nginx.conf: tunnel proxy configuration
• minecraft_data/: world data, server properties, plugins, logs

Start and stop

From this folder, run:

docker compose up -d --force-recreate

Stop everything:

docker compose down

Check server status

See container state:

docker compose ps

See server logs:

docker compose logs -f minecraft-paper

You should eventually see:

Done (...s)! For help, type "help"

Connect with Minecraft Java (direct)

Use this server address in the game client:

127.0.0.1:25575

For another device on your home network, use your PC LAN IP:

<your-lan-ip>:25575

Test the WebSocket tunnel client

Run websocat in a separate terminal:

websocat.exe -b -E tcp-l:127.0.0.1:25576 ws://127.0.0.1:80/minecraft-tunnel

Then connect Minecraft Java to:

127.0.0.1:25576

Important notes:

• Do not use ws://0.0.0.0:80/... as a destination.
• 0.0.0.0 is for listening, not dialing.
• Do not bind websocat to 25575 because Docker already uses that port.

Quick troubleshooting

If the game client cannot connect:

1. Check containers:

   docker compose ps

   minecraft-paper should become healthy.

2. Check listening ports on Windows:

   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 127.0.0.1 -Port 25575
   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 127.0.0.1 -Port 80

3. If using websocat, also check:

   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 127.0.0.1 -Port 25576

4. Review logs for startup errors:

   docker compose logs --tail 200 minecraft-paper nginx websockify

Data and plugins

• World and server files are stored in minecraft_data/.
• Plugins are loaded from minecraft_data/plugins/.
• Geyser and Floodgate were removed from this setup.