How to Host a Minecraft Server on Google Cloud

Welcome, Dev! If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in hosting your own Minecraft server on Google Cloud. It’s a great choice. Google Cloud offers high performance, reliability, and scalability. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of setting up your own Minecraft server on Google Cloud. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Create a Google Cloud Account

The first step in hosting your own Minecraft server on Google Cloud is to create a Google Cloud account. This will give you access to all of Google Cloud’s services, including Compute Engine, which we’ll be using to set up the server.

To create a Google Cloud account, go to the Google Cloud website and click on the “Get started for free” button. Follow the instructions to create an account and provide your billing information. Don’t worry, Google Cloud offers a free trial with $300 of credit, so you won’t be charged until you exceed that amount.

Step 1.1: Enable Compute Engine API

Before you can use Compute Engine to create a virtual machine for your Minecraft server, you need to enable the Compute Engine API.

1. Go to the API Library in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Search for “Compute Engine API” and click on it.
3. Click the “Enable” button.

Step 2: Create a Virtual Machine

Now that you have a Google Cloud account and have enabled the Compute Engine API, you can create a virtual machine to host your Minecraft server.

Step 2.1: Choose a Machine Type

The first step in creating a virtual machine is to choose a machine type. This determines the amount of CPU and memory that your server will have. For a Minecraft server, we recommend at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of memory.

To choose a machine type:

1. Go to the Create Instance page in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Select a region and zone. Choose the region and zone that is closest to your players to minimize latency.
3. Under “Machine Configuration”, choose a machine type with at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of memory.

Step 2.2: Choose a Boot Disk

The next step is to choose a boot disk. This is the disk that will contain the operating system and Minecraft server files.

To choose a boot disk:

1. Under “Boot disk”, click “Change”.
2. Choose “Ubuntu” as the operating system. We recommend Ubuntu because it is a stable and well-supported Linux distribution.
3. Choose a disk size. We recommend at least 20 GB to give you room to grow.
4. Check the “Allow HTTP traffic” and “Allow HTTPS traffic” boxes.
5. Click “Select”.

Step 2.3: Configure Firewall Rules

The final step in creating a virtual machine is to configure firewall rules to allow Minecraft traffic.

To configure firewall rules:

1. Under “Firewall”, click “Allow HTTP traffic” and “Allow HTTPS traffic” if they aren’t already checked.
2. Click “Create”.

Step 3: Connect to Your Virtual Machine

Now that you have created a virtual machine to host your Minecraft server, you need to connect to it so you can install and configure the server software.

Step 3.1: Install SSH

To connect to your virtual machine, you will use SSH. SSH is a secure way to connect to a remote server over the internet.

To install SSH:

1. Open a terminal on your local computer.
2. Type the following command:

sudo apt-get install ssh

3. Enter your password if prompted.

Step 3.2: Connect to Your Virtual Machine

Now that you have installed SSH, you can connect to your virtual machine:

1. Go to the Compute Engine instances page in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Click the checkbox next to your virtual machine.
3. Click the “SSH” button at the top of the page.

This will open a terminal window in your browser that is connected to your virtual machine.

Step 4: Install Minecraft Server Software

Now that you are connected to your virtual machine, you can install and configure the Minecraft server software.

Step 4.1: Install Java

Minecraft server software requires Java to run. To install Java:

1. Type the following command:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre-headless -y

2. Enter your password if prompted.

Step 4.2: Download and Install Minecraft Server Software

Now that you have installed Java, you can download and install the Minecraft server software:

1. Download the Minecraft server software by typing the following command:

wget -O minecraft_server.jar https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/.../server.jar

2. Replace the “…” with the version number of the Minecraft server software that you want to install. You can find the version number on the Minecraft website.
3. Create a directory for the Minecraft server files by typing the following command:

mkdir minecraft

4. Move the Minecraft server software to the minecraft directory by typing the following command:

mv minecraft_server.jar minecraft/

5. Change to the minecraft directory by typing the following command:

cd minecraft

6. Launch the Minecraft server software by typing the following command:

java -Xmx2048M -Xms2048M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui

7. This will start the Minecraft server software in a console window.

Step 5: Configure Minecraft Server

Now that you have installed the Minecraft server software, you need to configure it to your liking.

Step 5.1: Accept EULA

The first step is to accept the Minecraft server End User License Agreement (EULA).

1. Open the eula.txt file by typing the following command:

nano eula.txt

2. Change “false” to “true” on the line that reads “eula=false”.
3. Press CTRL+X, then Y, then Enter to save and exit.

Step 5.2: Configure Server Settings

Next, you can configure the Minecraft server settings to your liking.

1. Open the server.properties file by typing the following command:

nano server.properties

2. Here are some settings you may want to change:
• server-port: The port that the Minecraft server listens on. The default is 25565, but you may want to use a different port if you are running multiple servers on the same machine.
• max-players: The maximum number of players that can join the server at once. The default is 20, but you can increase this if you have a powerful machine.
• white-list: Whether or not to use a whitelist to restrict access to the server. Set to “true” to enable the whitelist. You will need to add players to the whitelist manually.
3. Press CTRL+X, then Y, then Enter to save and exit.

Step 6: Start Minecraft Server

Now that you have configured the Minecraft server, you can start it up:

1. Change to the minecraft directory by typing the following command:

cd minecraft

2. Launch the Minecraft server software by typing the following command:

java -Xmx2048M -Xms2048M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui

3. This will start the Minecraft server software in a console window.

Step 7: Connect to Minecraft Server

Now that your Minecraft server is running, you can connect to it from your Minecraft game client.

Step 7.1: Find Your Server’s IP Address

The first step is to find the IP address of your Minecraft server:

1. Go to the Compute Engine instances page in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Click the name of your virtual machine.
3. Copy the IP address that is displayed.

Step 7.2: Connect to Minecraft Server

Now that you have the IP address of your Minecraft server, you can connect to it from your Minecraft game client:

1. Open Minecraft on your computer.
2. Click “Multiplayer”.
3. Click “Add Server”.
4. Enter a name for your server.
5. Enter the IP address of your Minecraft server.
6. Click “Done”.
7. Double-click on your new server to join.

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