Minecraft Server on Google Cloud (GCP) with Terraform

This repository contains Terraform configurations to deploy a fully functional Minecraft server on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

The infrastructure is designed to be cost-effective and flexible:

• Persistent Storage: Your world data is stored on a separate Persistent Disk. You can destroy the server VM to save costs when not playing, without losing your world.
• Dockerized: Uses the popular itzg/minecraft-server Docker image.
• Configurable: Easily change Minecraft version, RAM, server type (Vanilla, Spigot, Paper, etc.) via Terraform variables.

Table of Contents

• Architecture
• Prerequisites
• Setup Guide
  • 1. Authentication
  • 2. Configure Backend
  • 3. Configure Variables
  • 4. Deploy the Persistent Storage
  • 5. Deploy the Server
  • 6. Connect
• Managing the Server
  • Save Money (Stop the Server)
  • Restart / Update
  • Delete Everything (Cleanup)
• Backup
• Troubleshooting
• License
• Author

Architecture

The project is split into two Terraform states:

1. 01_persistent: Creates the Persistent Disk (PD) and a static IP (optional, depending on config). This state is meant to be kept alive.
2. 02_server: Creates the Compute Engine VM, firewall rules, and attaches the existing disk. This state can be destroyed and recreated at will.

Prerequisites

• A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Project.
• Terraform installed.
• Google Cloud SDK (gcloud) installed.

Setup Guide

1. Authentication

Authenticate Terraform with your GCP account:

gcloud auth application-default login

2. Configure Backend

Before running Terraform, you must configure where the state file is stored.

1. Open terraform/01_persistent/provider.tf and terraform/02_server/provider.tf.
2. Change the bucket value to a unique name (e.g., yourname-minecraft-tfstate). Bucket names must be globally unique across all of Google Cloud.

3. Configure Variables

1. Copy the example variable files and create symbolic links:

   mv terraform/terraform.tfvars.example terraform/terraform.tfvars
   ln -s ../terraform.tfvars terraform/01_persistent/terraform.tfvars
   ln -s ../terraform.tfvars terraform/02_server/terraform.tfvars

2. Edit terraform.tfvars in the root terraform directory with your specific values (Project ID, Region, etc.).

Key Variables:

Variable	Description	Default
project_id	Required. Your GCP Project ID.	-
region / zone	GCP Region and Zone.	europe-west9 / europe-west9-b
machine_type	VM size (e.g., e2-medium, e2-standard-2).	e2-medium
minecraft_disk_size	Size of the Persistent Disk (in GB).	20
minecraft_image	Docker image to use for the server.	itzg/minecraft-server:java25
minecraft_version	Minecraft version (e.g., 1.20.4, LATEST).	LATEST
minecraft_type	Server type (VANILLA, PAPER, FORGE...).	VANILLA
minecraft_memory	RAM allocated to Java (e.g., 2G, 4G).	2G
minecraft_difficulty	Game difficulty (peaceful, easy, etc.).	normal
minecraft_motd	Message of the Day.	Minecraft Server on GCP
minecraft_icon	URL to server icon.	https://www.gstatic.com/cgc/super_cloud.png
minecraft_ops	List of OP players (comma-separated).	""
modrinth_projects	List of Modrinth projects (slugs/IDs) to install	""
voice_chat_port	UDP port for Simple Voice Chat plugin	24454
minecraft_max_players	Maximum number of players allowed.	10
minecraft_enable_rcon	Enable RCON for remote server management.	true
use_spot_instance	Use Spot VM (cheaper but can be stopped by GCP)	false
enable_static_ip	Enable static IP address creation and usage	true
enable_scheduler	Enable automatic start/stop scheduler	false
scheduler_start_time	Cron schedule for starting the server	0 8 * * * (8 AM)
scheduler_stop_time	Cron schedule for stopping the server	0 23 * * * (11 PM)
scheduler_timezone	Timezone for the scheduler	Europe/Paris

4. Deploy the Persistent Storage

First, create the disk that will hold your data.

cd terraform/01_persistent
terraform init
terraform apply

Review the plan and type yes to confirm.

5. Deploy the Server

Once the disk is created, deploy the server VM.

cd ../02_server
terraform init
terraform apply

Review the plan and type yes to confirm.

6. Connect

After the deployment of 02_server is complete, Terraform will output the public IP address of your server.

Copy this IP into your Minecraft client to connect.

Managing the Server

Save Money (Stop the Server)

To stop paying for the Compute Engine VM when you are not playing:

cd terraform/02_server
terraform destroy

Note: This only destroys the VM. Your data (world, inventory, etc.) is safe on the Persistent Disk created in step 3.

Restart / Update

To restart the server (e.g., to update the Minecraft version after changing minecraft_version variable):

1. Run terraform destroy in 02_server.
2. Run terraform apply in 02_server.

Delete Everything (Cleanup)

If you want to delete everything permanently (including your world data):

1. Destroy the server:

   cd terraform/02_server
   terraform destroy

2. Destroy the disk:

   cd ../01_persistent
   terraform destroy

Backup

You can back up your Minecraft world data by running the provided backup script. This script creates a compressed archive of your world data and saves it locally.

cd scripts
./backup_world.sh

To use the script, ensure you have gcloud installed and authenticated, and that you have the necessary permissions to access the Persistent Disk.

Troubleshooting

• Permissions Error: If you see an error about iam.serviceAccountUser, ensure your current user or the service account running Terraform has the Service Account User role.
• Disk not found: Ensure you have successfully applied 01_persistent before trying to apply 02_server.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Romain Lancelot - GitHub