Applies to: LinuxGSM v26.2.0 on AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 12 and 13 (tested with the Minecraft server on AlmaLinux 9)
LinuxGSM (Linux Game Server Managers) is a free command-line tool that installs, starts, updates, monitors and backs up dedicated game servers. It supports over 100 games, including Minecraft (mcserver), Minecraft Bedrock (mcbserver), Valheim (vhserver), Rust (rustserver), Counter-Strike 2 (cs2server), Palworld (pwserver), Project Zomboid (pzserver), ARK (arkserver) and Terraria. We installed and ran the Minecraft server with LinuxGSM v26.2.0.
1. Create a user for the game server
Never run game servers as root:
sudo useradd -m mcserver sudo su - mcserver
2. Download LinuxGSM and create the server script
curl -Lo linuxgsm.sh https://linuxgsm.sh && chmod +x linuxgsm.sh ./linuxgsm.sh list | less # all supported servers bash linuxgsm.sh mcserver # creates ./mcserver
3. Install the game server
./mcserver install # interactive ./mcserver auto-install # no questions (accepts the game's EULA where one applies)
LinuxGSM checks the required packages first. If some are missing and the user can’t use sudo, it prints the command for root to run. On our server it found Java 25 already installed, then downloaded minecraft_server.26.3.jar, a default configuration and finished with Install Complete!.
4. Everyday commands
./mcserver start ./mcserver stop # graceful: sends "stop" to the game first ./mcserver restart ./mcserver details # ports, config file, status ./mcserver console # the live console; leave with Ctrl+b then d ./mcserver send "say hello" # send one console command ./mcserver monitor # check it responds, restart if not ./mcserver update ./mcserver backup
details showed Server IP: 0.0.0.0:25565, Status: STARTED and the config file serverfiles/server.properties. monitor queried the game port and answered OK. backup created a 131 MB archive in lgsm/backup/.
5. Automate monitoring and updates
LinuxGSM recommends cron jobs under the game server’s own user (crontab -e):
*/5 * * * * /home/mcserver/mcserver monitor > /dev/null 2>&1 */30 * * * * /home/mcserver/mcserver update > /dev/null 2>&1 0 0 * * 0 /home/mcserver/mcserver update-lgsm > /dev/null 2>&1
6. Open the game’s ports
./mcserver details lists the ports the game needs; open them in the server firewall (for Minecraft: port 25565). Settings live in lgsm/config-lgsm/mcserver/mcserver.cfg (LinuxGSM) and in the game’s own config file.
Resources
Steam-based games download several GB and some need 4 to 16 GB of RAM; check the game’s requirements before choosing a server. Our Game VPS plans include DDoS protection.
Official documentation: LinuxGSM: cron jobs.
