Minecraft server in Docker: the itzg/minecraft-server image

In short: create a compose.yaml with the itzg/minecraft-server image, set EULA=TRUE, TYPE=PAPER, VERSION and MEMORY, mount a folder at /data and run docker compose up -d. Put plugins in data/plugins and send commands with docker exec mc rcon-cli <command>. Use a Java 25 tag for 26.x and a Java 21 tag for 1.21.x.

Why Docker for a Minecraft server#

• No Java on the host — the right version is in the image, and different servers can use different tags.
• Everything in one file: version, server software, memory, port. Moving the server means copying the folder and compose.yaml.
• Several servers on one machine stay out of each other's way: each has its own container, port and folder.

If Docker is new to you and you run a single server, a plain install is simpler — see Minecraft server on Linux. Docker pays off with several servers, or when your website, database and bot already run in it.

A compose.yaml for Paper#

services:
  mc:
    image: itzg/minecraft-server:java25   # Java 25 for 26.x; for 1.21.x use the java21 tag
    tty: true
    stdin_open: true
    ports:
      - "25565:25565"
    environment:
      EULA: "TRUE"
      TYPE: "PAPER"
      VERSION: "26.3"
      MEMORY: "6G"            # both Xms and Xmx
      STOP_DURATION: "120"    # how long to wait for the world to save on stop
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    stop_grace_period: 2m     # no shorter than STOP_DURATION
    restart: unless-stopped

1. 1

   Start it

   docker compose up -d — the image downloads Paper and creates the world and server files in ./data.

2. 2

   Watch the log

   docker compose logs -f mc — the server is ready when it prints Done.

3. 3

   Configure it

   server.properties, Paper's configs and the plugins folder are in ./data, as on a regular server. After editing, run docker compose restart mc.

Java and image tags#

Memory and container limits#

MEMORY sets the Java heap. If you limit the container's memory (mem_limit or an orchestrator's limits), the limit must be larger than the heap: the image's docs remind you that Java uses memory beyond it. Without an explicit MEMORY the JVM takes 25% of the container limit for the heap. How to size it: how much RAM a server needs.

Commands and the console#

Why the RCON port must stay off the internet: RCON. The compose file above publishes only the game port 25565.

Stopping without losing progress#

When the container is told to stop, the image's wrapper sends the server stop and waits for it to save the world — 60 seconds by default, STOP_DURATION changes that. But Docker itself waits only so long before killing the process. That's why stop_grace_period in compose (or docker stop -t) must be no shorter than STOP_DURATION. Exit code 137 means Docker didn't wait long enough — raise both values.

Plugins and the anticheat#

Plugins go into ./data/plugins, followed by a container restart: a plugin added while running won't load until then. The image can also download plugins from a list — from Spigot through SPIGET_RESOURCES, for example. Picking and installing plugins: how to install a plugin.

DGuard — the best anticheat for a modern Minecraft server — goes into the container the same way: the latest PacketEvents release and DGuard.jar in ./data/plugins, the key from the panel in ./data/plugins/DGuard/config.yml, then docker compose restart mc. The container needs outbound HTTPS to DGuard's site: that's where the cloud check with the AI Combat neural network runs.

FAQ#