---
title: "Deploy Minecraft Server (Paper)"
description: "Paper Minecraft server with the world on a volume and a ready address"
category: "Other"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/minecraft-server-p-1
---

# Deploy Minecraft Server (Paper)

Paper Minecraft server with the world on a volume and a ready address

**[Deploy Minecraft Server (Paper) on Railway](https://railway.com/template/minecraft-server-p-1)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/minecraft-server-p-1/manifest.json

- **Creator:** Dektion Studio
- **Category:** Other
- **Total deploys:** 1

## Template content

### minecraft https://assets.papermc.io/brand/papermc_logo.512.png

- **Image:** itzg/minecraft-server:stable

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Minecraft Server (Paper) on Railway

This template runs a Minecraft Java server on [Paper](https://papermc.io), using [itzg/minecraft-server](https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-server), a Docker image with over 400 million pulls. The world is stored on a Railway volume, and the address your friends type into Minecraft is ready in the Variables tab.

I made it because the Minecraft templates on Railway are old or unreliable: 30 of them share a few hundred deploys a quarter, the busiest has a health score of 73, and several others are below 35. This one tracks the itzg image's `stable` tag, so new Minecraft and Paper versions work without a template update.

## About Hosting Minecraft Server (Paper)

The deploy form asks for one thing: type `TRUE` in `EULA` to accept the [Minecraft EULA](https://aka.ms/MinecraftEULA). The server doesn't start without it.

When the deploy is done, copy `SERVER_ADDRESS` from the Variables tab of the `minecraft` service (it looks like `something.proxy.rlwy.net:12345`). In Minecraft, open Multiplayer, Add Server, and paste it.

In my test the first boot took 26 seconds, including downloading Paper and generating a new world. After a redeploy it came back in 8 seconds and loaded the same world from the volume. A Server List Ping (what the Multiplayer screen sends) answered in about half a second with the version and player count.

An empty server used 0.86 GB of RAM in my test, which is about $9 a month at Railway's RAM price. The heap starts at 512 MB and grows up to `MAX_MEMORY` (2 GB by default) as players load chunks, so the bill follows how much the server is used.

## Common Use Cases

- A private survival world for a group of friends, with `ENABLE_WHITELIST` and `WHITELIST` to keep strangers out
- A modded or Fabric server: set `TYPE` to `FABRIC` or `FORGE` and add mods through itzg's `MODRINTH_PROJECTS` variable

## Dependencies for Minecraft Server (Paper) Hosting

A Minecraft Java Edition account for every player. Bedrock (phones and consoles) needs UDP, which Railway's TCP proxy doesn't carry.

### Deployment Dependencies

- Image: `itzg/minecraft-server:stable` (https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-server)
- Paper: https://papermc.io
- All server options: https://docker-minecraft-server.readthedocs.io

### Implementation Details

Set `OPS` to your Minecraft username to become an operator on first start. For console commands, open a shell with `railway ssh` from the Railway CLI and run `rcon-cli`, for example `rcon-cli whitelist add Steve`. RCON's password is generated for you, and its port isn't exposed to the internet.

Change `VERSION` to pin a Minecraft version such as `1.21.8`. `LATEST` follows new releases, which can break plugins the day a new version comes out.

The trial plan caps a service at 1 GB of RAM. On the trial, set `MAX_MEMORY` to `700M` or the server gets killed when the heap grows. On the Hobby plan the 2 GB default works for a handful of players.

Railway's TCP proxy gives a random port, so the address isn't a plain domain you can hand out. If you want `play.yourdomain.com`, add an SRV record at your DNS provider that points to the proxy host and port.

## Why Deploy Minecraft Server (Paper) on Railway?

There's no machine to keep on at home and no router ports to open. The world is on a volume that survives redeploys, and you pay for the RAM the server uses instead of a fixed plan.


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