RDP.sh - How to Host a Minecraft Server on a VPS (Paper, Systemd, and Backups)

Running a Minecraft server on a VPS gives you 24/7 uptime, stable IP, and far more performance headroom than a home PC or a shared game panel. This guide walks through a clean setup that survives reboots, restarts itself on crashes, and backs up your world automatically.

We'll use Paper, the performance-focused Minecraft: Java Edition server software. It's fully Vanilla-compatible but handles chunk loading, redstone, and entity ticking far more efficiently than the official JAR.

Before you start, decide on your Minecraft version. Plugins and data packs often lag behind the very latest release. Check that your must-have plugins support the version you pick.

TL;DR

Install Java 21 on a fresh Ubuntu VPS
Create a dedicated minecraft user
Download the latest Paper JAR and accept the EULA
Run the server under systemd so it restarts on boot and crashes
Allow inbound TCP 25565 on the firewall
Schedule daily world backups with cron

Total time: roughly 20 minutes.

What You Need

A Linux VPS with at least 4 GB RAM (8 GB for 10+ players or heavy modpacks) running Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04
Root or sudo access
A domain or subdomain if you want a friendly connect address like play.example.com

Modern Minecraft is memory-hungry. A 1 GB box technically runs it but will stutter the moment someone loads new chunks.

Step 1: Install Java 21

Minecraft 1.20.5 and newer require Java 21. Install the Temurin JDK:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wget apt-transport-https gpg

wget -qO - https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/api/gpg/key/public \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/adoptium.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/adoptium.gpg] \
  https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/deb \
  $(awk -F= '/^VERSION_CODENAME/{print $2}' /etc/os-release) main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/adoptium.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y temurin-21-jre
java -version

You should see openjdk version "21.0.x". If you're running an older modpack stuck on 1.16.5, install temurin-8-jre instead.

Step 2: Create a Dedicated User

Never run game servers as root. Create a system user with its own home directory:

sudo adduser --system --group --home /opt/minecraft minecraft

All files and the process itself will live under this user.

Step 3: Download the Paper Server

Switch to the new user and grab the latest Paper build for your target version:

sudo -u minecraft -H bash -lc '
  cd /opt/minecraft
  MC_VERSION="1.21.4"
  BUILD=$(curl -s "https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/$MC_VERSION/builds" \
    | grep -o "\"build\":[0-9]*" | tail -1 | cut -d: -f2)
  curl -o server.jar -L \
    "https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/$MC_VERSION/builds/$BUILD/downloads/paper-$MC_VERSION-$BUILD.jar"
'

Check the file landed:

ls -lh /opt/minecraft/server.jar

Step 4: Accept the EULA and First Boot

Paper requires you to accept Mojang's EULA before it starts. Create the file and do a first boot to generate defaults:

sudo -u minecraft -H bash -lc '
  cd /opt/minecraft
  echo "eula=true" > eula.txt
  java -Xms2G -Xmx2G -jar server.jar nogui
'

The server boots, generates the world, then shuts down when you Ctrl+C. Expect this first run to take a minute or two. server.properties now exists and can be edited.

Common server.properties tweaks:

motd=My VPS-hosted Paper server
max-players=20
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=8
online-mode=true
difficulty=normal
white-list=true

Keep online-mode=true unless you know exactly why you're turning it off. Cracked servers get griefed within hours.

Step 5: Tune JVM Memory

A rule of thumb: leave 1-2 GB for the OS, give the rest to the server. On an 8 GB VPS, allocate 6 GB:

-Xms6G -Xmx6G

Matching -Xms and -Xmx prevents the GC from resizing the heap during play. You'll wire these flags into the systemd unit in the next step.

The community-tested Aikar flags improve GC behavior on most servers:

-XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+DisableExplicitGC \
-XX:+AlwaysPreTouch -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 \
-XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 \
-XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 \
-XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 \
-XX:SurvivorRatio=32 -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 \
-Dusing.aikars.flags=https://mcflags.emc.gs -Daikars.new.flags=true

Step 6: Wire Up systemd

Create /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service:

[Unit]
Description=Paper Minecraft Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=minecraft
Group=minecraft
WorkingDirectory=/opt/minecraft
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java \
  -Xms6G -Xmx6G \
  -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
  -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions \
  -XX:+DisableExplicitGC -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch \
  -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 \
  -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 \
  -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 \
  -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 \
  -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 \
  -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 \
  -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem \
  -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 \
  -jar server.jar nogui
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10s
SuccessExitStatus=0 1

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now minecraft
sudo systemctl status minecraft

Tail the log live:

sudo journalctl -u minecraft -f

You should see the familiar Done (x.xxxs)! For help, type "help" line. The server now starts on boot and restarts on crashes.

Step 7: Open the Firewall

Minecraft uses TCP 25565. If you're running UFW:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Verify from another machine:

nc -zv your-vps-ip 25565

Or just try connecting from the Minecraft client.

If your provider has its own edge firewall or security group, open 25565 there too. Provider firewalls override anything set inside the VPS.

Step 8: Send Commands to the Running Server

systemd runs the JVM in the background, which means you lose the interactive console. The cleanest workaround is to install mcrcon and use RCON.

Enable RCON in server.properties:

enable-rcon=true
rcon.password=a-strong-password
rcon.port=25575

Restart the server, then run commands from the host:

mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p 'a-strong-password' 'say Hello from the VPS'

Never expose RCON publicly. Keep it bound to 127.0.0.1 and block 25575 at the firewall.

Step 9: Automate World Backups

Create /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

SERVER_DIR="/opt/minecraft"
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/minecraft"
DATE="$(date +%F_%H%M)"
RCON="mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p a-strong-password"

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

$RCON "save-off" "save-all flush" || true
sleep 2

tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/world-$DATE.tar.gz" \
  -C "$SERVER_DIR" world world_nether world_the_end

$RCON "save-on" || true

find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "world-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

Schedule a daily snapshot at 04:00:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh
echo "0 4 * * * root /usr/local/bin/minecraft-backup.sh" | \
  sudo tee /etc/cron.d/minecraft-backup

For off-site safety, sync /var/backups/minecraft to S3, Backblaze B2, or another VPS with rclone on the same schedule.

Step 10: Friendly Connect Address (Optional)

Point a subdomain at your VPS so players don't have to remember an IP:

play.example.com  A  YOUR_VPS_IPV4

If you want to hide the port, add an SRV record:

_minecraft._tcp.play  SRV  0 5 25565 play.example.com.

Players can then connect to play.example.com even if you later switch to a non-default port.

Performance Tips

View distance matters more than RAM. Drop view-distance from 10 to 8 and TPS usually jumps.
Pre-generate your world with a plugin like Chunky to avoid lag spikes when new chunks are loaded.
Watch your TPS with the /tps or /mspt command. Anything consistently under 19 means something is bottlenecked.
Don't overcommit RAM. Giving the JVM 90% of the VPS memory starves the OS and makes everything worse.

Hardening Checklist

Paper is running as a non-root user ✓
RCON bound to localhost only ✓
SSH key-only logins, no password auth
Fail2ban watching SSH
Scheduled off-site backups
Plugins downloaded only from Modrinth, Hangar, or SpigotMC - never random forum mirrors

If you also want to keep the SSH side tight, our Tailscale guide shows how to put admin access behind a private network while leaving the game port open.

Troubleshooting

Server won't start, "Unsupported class file major version" - Java version mismatch. Modern Minecraft needs Java 21.

"Failed to bind to port" - Another process already owns 25565. Find it with sudo ss -tlnp | grep 25565 and stop it, or change the port.

High CPU at idle - usually a runaway spawner or ticking entity. Install Spark and profile a tick.

Clients see "Outdated server/client" - the Minecraft version on the server doesn't match the client. Upgrade Paper or tell players to switch profiles.

Wrapping Up

A VPS-hosted Paper server, managed with systemd and backed up nightly, will outlast any home-rig setup and cost a fraction of a managed game panel. You keep full SSH access, can install any plugin, and move everything to a bigger box in minutes if your community grows.

Our Linux VPS plans are a good fit for game servers - low-latency networks, NVMe storage, and generous RAM on the larger tiers. See the options.