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Minecraft (Java) Server in Docker on a Synology NAS

Please note if you are using DSM7.2 or higher you should use the Container Manager version of this guide from the menu.
This guide has reached the end of its updates as most people are now on the latest DSM update - This guide is correct as of 08/12/2023 however no further updates will be added.
UpdateDate
Added a note in relation to enabling the RCON port and if you expose it to the internet you MUST change the default password.22/04/2023
Historic updates now at the end of the guide.

In this guide I am going to take you through the steps to get a Minecraft JAVA server up and running in Docker on a Synology NAS. If you are looking to host a server for a Console or Mobile you will want to see my Bedrock edition guide.

The fantastic documentation on how to use the server once it is running can be found here

https://docker-minecraft-server.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Let’s Begin

In order for you to successfully use this guide please complete the setting up a docker user guide, or have your ID details to hand.

Step 2: Setting up a restricted Docker user
Step 3: Setting Up a Docker Bridge Network

Downloading the Container

Open up Docker within DSM and navigate to the ‘Registry’ tab and search for ITZG in the keyword box.

Within the results right click and download the ‘ITZG|Minecraft-Server’, When it asks which version number to download select the one that you require based on the table below

Minecraft VersionTag to Select
v1.18x and upLatest or JAVA17
v1.17xJAVA16
v1.16 and belowJAVA15

Setting up the container

Now we have downloaded the container and got hold of our user IDs we can move onto the next stage.

Go back into Docker and click on the ‘Image’ tab, in the list of your containers select the ITZG Minecraft server, and click on ‘Launch’

You will be greeted with the Network screen, we will be using the ‘synobridge’ network we created earlier select it from the list and click Next.

Next you will be greeted with the General Settings screen, this is where you can start specifying some of your preferences.

Minecraft can be fairly CPU heavy so if you are running the server on a lower specification Synology box you will probably want to set limits around the CPU priority or Memory Limit. This will ensure DSM is still usable when the server is running.

You can change the name of the container to anything you like, and you may want to enable Auto Restart as this will ensure the server starts automatically if you reboot your NAS.

Next up we are going to click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ button, this will take you to a new window with a number of tabs which we are going to work through.

Environment Variables – GID, UID, Server Type and EULA

We are now going to set up the specific options for the server including what type of server you would like to run and even a specific version.

Each of the values below are added by clicking the ‘Add’ button at the top of the screen and then entering each of the values below

Please note if you decide to enable the RCON Port please change the default password especially if you open your server up to the Internet! See the GitHub for more details.

variableValueComment
UIDThis will be prefilled with 1000 change it to the UID you obtained earlier
GIDThis will be prefilled with 1000 change it to the GID you obtained earlier
EULATRUEThis accepts the Minecraft EULA, without this the server will not run
TYPESPIGOTYou can change this as per the list below
VERSIONLATESTYou can change this to any a specific version if you want e.g 1.13
JVM_XX_OPTS-XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+DisableExplicitGC -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15These variables are used to increase the performance of the server – Copy and paste this exactly
MAX_MEMORY2GAmend the number to the amount of memory you want to allocate to the server this will depend on your system or server type you are running

Server Types

  • VANILLA
  • BUKKIT
  • SPIGOT
  • PAPER
  • TUINITY
  • MAGMA
  • MOHIST
  • CATSERVER
  • SPONGEVANILLA
  • FABRIC

See the full list here

You do not need to set up anything on these tabs.

Press ‘Save’ to go back to the initial setup screen, then press ‘Next’

Port Settings

You will now see the Port Settings screen. You will need to type in the ‘Local Port’ to match the ‘Container Port’ shown on the right-hand side this will avoid the container being assigned random ports when it is started. When set press Next.

As per the earlier note if you decide to enable RCON you will need to add its port mapping here.

Volume Settings

We can now specify the directory where Minecraft will store its configuration files.

Click on Add Folder, click on the docker folder and create a new sub-folder called ‘minecraft’ select this folder and click ‘select’

Now we need to specify where this folder will be mounted inside the container. As per the screenshot/table below, enter /data into the ‘Mount path’.

File/FolderMount path
docker/minecraft/data

Click on Next and you will be taken to an overall summary screen, just do a quick sanity check to make sure the options are correct. If you want to launch the server immediately check the box and click on Done.

Server startup time

The first time the server launches it may take a few minutes for the server files to download and the world to be generated. You can track the progress by going into the ‘Containers’ tab and clicking on details for the Minecraft container, then either viewing the terminal or log tabs.

All other server settings can be configured using the standard Minecraft server.properties file, I won’t be covering that here as there are extensive other guides out there.


Update HistoryDate
Added Docker Compose details03/05/2021
Updated to show which version of the image to download09/06/2021
Cleaned up the Environment Variables section and included some new JAVA optimisations24/11/2021
Screenshots update to DSM7 and tweaked the guide wording22/01/2022
DSM7.1 Update with new screenshots and steps24/05/2022
Added new port settings and Docker Bridge Network23/07/2022
Fixed the missing port settings section!16/11/2022
Removed port 25575 (RCON) as could pose a security issue if exposed to the internet – You can add manually if required12/03/2023
Compose version number removed 3.x not required, and some minor wording amendments.08/04/2023
Amended the path to save the compose file – this is for security, so the container has no access to the file contents.14/04/2023
Update History

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Published inGaming 7.1

109 Comments

  1. Jacob Snow Jacob Snow

    How do i connect my client to it? I followed the instructions and it looks like the container is running fine: i an not sure how to connect to it though? I have tried putting in minecraft..xxxx.synology.me

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      In Minecraft > Multiplayer > Add Server then add either your NAS IP if you are Playing Locally or if you set up the proxy and opened the port on your router to your NAS the address should work.

  2. Lee Lee

    The “CURSEFORGE” type is failing asking for an FTB_SERVER_MOD to be set. Any ideas what this should be?

  3. Tom Tom

    Does this work with Container Manager of DSM 7.2? I tried following the setup (it was slightly different) but thought I had everything, but it fails to run.

  4. Monny Monny

    Thank you for another great guide! I was able to get my server up and running and can join from my network, however friends were unable to join. I followed the advice of a previous comment and setup a DDNS and reverse proxy but that didn’t seem to work either, I must have made a mistake along the way of doing that. Any ideas?

    DDNS setup:
    Hostname: NAME.synology.me
    External address: NAS IP

    reverse proxy setup:
    Source: minecraft.NAME.synology.me:443
    Destination: NAS IP:25565

    • Dr_Frankenstein Dr_Frankenstein

      Hey so you can’t directly proxy through HTTP – so you can use the same address, but you will need to port forward 25565 direct to 25565 on your NAS.

      The clients can use your minecraft.you.synology.me address (no port in the address needed) and as they know to use the default it’s seamless for your users.

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