Choose your server setup

This section is for the person running the Minecraft server or its Admincraft bridge. If that infrastructure already exists and you only need to use the app, start with Install Admincraft instead.

Admincraft is built around itzg's Minecraft containers, which is where it does the most: a live console, world controls and start, stop, and restart buttons, on Bedrock and Java alike. It also speaks plain RCON, so an existing Java server can be managed without changing anything about how it runs.

Two arrangements are therefore possible, and the difference matters enough to choose deliberately.

Through the bridge. A small companion container, Admincraft WebSocket, runs beside Minecraft. It reads the container console and talks to Java RCON on the private Docker network. This is the full experience and the only one that works in a browser.

Direct RCON. Admincraft connects straight to a Java server's RCON port. Nothing extra to install, and it works with any Java server, containerised or not. In exchange there is no live console and no restart, and RCON has no encryption at all.

What each setup gives you

	itzg Bedrock + bridge	itzg Java + bridge	Any Java, direct RCON
Send commands	✅	✅	✅
Live server console	✅	✅	❌ RCON cannot stream it
Time, weather, game rules	✅	✅	✅ on refresh
Player list	✅ live	✅ live	✅ on refresh
Start, stop, or restart the server	✅	✅	❌ no container control
Works in the browser	✅	✅	❌ no raw sockets
Can be encrypted without a VPN	✅ TLS	✅ TLS	❌ never
Extra container needed	yes	yes	no
Docker needed	yes	yes	no

The two "on refresh" cells are the practical difference: through the bridge the app watches the log and notices things happening, while over RCON it only knows what it last asked.

Fastest way in

If you have a machine with Docker and want a server running now, one script does the whole thing: it writes a compose file, generates the secrets, starts Minecraft and the bridge, and prints what to type into Admincraft.

curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/joanroig/admincraft/main/docs/server/quickstart.sh
bash quickstart.sh

Downloaded first rather than piped straight into a shell, so you can read what it does before it runs. Pass --edition java to skip the prompt. It refuses to touch an existing docker-compose.yml.

Already running a Minecraft container? Add the bridge without editing anything you have, by layering one file on top:

curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/joanroig/admincraft/main/docs/server/docker-compose.admincraft.yml
# set SECRET_KEY, and SERVER_TYPE plus the RCON values for Java
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.admincraft.yml up -d

Only the new container starts; Minecraft keeps running. The existing server guide explains the fields.

Pick your route

Where you are	Start here
A machine with Docker	The quick start script above
No server and no machine	Bedrock server on Oracle's free tier — a whole server, from an empty cloud account to a working world, at no cost
No server yet, and you want Java	Set up a Java Edition server
Already running itzg containers	Add Admincraft to an existing server — no need to recreate anything
A Java server that is not containerised	Connect over direct RCON
A bridge already configured	Install Admincraft, then add the profile
A profile exported elsewhere	Import it

What we recommend

For a personal server: Minecraft and the bridge in Docker together, Tailscale joining the server to your devices, Private network selected in Admincraft, and the bridge port closed to the internet. Nothing is exposed publicly and there are no certificates to manage.

If you would rather not install Tailscale on every device, Tailscale Funnel publishes the bridge on a hostname with a certificate that renews itself, which is also the only arrangement the browser build can use over the internet.