How to Self-Host a Minecraft Server (Paper) on Proxmox LXC

Prerequisites

• Proxmox VE 7+ installed and accessible via web UI
• A Debian 12 (Bookworm) LXC template downloaded in Proxmox
• Java 21 (we'll install Eclipse Temurin 21 in step 3)
• Basic Linux command-line knowledge
• Network access to port 25565 from player clients

1. Create the LXC Container

From the Proxmox shell (or SSH into your host), create a new container. Adjust the storage and ID as needed:

pct create 210 local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.2-1_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname minecraft \
  --cores 2 \
  --memory 4096 \
  --swap 1024 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:20 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1 \
  --start 1

This creates a container with 2 CPU cores, 4GB RAM, and 20GB disk. Minecraft benefits from multiple cores (GC runs on separate threads), and 4GB gives the JVM enough heap for a smooth experience with 10-20 players.

2. Install Java 21

Enter the container and install Eclipse Temurin 21 from the Adoptium apt repository:

pct enter 210
apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y wget apt-transport-https gpg

Add the Adoptium GPG key and repository:

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

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/adoptium.gpg] https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/deb bookworm main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/adoptium.list

apt update
apt install -y temurin-21-jdk

Verify the installation:

java -version
# Expected: openjdk version "21.x.x" ... Temurin

3. Download Paper

Paper is a high-performance fork of Spigot that includes significant optimizations and bug fixes. Download the latest Paper 1.21.4 build using the PaperMC API:

mkdir -p /opt/minecraft && cd /opt/minecraft

# Get the latest build number for 1.21.4
PAPER_BUILD=$(wget -qO - https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/1.21.4/builds | \
  grep -o '"build":[0-9]*' | tail -1 | cut -d: -f2)

# Download the jar
wget -O paper.jar \
  "https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/1.21.4/builds/${PAPER_BUILD}/downloads/paper-1.21.4-${PAPER_BUILD}.jar"

echo "Downloaded Paper 1.21.4 build ${PAPER_BUILD}"

4. First Run & EULA

Run the server once to generate the configuration files:

cd /opt/minecraft
java -jar paper.jar --nogui

The server will stop immediately and ask you to accept the Minecraft EULA. Open the generated eula.txt and set it to true:

sed -i 's/eula=false/eula=true/' /opt/minecraft/eula.txt

By changing this to true, you agree to the Minecraft End User License Agreement.

5. Configure server.properties

The first run generated server.properties. Edit it with the key settings:

cat > /opt/minecraft/server.properties << 'EOF'
# Minecraft Server Properties
server-port=25565
max-players=20
motd=A Paper Minecraft Server
view-distance=10
simulation-distance=8
online-mode=true
difficulty=normal
gamemode=survival
level-name=world
spawn-protection=0
max-tick-time=60000
enable-command-block=true
enforce-whitelist=false
white-list=false
EOF

Key settings:

• view-distance=10 — number of chunks sent to the client. Lower values reduce RAM and CPU usage
• simulation-distance=8 — how far from the player entities and redstone are ticked. Keep this at or below view-distance
• online-mode=true — verifies player accounts with Mojang. Set to false only if running behind a proxy like Velocity
• max-players — adjust based on your RAM. With 4GB heap, 20 players is comfortable

6. JVM Flags (Aikar's Flags)

Aikar's flags are the community-standard JVM tuning for Minecraft servers. They optimize the G1 garbage collector to reduce lag spikes:

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G \
  -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 \
  -jar paper.jar --nogui

Important: -Xms and -Xmx should be the same value. This pre-allocates the full heap and avoids resize pauses. With a 4GB container, use -Xms4G -Xmx4G (leave ~512MB for the OS if your container has 4.5GB+, but 4G/4G works in a 4GB container since the OS overhead in LXC is minimal).

7. Create a systemd Service

Create a systemd unit so the server starts on boot and restarts on crash:

cat > /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Paper Minecraft Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/opt/minecraft
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java \
  -Xms4G -Xmx4G \
  -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 \
  -jar paper.jar --nogui
ExecStop=/bin/kill -SIGINT $MAINPID
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
StandardInput=null

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable minecraft

8. Start and Connect

systemctl start minecraft
systemctl status minecraft

Watch the logs to confirm the server starts successfully:

journalctl -u minecraft -f

You should see output like Done (12.345s)! For help, type "help" once the server is ready. Open Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4, go to Multiplayer > Add Server, and enter your container's IP address. The default port is 25565 so you don't need to specify it.

9. Firewall Rules

If you're using Proxmox's built-in firewall or ufw, allow port 25565:

# On the Proxmox host (if using host firewall)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 25565 -j ACCEPT

# Or if using ufw inside the container
ufw allow 25565/tcp

If your server is behind a NAT router, forward port 25565 TCP to the container's IP address.

10. Backups

Your world files live in /opt/minecraft/world/ (with world_nether/ and world_the_end/ for other dimensions). Back these up regularly. A simple cron job:

mkdir -p /opt/minecraft/backups

crontab -e
# Add this line to back up every 6 hours:
0 */6 * * * tar czf /opt/minecraft/backups/world-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d-\%H\%M).tar.gz /opt/minecraft/world/ /opt/minecraft/world_nether/ /opt/minecraft/world_the_end/

Consider stopping the server briefly before backup to avoid corrupted chunks, or use Paper's built-in save-off/save-all commands via RCON.

11. Troubleshooting

• Wrong Java version: Paper 1.21.4 requires Java 21. Run java -version to verify. If you see Java 17 or lower, make sure Temurin 21 is installed and check update-alternatives --config java to select the correct version.
• EULA not accepted: The server will refuse to start and log You need to agree to the EULA. Verify /opt/minecraft/eula.txt contains eula=true (no spaces around the equals sign).
• Can't connect: Check the firewall, verify the container has network access (ping 8.8.8.8), and confirm the server is listening (ss -tlnp | grep 25565). Make sure your Minecraft client version matches the server version (1.21.4).
• Low TPS / lag spikes: Run /tps in-game or from console. If TPS is below 20, lower view-distance and simulation-distance in server.properties. Check /timings for detailed performance reports. Paper also has tuning options in config/paper-global.yml and config/paper-world-defaults.yml.
• Out of memory: If the server crashes with OOM errors, increase the container memory in Proxmox (pct set 210 --memory 6144) and update -Xms/-Xmx in the systemd unit.
• Server won't start after update: Check journalctl -u minecraft -e for errors. Plugin incompatibility is common after version upgrades. Remove plugins from /opt/minecraft/plugins/ one at a time to isolate the issue.

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