Quickstart

The following starts a Bedrock Dedicated Server running a default version and exposing the default UDP port:

docker run -d -it -e EULA=TRUE -p 19132:19132/udp -v mc-bedrock-data:/data itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server

NOTE: if you plan on running a server for a longer amount of time it is highly recommended using a management layer such as Docker Compose or Kubernetes to allow for incremental reconfiguration and image upgrades.

Upgrading to the latest Bedrock server version

With the VERSION variable set to "LATEST", which is the default, then the Bedrock server can be upgraded by restarting the container. At every startup, the container checks for the latest version and upgrades, if needed.

The latest preview version can be requested by setting VERSION to "PREVIEW".

Looking for a Java Edition Server

For Minecraft Java Edition you'll need to use this image instead:

itzg/minecraft-server

Environment Variables

Container Specific

• EULA (no default) : must be set to TRUE to accept the Minecraft End User License Agreement
• VERSION (LATEST) : can be set to a specific server version or the following special values can be used:
  • LATEST : determines the latest (non-preview) version and can be used to auto-upgrade on container start
  • PREVIEW : determines the latest preview version and will auto-upgrade
  • PREVIOUS : uses the previously maintained major version. Useful when the mobile app is gradually being upgraded across devices
  • 1.11 : the latest version of 1.11
  • 1.12 : the latest version of 1.12
  • 1.13 : the latest version of 1.13
  • 1.14 : the latest version of 1.14
  • 1.16 : the latest version of 1.16
  • otherwise any specific server version can be provided. If it is a preview version, also set PREVIEW to "true"
• UID (default derived from /data owner) : can be set to a specific user ID to run the bedrock server process
• GID (default derived from /data owner) : can be set to a specific group ID to run the bedrock server process
• PACKAGE_BACKUP_KEEP (2) : how many package backups to keep

Server Properties

The following environment variables will set the equivalent property in server.properties, where each is described here.

• SERVER_NAME
• SERVER_PORT
• SERVER_PORT_V6
• GAMEMODE
• DIFFICULTY
• LEVEL_TYPE
• ALLOW_CHEATS
• MAX_PLAYERS
• ONLINE_MODE
• WHITE_LIST
• VIEW_DISTANCE
• TICK_DISTANCE
• PLAYER_IDLE_TIMEOUT
• MAX_THREADS
• LEVEL_NAME
• LEVEL_SEED
• DEFAULT_PLAYER_PERMISSION_LEVEL
• TEXTUREPACK_REQUIRED
• SERVER_AUTHORITATIVE_MOVEMENT
• PLAYER_MOVEMENT_SCORE_THRESHOLD
• PLAYER_MOVEMENT_DISTANCE_THRESHOLD
• PLAYER_MOVEMENT_DURATION_THRESHOLD_IN_MS
• CORRECT_PLAYER_MOVEMENT
• CONTENT_LOG_TO_CONSOLE
• CONTENT_LOG_LEVEL

For example, to configure a flat, creative server instead of the default use:

docker run -d -it --name bds-flat-creative \
  -e EULA=TRUE -e LEVEL_TYPE=flat -e GAMEMODE=creative \
  -p 19132:19132/udp itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server

Exposed Ports

• UDP 19132 : the Bedrock server port. NOTE that you must append /udp when exposing the port, such as -p 19132:19132/udp

Volumes

• /data : the location where the downloaded server is expanded and ran. Also contains the configuration properties file server.properties

You can create a named volume and use it as:

docker volume create mc-volume
docker run -d -it --name mc-server -e EULA=TRUE -p 19132:19132/udp -v mc-volume:/data itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server

If you're using a named volume and want the bedrock process to run as a non-root user then you will need to pre-create the volume and chown it to the desired user.

For example, if you want the bedrock server to run with user ID 1000 and group ID 1000, then create and chown the volume named "bedrock" using:

docker run --rm -v bedrock:/data alpine chown 1000:1000 /data

If using docker run then simply reference that volume "bedrock" in the -v argument. If using a compose file, declare the volume as an external using this type of declaration:

volumes:
  bedrock:
    external:
      name: bedrock

Connecting

When running the container on your LAN, you can find and connect to the dedicated server in the "LAN Games" part of the "Friends" tab, such as:

Permissions

The Bedrock Dedicated Server requires permissions be defined with XUIDs. There are various tools to look these up online and they are also printed to the log when a player joins. There are 3 levels of permissions and 3 options to configure each group:

• OPS is used to define operators on the server.

-e OPS "1234567890,0987654321"

• MEMBERS is used to define the members on the server.

-e MEMBERS "1234567890,0987654321"

• VISITORS is used to define visitors on the server.

-e VISITORS "1234567890,0987654321"

Whitelist

There are two ways to handle a whitelist. The first is to set the WHITE_LIST environment variable to true and map in a whitelist.json that is custom-crafted to the container. The other is to use the WHITE_LIST_USERS environment variable to list users that should be whitelisted. This list is player names. The server will look up the names and add in the XUID to match the player.

-e WHITE_LIST_USERS="player1,player2,player3"

Starting with 1.16.230.50, ALLOW_LIST, ALLOW_LIST_USERS, and the file allowlist.json will be used instead.

Mods Addons

Also known as behavior or resource packs, in order to add mods into your server you can follow these steps, tested with OPS (One Player Sleep) and bedrocktweaks

1. Install the mcpack or mcaddon on the client side first, just to make it easier to copy the files to the server, for Windows 10 files should be located on C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_*\LocalState\games\com.mojang.
2. Copy over the folders of the mods from either behavior_packs or resource_packs into the server's volume.

If you want to install them without using a client you should be able to unzip the mods directly into the server's volume, .mcaddon should go into behavior_packs and .mcpack into resource_packs. Both .mcaddon and .mcpack are actually renamed .zip files.

3. On the server's volume we will need to edit valid_known_packs.json, you can just copy and paste the definition of another pack and replace path, uuid and version with the mod being installed, uuid and version can be found on the mod behavior or resource _packs/mod/manifest.json, path is the path to the mod's folder.

	{
		"file_system" : "RawPath",
		"path" : "behavior_packs/Foxy'sOneP",
		"uuid" : "5f51f7b7-85dc-44da-a3ef-a48d8414e4d5",
		"version" : "3.0.0"
	}

4. Lastly create on the server's volume worlds/$level-name/world_behavior_packs.json, you'll need to add an entry for each mod like on the previous manifest.json, we only need the uuid now called pack_id and the version replacing dots with commas and double quotes with [ ].

You can also create a worlds/$level-name/world_resource_packs.json but I have seen that putting both resource and behavior packs inside the same json works just fine

[
	{
		"pack_id" : "5f51f7b7-85dc-44da-a3ef-a48d8414e4d5",
		"version" : [ 3, 0, 0 ]
	}
]

5. Restart the server and the mods should be enabled now! when connecting you will get a prompt asking if you want to "Download & Join" or just "Join", You need to Download & Join if you want to actually see the new resource pack added to the server. This prompt is exclusive to resource packs as these alter how minecraft looks while behavior packs alter how minecraft functions and don't need to be downloaded or installed on the client side.

If you want to force the resource pack on all clients, there's an option texturepack-required=false in server.properties that should be changed to true. Resource packs can be deleted by going into Settings > Storage > Cached Data, then selecting the pack and clicking on the trash can.

For more information FoxyNoTail did a video explaining the same on a server running on Windows.

More information

For more information about managing Bedrock Dedicated Servers in general, check out this Reddit post.

Executing server commands

This image comes bundled with a script called send-command that will send a Bedrock command and argument to the Bedrock server console. The output of the command only be visible in the container logs.

For example:

docker exec CONTAINER_NAME_OR_ID send-command gamerule dofiretick false

Alternatively, with stdin and tty enabled (such as using -it), attach to the container's console by its name or ID using:

docker attach CONTAINER_NAME_OR_ID

While attached, you can execute any server-side commands, such as op'ing your player to be admin:

gamerule dofiretick false

When finished, detach from the server console using Ctrl-p, Ctrl-q

Deploying with Docker Compose

The examples directory contains an example Docker compose file that declares:

• a service running the bedrock server container and exposing UDP port 19132
• a volume to be attached to the service

The service configuration includes some examples of configuring the server properties via environment variables:

environment:
  EULA: "TRUE"
  GAMEMODE: survival
  DIFFICULTY: normal

From with in the examples directory, you can deploy the composition by using:

docker-compose up -d

You can follow the logs using:

docker-compose logs -f bds

Deploying with Kubernetes

The examples directory contains an example Kubernetes manifest file that declares:

• a peristent volume claim (using default storage class)
• a pod deployment that uses the declared PVC
• a service of type LoadBalancer

The pod deployment includes some examples of configuring the server properties via environment variables:

env:
- name: EULA
  value: "TRUE"
- name: GAMEMODE
  value: survival
- name: DIFFICULTY
  value: normal

The file is deploy-able as-is on most clusters, but has been confirmed on Docker for Desktop and Google Kubernetes Engine:

kubectl apply -f examples/kubernetes.yml

You can follow the logs of the deployment using:

kubectl logs -f deployment/bds

Community Solutions

• kaiede/minecraft-bedrock-backup image by @Kaiede
• ghcr.io/edward3h/mc-webhook by @edward3h
• Minecraft Bedrock Server Bridge by @macchie

Tutorials

@TheTinkerDad provides an excellent tutorial on how to host multiple instances on a single port (19132) so that it's discoverable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds0_ESzjbfs