Self-hosted game server guides: Minecraft, Palworld, Valheim, modded & dedicated servers.
28 posts
Move a Hytale server from a bare systemd unit into Docker behind a web panel — container layout, UDP ports, console access, and keeping systemd as a fallback.
Tail a game server log, match crash and freeze patterns, ping a Discord webhook. Includes the noise-control rules that stop it becoming a channel nobody reads.
Scrape node_exporter across a WireGuard tunnel so no metrics port is public — plus the pps/bps alert that tells you a DDoS from a player spike.
Install a CS2 dedicated server on Ubuntu/Debian with SteamCMD, get a GSLT, set the right ports and cvars, add Metamod/CounterStrikeSharp, and run it under systemd.
Keep a Hytale dedicated server alive — clean nightly world backups with tar + restic, a scheduled daily restart via systemd timer, and crash recovery.
Set up a Factorio headless dedicated server on Ubuntu/Debian — download the official tarball, server-settings.json, port 34197 UDP, mods, RCON and a systemd unit.
Install a Rust dedicated server on Ubuntu/Debian with SteamCMD, set the server.* cvars, open the right ports, add Oxide/uMod plugins, and run it under systemd.
Install and run a 7 Days to Die dedicated server on Ubuntu/Debian with SteamCMD, serverconfig.xml, ufw ports, EAC notes and a systemd unit.
Run a Project Zomboid dedicated server on Ubuntu/Debian via SteamCMD. Configs, mods load order, memory, ports, systemd, and the gotchas that corrupt saves.
Self-host a Terraria dedicated server on Ubuntu with TShock 5.x — dotnet runtime, config.json, REST API, systemd, ufw, and world backups.
Pterodactyl is in maintenance mode. Pelican Panel is the fork that's actually moving. Install on Ubuntu 24.04 + first gameserver in 20 min.
Run a Minecraft, Valheim or Palworld server only your friends can reach. Tailscale mesh, MagicDNS, no DDoS surface, no router config.