Getting Started

Let's create a simple server as an example.

Creating a new server

Create a new folder for your server (or initialize a git repository), open up a terminal inside and run:

mcman init

This command will interactively help you set up a new server in the current directory.

Using git

mcman is fully git-compatible, meaning you can store, share and version control your server using a git repository provider such as Github.

This is optional, but recommended since you get many benefits such as rollbacks/backups, collaboration, branches, etc.

When you run init, mcman will touch up your .gitignore and .gitattributes

Initializing from a modpack

You can check out the Importing Modpacks section on how to initialize from a modpack.

What are these files?

After initializing the server, you'll notice a few things:

server.toml

This file is the core of your server configuration. It contains information about the server type, version, mods, plugins, worlds and more.

the config/ directory

This folder will hold your config files for your Minecraft server, such as server.properties

the server/ directory

You might not see this folder immediately after initialization since it will be generated by mcman when you build the server. Everything, including the jar files, will be inside this directory.

If you are using git, you might notice that this folder is also ignored via .gitignore.

Adding Addons

Lets add a plugin or a mod! For demonstration purposes, lets add Fabric API from Modrinth (mod) or Placeholder API (plugin).

A: Adding via server.toml

Add a new entry in your server.toml:

# For Fabric API
[[mods]]
type = "modrinth"
id = "fabric-api"

# For Placeholder API
[[mods]]
type = "spigot"
id = "placeholderapi.6245"

B: Adding via mcman import

You can alternatively use the mcman i url command:

mcman import url https://modrinth.com/mod/fabric-api
mcman import url https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/placeholderapi.6245/

How do I run it?

mcman is not designed to run your server, but build it.

Building is the process where mcman sets everything up for you. This includes downloading all the jars, unpacking worlds, processing config files etc. Before you can run the server, it first needs to be built.

Let's build your server using the mcman build command:

mcman build

Then, you can run it using the start.bat/start.sh launch scripts inside the server/ directory:

WindowsLinux

cd server
call start

cd server
./start.sh

You can alternatively use mcman run to do both of those at once.

Going Further

Format for addons

You can check out the documentation about Downloadables

Configuration files and the config/ directory

Read on how the config/ directory works and how you can use it to manage your server's configuration files with ease: Variables and Bootstrapping

Developing your server

mcman includes a Hot-reloading feature where your changes to server.toml/config/ are automatically applied. For more information, read Development Sessions

More in-depth explanation of Building

To learn more about how building works, see Building, Running and Developing