GuardCraft is a containerized Minecraft (Java) server that is designed to be secure and easy to use. It is built on top of the Java JRE Chainguard Image.
The GuardCraft server is designed to be secure and easy to use. It includes the following features:
- Minimal container image with low-to-zero CVEs
- Easy configuration with environment variables
- Easy setup with Docker Compose
Currently, Guardcraft is available only for Minecraft Java version.
This setup was validated on an Ubuntu 24.04 system.
To build the image, run:
docker build -t guardcraft-java .Use the following command to run the image in your local environment:
docker compose upYou should be able to see output with relevant information about the server setup:
[+] Running 1/1
✔ Container guardcraft-server-java-server-1 Recreated 0.1s
Attaching to java-server-1
java-server-1 | Setting difficulty=easy
java-server-1 | Setting gamemode=survival
java-server-1 | Setting level-name=GuardCraft
java-server-1 | Setting level-seed=-1718501946501227358
java-server-1 | Setting motd=Welcome to GuardCraft!
java-server-1 | Starting net.minecraft.server.Main
java-server-1 | [18:11:14] [ServerMain/INFO]: Environment: Environment[sessionHost=https://sessionserver.mojang.com, servicesHost=https://api.minecraftservices.com, name=PROD]
java-server-1 | [18:11:14] [ServerMain/INFO]: No existing world data, creating new world
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [ServerMain/INFO]: Loaded 1370 recipes
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [ServerMain/INFO]: Loaded 1481 advancements
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [Server thread/INFO]: Starting minecraft server version 1.21.4
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [Server thread/INFO]: Loading properties
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [Server thread/INFO]: Default game type: SURVIVAL
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [Server thread/INFO]: Generating keypair
java-server-1 | [18:11:15] [Server thread/INFO]: Starting Minecraft server on *:25565
...Once the server is up and running, you can connect to it using a Minecraft Java client on the same local network.
To connect to the server, you'll need to add a new server using the host machine's local IP address and port 25565 (the default port). You can also use the localhost address if you're running the server on the same machine as the client.
Find your local IP address on Linux systems:
ip -o route get to 8.8.8.8 | sed -n 's/.*src \([0-9.]\+\).*/\1/p'
When connecting, you should see details about your user on the server logs:
java-server-1 | [18:12:21] [Server thread/INFO]: Server empty for 60 seconds, pausing
java-server-1 | [18:14:29] [User Authenticator #1/INFO]: UUID of player boredcatmom is xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx
java-server-1 | [18:14:30] [Server thread/INFO]: boredcatmom[/192.168.178.167:37192] logged in with entity id 78 at (20.5, 66.0, 4.5)
java-server-1 | [18:14:30] [Server thread/INFO]: boredcatmom joined the game
The GuardCraft server can be configured using dynamic environment variables that get replaced in the server.properties file. Any properties can be configured with the following format: MC_<property_name>. Hyphens (-) should be replaced with underscores (_). For example, to set the server-port property, use the MC_server_port environment variable. The Minecraft wiki has a list of all available properties.
Included docker-compose.yaml file:
services:
java-server:
image: guardcraft-java
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- 25565:25565
environment:
# Server properties Set Up
# MC_* variables will be replaced in the server.properties file
# Hyphens must be replaced with underscores
MC_gamemode: "survival"
MC_difficulty: "easy"
MC_motd: "Welcome to GuardCraft!"
MC_level_name: "GuardCraft"
MC_level_seed: "-1718501946501227358"
# GuardCraft Custom Resource pack: Optional. Uncomment from here to enable
#MC_resource_pack: "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/guardcraft-server/releases/download/0.1.2/GuardCraft_Resource_Pack.zip"
#MC_resource_pack_sha1: "6102767c4dcd06ba10612b29ab15f5d1a58ce324"
#MC_resource_pack_id: "be26d8a0-6f82-4dcd-b286-6c5fc3a1e51f"
#MC_require_resource_pack: "false"This will set up a server in Survival mode, with Easy difficulty, and a Welcome to GuardCraft! message of the day. The server will be named GuardCraft and will use the specified seed to generate the world. You should spawn in an area with a village nearby.
To enable the custom GuardCraft Resource Pack, uncomment the last 4 lines in the docker-compose.yaml file. The client will automatically download the resource pack from the specified URL and verify the SHA1 checksum before applying it.
The included Resource Pack brings fun to another level with some custom textures. Have a taste of fighting CVEs (Zombies) and 0Days (Creepers) to protect your friendly villagers! Or go for a swim and find Linky swirling in the oceans.
The pack is optional and can be enabled by uncommenting the last 4 lines of the included docker-compose.yaml file. The client will automatically download and apply the resource pack.
You can also manually install the resource pack to a local Minecraft client by downloading it directly from the GuardCraft Resource Pack Releases page. On Linux systems, you should unpack this zip file into the ~/.minecraft/resourcepacks directory. You'll then be able to modify your world's settings to enable the resource pack.
