You already can run a raw Paper/Vanilla jar in an LXC. Crafty Controller is the layer on top: a web UI to start/stop servers, edit files, pull backups, and keep more than one Minecraft version without SSH-ing into the box every time.

This sits next to the Minecraft-on-Proxmox guide. That post is “LXC vs VM, Java vs Bedrock.” This one is “how to manage those servers once they exist.”

LXC or VM for Crafty Controller?

Use an LXC for Java Edition + Crafty. Crafty is a Python web app that launches JVM servers. Neither needs a full virtual BIOS. An unprivileged Debian/Ubuntu LXC is the default: fast boot, low overhead, easy bind-mounts for the world folders.

Use a VM if:

  • you want Bedrock in a context where the LXC networking/UDP path is fighting you
  • you want a hard isolation boundary around kids’ servers
  • a helper script or panel expects systemd and Docker in ways your unprivileged LXC template does not give you

Crafty itself does not require a VM. The Minecraft edition and how picky you are about isolation do.

What to allocate

The panel is light. The JVM is not.

Starting point that matches common helper-script defaults and real small servers:

RoleCPURAMDisk
Crafty + one small Java server (friends, no heavy mods)2 cores4 GB16 GB
Crafty + modest Paper / light plugin pack4 cores6–8 GB32 GB
Modded pack or several worlds4+ cores8–16 GB64 GB+ and a backup target outside the CT

Give the JVM a hard ceiling lower than the container RAM (leave 512 MB–1 GB for Crafty + OS). A 4 GB CT with -Xmx4096M will OOM as soon as the panel and the GC argue.

Port plan:

  • Crafty web UI: 8443/TCP (typical)
  • Java server: 25565/TCP (and whatever you remap per instance)
  • Bedrock: 19132/UDP if you run it

Forward those on the host / firewall, not “all ports on the CT.”

Install options

Two honest paths.

1. Manual LXC (preferred if you want to understand the box)

  1. Create an unprivileged Debian LXC. Enable nesting if the installer or future updates need it.
  2. Install a JDK that matches the Minecraft version you will run. Do not assume “latest Java” equals “correct Java.”
  3. Install Crafty from the official Linux install docs.
  4. Confirm the systemd unit is enabled.
  5. Open https://<ct-ip>:8443, change the initial password, then create the server from the UI instead of launching server.jar by hand.

World data should live on a bind-mounted path or a dedicated virtual disk you snapshot. Do not treat the CT rootfs as the only copy of world/.

2. Community helper script

There is a Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts installer for Crafty Controller. It builds the CT, drops you on https://<ip>:8443, and stores initial credentials in the container.

Use it if you want a working panel in one shot. Read the script before piping it to bash, keep notes of the CTID it creates, and know that panel updates and script updates are not the same thing. A failed scripted update can leave the unit down while /opt/crafty-controller is still intact — at that point systemctl status crafty-controller and the official upgrade path matter more than re-running the installer.

Crafty Controller + Java vs Bedrock on Proxmox

  • Java in LXC is the path that matches the rest of this site. Paper/Fabric/Vanilla behind Crafty is the common homelab setup.
  • Bedrock is a different binary and a different port. Put it in its own CT/VM if you do not want UDP rules mixed into the Java box.
  • Do not run Java and a heavy Bedrock instance in the same 4 GB helper-script default and then blame Proxmox.

Crafty can manage more than one server. Memory cannot. If you add a second world, add RAM or add a second CT.

Backups and the guest agent

LXC snapshots are fast and not a substitute for a Crafty-side world backup plus a copy off the node.

If you ever move this to a VM instead of an LXC, install the QEMU guest agent and do a full stop/start after enabling it — same fix as guest agent not running. On an LXC the guest agent is a different story; snapshot consistency then depends on how you freeze the filesystem, not on qemu-ga.

Common pitfalls

  • Helper-script defaults are not a modded-pack spec. 2 cores / 4 GB / 16 GB is a small vanilla/Paper box.
  • UI on 8443, game on 25565. Opening only one of them looks like “Crafty is broken.”
  • Updating the panel via a script after a major Crafty bump can fail the systemd unit. Check journalctl -u crafty-controller before you rebuild the CT.
  • Putting worlds only on the CT disk with no off-node copy. A bad pct rollback will teach this once.
  • Running Crafty as the thing that also torrents, arr-stack, and Jellyfin. Give Minecraft its own CT.

FAQ

Is Crafty Controller better than just a systemd unit for Paper? Only if you want a browser UI, multiple versions, or non-SSH admin. A single stable Paper server does not need it.

Can I put Crafty in Docker inside the LXC? You can. You now have two layers to debug. For a homelab Minecraft panel, native install or the helper-script CT is less noise.

Does this work on PVE 8 and 9? Yes. The constraints are Java version, RAM, and ports — not the PVE major.

Start with how to host Minecraft on Proxmox if you have not picked LXC vs VM yet. Hardware-side: best mini PC for Proxmox.