Minecraft Windows Service

A lightweight Windows Service that runs a Java-based Minecraft server (Paper, Spigot, Vanilla, etc.) as a background process. It starts the server automatically when Windows boots, captures the server console output to the Windows Event Log, and shuts the server down cleanly — running save-all and stop — when the service is stopped.

Built on .NET 10 (Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Worker) using the BackgroundService hosting model.

Features

• Runs your Minecraft server unattended as a Windows Service (start= auto).
• Launches java.exe with configurable JVM arguments (memory limits, GC flags, etc.).
• Graceful shutdown: sends save-all then stop to the server console and waits for the JVM to exit before the service stops.
• Pipes server stdout/stderr into the Windows Event Log (stdout at Trace, stderr at Error).
• Validates configuration on startup (Java path, server directory, jar file) and fails fast with clear log messages.

Requirements

• Windows (x64)
• .NET 10 SDK to build (the published service is self-contained for win-x64)
• A Java runtime (JDK/JRE) compatible with your Minecraft server version
• A Minecraft server jar (e.g. PaperMC) in a dedicated directory
• Administrator rights to install/uninstall the Windows Service

Configuration

Settings live in appsettings.json under the Minecraft section:

{
  "Minecraft": {
    "JavaHome": "C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft\\jdk-25.0.3.9-hotspot",
    "ServerDirectory": "C:\\MinecraftServer\\PaperMC",
    "JarFileName": "paper-26.1.2-69.jar",
    "AdditionalArgs": "-Xmx8G -Xms8G"
  }
}

Setting	Description
JavaHome	Path to the Java installation. java.exe is expected at <JavaHome>\bin\java.exe. If left empty, the JAVA_HOME environment variable is used.
ServerDirectory	Directory containing the server jar; used as the process working directory.
JarFileName	File name of the server jar inside ServerDirectory.
AdditionalArgs	JVM arguments passed before -jar (e.g. memory and GC flags). The server is always launched with nogui.

The effective command line becomes:

<JavaHome>\bin\java.exe <AdditionalArgs> -jar <ServerDirectory>\<JarFileName> nogui

A separate appsettings.Development.json is used when running with the Development environment.

Remember to accept the Minecraft EULA by setting eula=true in eula.txt inside your server directory.

Build

# Restore and build
dotnet build MinecraftService/MinecraftService.csproj -c Release

# Publish a self-contained build for installation
dotnet publish MinecraftService/MinecraftService.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained

The output (including MinecraftService.exe, appsettings.json, and the install/uninstall scripts) is placed in the build/publish output folder.

Install as a Windows Service

The repo ships two helper scripts that are copied to the output directory:

• Service Install.cmd — creates the service:

  sc.exe create "Minecraft Service" binpath= "%~dp0MinecraftService.exe" start= auto
  

• Service Uninstall.cmd — removes the service:

  sc.exe delete "Minecraft Service"
  

Steps:

1. Build/publish the project.
2. Edit appsettings.json in the output folder to match your Java and server paths.
3. Run Service Install.cmd as Administrator from the output folder.
4. Start the service:

   sc.exe start "Minecraft Service"

   (or start it from services.msc).

To remove it later, stop the service and run Service Uninstall.cmd as Administrator.

Tip: the install script contains a commented line to enable automatic restart on failure: sc.exe failure "Minecraft Service" reset= 0 actions= restart/600000

Running / Debugging locally

You can run the worker directly without installing it as a service:

dotnet run --project MinecraftService/MinecraftService.csproj

Logs

The service logs to the Windows Event Log under the source name Minecraft Service (Application log). Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application to follow startup, the launched command line, server console output, and shutdown progress. Log levels are configured in appsettings.json.

How it works

• Program.cs — builds the host, binds the Minecraft configuration section into ServiceSettings, registers the Windows Service and Event Log logging, and hosts MinecraftWorker.
• ServiceSettings.cs — configuration model plus a Check method that validates JAVA_HOME/java.exe and the server jar before startup.
• MinecraftWorker.cs — the BackgroundService that starts the Java process, asynchronously reads its output/error streams into the log, and performs a graceful save-all + stop shutdown on service stop.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.