Basic Setup
Here’s a complete example that deploys Gate with two backend Minecraft servers:docker-compose.yml
version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
network_mode: host
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
server-0:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: server-0
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PUFFERFISH"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
ports:
- "25566:25565"
volumes:
- ./serverdata0:/data
restart: unless-stopped
server-1:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: server-1
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PUFFERFISH"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
ports:
- "25567:25565"
volumes:
- ./serverdata1:/data
restart: unless-stopped
config.yml
config:
bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
servers:
server-0: 0.0.0.0:25566
server-1: 0.0.0.0:25567
try:
- server-0
- server-1
Starting the Stack
# Start all services
docker compose up -d
# View logs
docker compose logs -f
# View logs for specific service
docker compose logs -f gate
# Stop all services
docker compose down
Bridge Network Setup
For better isolation, use a custom bridge network instead of host networking:version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25565:25565"
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
networks:
- minecraft
depends_on:
- lobby
- survival
lobby:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: lobby
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
SERVER_NAME: "Lobby"
volumes:
- ./lobby-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
survival:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: survival
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
SERVER_NAME: "Survival"
volumes:
- ./survival-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
networks:
minecraft:
driver: bridge
Corresponding config.yml
config:
bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
onlineMode: true
servers:
lobby: lobby:25565
survival: survival:25565
try:
- lobby
forwarding:
mode: legacy
When using bridge networking, backend servers are accessible by their service names (e.g.,
lobby:25565).Production Setup with Velocity Forwarding
For production environments, use Velocity modern forwarding for better security:version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25565:25565"
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
environment:
- GATE_VELOCITY_SECRET=${VELOCITY_SECRET}
networks:
- minecraft
lobby:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: lobby
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
VELOCITY_SECRET: ${VELOCITY_SECRET}
ENABLE_VELOCITY_FORWARDING: "true"
volumes:
- ./lobby-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
survival:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
container_name: survival
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
VELOCITY_SECRET: ${VELOCITY_SECRET}
ENABLE_VELOCITY_FORWARDING: "true"
volumes:
- ./survival-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
networks:
minecraft:
driver: bridge
internal: true
.env File
Create a.env file in the same directory:
VELOCITY_SECRET=your-secret-key-here-make-it-long-and-random
config.yml for Velocity Forwarding
config:
bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
onlineMode: true
servers:
lobby: lobby:25565
survival: survival:25565
try:
- lobby
forwarding:
mode: velocity
# Secret is loaded from GATE_VELOCITY_SECRET environment variable
Multi-Container Setup with Different Server Types
version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25565:25565"
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
networks:
- minecraft
lobby:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
VERSION: "1.21.4"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- ./lobby:/data
networks:
- minecraft
survival:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PURPUR"
VERSION: "1.21.4"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- ./survival:/data
networks:
- minecraft
creative:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "FABRIC"
VERSION: "1.21.4"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- ./creative:/data
networks:
- minecraft
minigames:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "SPIGOT"
VERSION: "1.21.4"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- ./minigames:/data
networks:
- minecraft
networks:
minecraft:
driver: bridge
Setup with Persistent Storage
Use named volumes for better data management:version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25565:25565"
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
- gate-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
lobby:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- lobby-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
survival:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "false"
volumes:
- survival-data:/data
networks:
- minecraft
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
gate-data:
lobby-data:
survival-data:
networks:
minecraft:
driver: bridge
Gate Lite Mode with Docker Compose
For lightweight reverse proxy deployments:version: "3.8"
services:
gate:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
container_name: gate
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25565:25565"
volumes:
- ./config.yml:/config.yml
networks:
- minecraft
backend1:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "true"
SERVER_NAME: "Server 1"
volumes:
- ./backend1:/data
networks:
- minecraft
backend2:
image: itzg/minecraft-server
environment:
EULA: "true"
TYPE: "PAPER"
ONLINE_MODE: "true"
SERVER_NAME: "Server 2"
volumes:
- ./backend2:/data
networks:
- minecraft
networks:
minecraft:
driver: bridge
config.yml for Lite Mode
config:
bind: 0.0.0.0:25565
lite:
enabled: true
routes:
- host: "server1.example.com"
backend: backend1:25565
- host: "server2.example.com"
backend: backend2:25565
- host: "*"
backend: backend1:25565
Common Commands
# Start services
docker compose up -d
# Stop services
docker compose down
# Restart specific service
docker compose restart gate
# View logs
docker compose logs -f gate
# Pull latest images
docker compose pull
# Rebuild and restart
docker compose up -d --force-recreate
# Remove everything including volumes
docker compose down -v
Monitoring and Debugging
# Check service status
docker compose ps
# View resource usage
docker compose stats
# Execute command in container
docker compose exec gate sh
# Inspect container
docker compose inspect gate
Next Steps
Configuration
Advanced Docker configuration and networking
Production Guide
Best practices for production deployments