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Gate provides official Docker images that are optimized for containerized deployments. Choose between the standard image or the JRE variant for Bedrock support.

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Image Variants

Gate offers two Docker image variants to suit different use cases:

Standard Image

ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latestMinimal distroless image for most use cases. Smaller footprint and enhanced security.

JRE Variant

ghcr.io/minekube/gate/jre:latestIncludes Java Runtime Environment. Required for Bedrock Edition support with Geyser.
Use the JRE variant (ghcr.io/minekube/gate/jre:latest) if you need:
  • Bedrock Edition support (cross-play with mobile, console, Windows Bedrock)
  • Gate’s managed Geyser mode
  • Java runtime in your container
For all other use cases, use the standard image.

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Version Tags

Gate images support multiple version tags:
  • latest - Latest stable release (recommended)
  • 0.42.2 - Specific version tags
  • 6d3671c - Commit SHA tags for edge builds
Every commit to the main branch is built and pushed with both latest and the commit SHA tag.

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Docker Run

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Basic Usage

Run Gate with default settings: 
docker run -it --rm ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
Flags explained:
  • -it - Interactive mode with pseudo-TTY (see logs in real-time)
  • --rm - Automatically remove container when it exits
  • -d - Use instead of -it to run in detached mode

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With Configuration File

Mount your custom config.yml: 
docker run -it --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yml:/config.yml \
  -p 25565:25565 \
  ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
The JRE variant example includes UDP port 19132 for Bedrock Edition connections.
Get a complete config file from the repository.

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With Minekube Connect

Integrate with Minekube Connect for managed hosting: 
docker run -it --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yml:/config.yml \
  -e CONNECT_TOKEN=your_token_here \
  ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
The CONNECT_TOKEN environment variable takes precedence over connect.json file.

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Docker Compose

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Basic Setup

Create a docker-compose.yml file: 
services:
  gate:
    image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
    container_name: gate
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: host
    volumes:
      - ./config.yml:/config.yml
      # - ./connect.json:/connect.json  # Optional: Minekube Connect
Start the services: 
docker-compose up -d
View logs: 
docker-compose logs -f gate
Stop the services: 
docker-compose down

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Complete Example with Minecraft Servers

Gate includes a complete example that configures Gate with two Minecraft servers:
1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/minekube/gate.git
cd gate/.examples/docker-compose
2

Review the configuration

The example includes:
  • Gate proxy with network configuration
  • Two Pufferfish servers (server-0, server-1)
  • Volume mounts for server data
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
3

Start the network

docker-compose up
4

Connect and test

  • Join at localhost:25565
  • Use /server server-0 or /server server-1 to switch between servers
  • Server files are in serverdata0/ and serverdata1/ directories

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Podman

Gate works seamlessly with Podman as a Docker alternative: 
podman run -it --rm ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest
For docker-compose files, use: 
podman-compose up

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Troubleshooting

If you see:
Unable to find image 'ghcr.io/minekube/gate:latest' locally
docker: Error response from daemon: Head "https://ghcr.io/v2/minekube/gate/manifests/latest": denied.
You may be logged in with an expired GitHub token. Solution:
docker logout ghcr.io
GitHub Container Registry doesn’t require authentication for public images. An expired token is worse than no token.
Check logs for errors:
docker logs <container_name>
Common causes:
  • Invalid configuration file
  • Port already in use
  • Missing required volumes
Verify:
  • Ports are correctly mapped (-p 25565:25565)
  • Firewall allows connections
  • network_mode: host is used (easier for beginners) or ports are properly exposed
  • Container is running: docker ps
Restart the container after config changes:
docker-compose restart gate
# or
docker restart <container_name>

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Best Practices

Use specific version tags

Pin to specific versions in production instead of latest:
image: ghcr.io/minekube/gate:0.42.2

Mount configuration as read-only

Prevent accidental modifications:
volumes:
  - ./config.yml:/config.yml:ro

Use docker-compose for multi-container setups

Manage Gate and backend servers together with defined dependencies and networking.

Set resource limits

Control memory and CPU usage:
deploy:
  resources:
    limits:
      memory: 512M

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Next Steps

Kubernetes Deployment

Scale Gate in Kubernetes clusters

Configuration

Customize Gate for your network

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