Synology NAS Minecraft Server Setup, Including Paper, Spigot, and Craftbukkit

This started as a blog post about installing Minecraft on my Rackstation 814+.  The Synology "DSM" software (basically a customized Linux) allows installation of various packages.  It turns out, someone had created a Minecraft server package, but the package was out of date:

http://pcloadletter.co.uk/2012/01/11/minecraft-package-for-synology/

There were pages and pages of comments and I was able to install the package and get it up and running, updated to the latest version, but that seemed like a lousy solution, so... I started with the package provided and created my own, and put it on Github, where other people can contribute to it.

First, if you're just looking to install the package, you can install it from my repository server.

1. You'll have to install Synology's "Java Manager" first, which is under "Utilities" in Package Center in DSM 5.x.
2. In the DSM Control Panel, go to User, Advanced, and check "Enable User Home Service."
3. After that, go settings and "Package Sources" and set up a new source from this URL: http://www.hildinger.us/sspks/index.php
4. After that, under "General" you'll have to set your server up to accept "any publisher," and you should see the Minecraft server under "Community.

It should install and start without problems.  Now you have a functioning single world server running on your Synology box and you can start figuring out how to admin it.

Once you run the package your server will be running with default settings.  If you're like me, the question is, "Uh, now what?"  When I picked up the project, I knew exactly nothing about administering a Minecraft server, so I have been stumbling through this.

Administration

So, first a little primer, without any extensions, a Minecraft server will be a single world, either creative or survival.  Depending on which package you run, you'll find the basic settings files in different places:

/volume1/@appstore/Minecraft/server.properties
/volume1/@appstore/Paper/server.properties
/volume1/@appstore/Spigot/server.properties
/volume1/@appstore/Craftbukkit/server.properties

Command Line

You can telnet or SSH into your Synology once you've turned on the Terminal service in "Control Panel-> Terminal & SNMP -> Terminal -> Enable Telnet/SSH service." Once you log in with your client of choice you can manually edit this file using VI.  This is, of course, how I did it at first. If you're not used to using a Linux command line and/or you've never used VI, that will quite likely be a painful experience.  Even if you used to use VI a bit but that was 20 years ago, you're going to struggle a bit.  A few client options:

• Windows includes a telnet client.
• Lots of people like PuTTY, including me

Synology DSM Interface

I haven't gone far in trying to admin from DSM.  It seems like a clunky approach, but there might be reasons to do it.

Windows Interface

I'm going to guess that this is the direction most people are going to tilt on this, so this is where I'm going to put my energy.  While PuTTY is a nice way to SHH into your Synology, if you're not a CLI expert, or maybe even if you are, you're going to get a little sick of doing some things CLI.  WinSCP provides a nice way to execute tasks from the Windows desktop, with the power to jump into CLI at any time.  Basically, it's a wrapper for a command line session that provides a Windows Explorer type interface AND a command line.

Another program I like for working with text files is TextPad.  It's a pretty powerful text editor.  If you're sitting around using Notepad and don't already have a favorite editor, check it out.

With DSM 6, Synology locked things down just a little tighter than before, which is generally a good thing, but it also makes things a little more complicated for those who barely use a CLI.  I tried to think of the best recommendation here.  The instructions below reduce CLI security, but for most Synology users, this probably isn't a huge deal.  Basically, if someone has your password, they have your password.

You're going to have to go into superuser mode to do anything with a "sudo su" command, and your Synology, by default, is going to want the admin password again to to this, even though you've just logged in with your admin password.  You can disable this behavior by editing the file "/etc/sudoers" and adding a line at the end "admin ALL= NOPASSWD: ALL."  To do all of this, you'll need to spend some time at the Synology command line.  The steps look like this:

SSH into your Synology (I used PuTTY), and login as admin, and enter the following commands:

cd /etc
sudo vi sudoers

Once you've entered your password, you'll be in VI and need to add the following line at the bottom of your sudoers file:

admin ALL= NOPASSWD: ALL

You'll note that the file is read only, so to save when you exit you'll hit <Esc> and then type :x! and then hit enter.  Now your admin user execute sudo su without retyping its password.  Again note, this isn't a good idea for a system that gets left with a CLI interface open.

Now that you've done this, you can use the advanced settings window in WinSCP to enable the shell command "sudo su -" at the beginning of its sessions and you will have superuser privileges from WinSCP.  Be careful with this power, don't go crippling your Synology.

 

Once you're up and running, you can send CLI commands through WinSCP for administration of the server:

For instance, to send a command to whitelist a player named XXXXX on a spigot installation, 

echo whitelist add XXXXX >> /tmp/stdin.spigot

Upgrades and Backing Up Your Worlds

The upgrade process saves the "world" directory.  If you rename your world, it will not be saved in an upgrade.  Even if you haven't renamed it, you should back up your world if you think keeping it is important, particularly before upgrades.  To back it up, simply copy the entire "world" directory to another location outside the /minecraft (or /paper/ or /spigot or /craftbukkit) directory using whatever administration method you are using.

Mods

Paper

I've recently converted our server to Paper, a high performance fork of Spigot.  This is what you should probably be running on your Synology since we don't have a lot of resources.

Spigot

I've recently created an install package for Spigot, which is the world's most widely used mod package out there.  More on Spigot as I dig into it.  While I'll maintain the vanilla package, this is where I'm going to be putting in my time.

Craftbukkit

There's also a craftbukkit install, but it seems to be a dead end for Minecraft server administration.  I am keeping it updated as much as I can.

Links

Below are some useful Minecraft Server Admin Links:

• http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/support/server-support/server-administration

Help Make This Better:

If you have issues, the Github project is at:

https://github.com/colin1497/Synology-Install-Package-for-Minecraft-and-Craftbukkit

The repository I'm using can be found at:

https://github.com/jdel/sspks

It has recently been completely rewritten and greatly improved.  Also, my fork is at, but I'm not very actively working on it:

https://github.com/colin1497/sspks

Help make the world a better place by contributing code.

Updates to Minecraft Package:
2/9/2020 Package version 0039 is Server 1.15.2
5/29/2019 Package version 0038 is Server 1.14.2
5/24/2019 Package version 0037 is Server 1.14.1
11/4/2018 Package version 0036 is Server 1.13.2
11/29/2017 Package version 0035 is Server 1.12.2
8/9/2017 Package version 0034 is Server 1.12.1
7/22/2017 Package version 0033 is Server 1.12.0
12/25/2016 Package version 0032 is Server 1.11.2
11/28/2016 Package version 0031 is Server 1.11.0 increased memory allocation for > 6GB RAM
8/15/2016 Package version 0030 is Server 1.10.2
6/15/2016 Package version 0029 is Server 1.10.0
5/27/2016 Package version 0028 makes a few minor updates to installer, adds option for >4GB RAM
5/15/2016 Package version 0027 is Server 1.9.4
5/7/2016 Package version 0026 fixes status in Package Center.
5/7/2016 Package version 0025 installs in DSM 6, doesn't work with earlier DSM versions. Still has issues with package center integration.
5/1//2016 Package version 0024 is Server 1.9.2
3/22/2016 Package version 0023 is Server 1.9.0
2/10/2016 Package version 0022 makes changes to the INFO file to note the EULA acceptance and links EULA.
1/1/2016 Package version 0021 is Server 1.8.9, reduces RAM usage for many boxes with 2GB or less RAM.  Attempting to address some issues people are seeing with RAM, but it will impact performance a little bit.
8/15/2015 Package version 0020 corrects 2 issues: deleting old .json whitelist/ops files on upgrade, and log files unavailable from the DSM package manager.
8/12/2015 Package version 0019 is Server 1.8.8
6/27/2015 Package version 0018 is Server 1.8.7
5/29/2015 Package version 0017 is Server 1.8.6

Updates to Paper Package:
5/26/2020 Package version 0001 is Server 1.15.2

Updates to Spigot Package:
2/9/2020  Package version 0014 is Server 1.15.2
5/29/2019 Package version 0013 is Server 1.14.2
5/24/2019 Package version 0012 is Server 1.14.1
11/4/2018 Package version 0011 is Server 1.13.2
11/29/2017 Package version 0010 is Server 1.12.2 (labeled as 1.12.20 due to typo back on 0009)
8/9/2017 Package version 0009 is Server 1.12.1, corrected broken mirror link issue
7/22/2017 Package version 0008 is Server 1.12.0
1/8/2017 Package version 0007 is Server 1.11.2
12/25/2016 Package version 0006 is Server 1.11.0 (almost 1.11.2)
11/28/2016 Package version 0005 is Server 1.11.0 increased memory allocation for > 6GB RAM
8/15/2016 Package version 0004 is Server 1.10.2
6/15/2016 Package version 0003 is Server 1.10.0
5/27/2016 Package version 0002 makes a few minor updates to installer, adds option for >4GB RAM
5/20/2016 Package version 0001 is Server 1.9.4

Updates to CraftBukkit Package:
2/9/2020 Package version 0032 is Server 1.15.2 
5/29/2019 Package version 0031 is Server 1.14.2 
5/24/2019 Package version 0030 is Server 1.14.1
11/4/2018 Package version 0029 is Server 1.13.2
11/29/2017 Package version 0028 is Server 1.12.2
8/9/2017 Package version 0027 is Server 1.12.1, corrected broken mirror link issue
7/22/2017 Package version 0026 is Server 1.12.0
1/8/2017 Package version 0025 is Server 1.11.2
12/25/2016 Package version 0024 is Server 1.11.0 (almost 1.11.2)
11/28/2016 Package version 0023 is Server 1.11.0 increased memory allocation for > 6GB RAM
8/15/2016 Package version 0022 is Server 1.10.2
6/15/2016 Package version 0021 is Server 1.10.0
5/27/2016 Package version 0020 makes a few minor updates to installer, adds option for >4GB RAM
5/17/2016 Package version 0019 Update to 1.9.4 CraftBukkit mirror to go with new Minecraft version.
2/11/2016 Package version 0018 corrected error in install
2/10/2016 Package version 0017 updates to download a 1.8.8 mirror version and updates the INFO file to address the demise of CraftBukkit due to the DMCA issues.