Docker Compose

Deploy Gate with backend servers using Docker Compose

Docker Compose makes it easy to deploy Gate alongside backend Minecraft servers in a multi-container setup.

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