Crafty Controller - Game Server Control Panel

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

## Overview

Crafty Controller is an open-source, self-hosted control panel for running and administering Minecraft and other game servers from your browser. This pre-hardened AMI by cloudimg delivers Crafty Controller fully installed and reverse-proxied behind nginx with TLS, so your private game-server control panel is operational within minutes of launch - no manual Docker setup, no dependency troubleshooting, and no reverse-proxy configuration required.

## The Problem This AMI Solves

Crafty ships as a container that generates a random administrator password on its first database initialisation and serves HTTPS on a self-signed certificate by default. Running it safely yourself means standing up Docker, wiring the panel to persistent storage, capturing that first-boot password before it scrolls out of a log, and putting an encrypted, WebSocket-aware front door in front of it. This image completes every one of those steps at build time so you can focus on running game servers, not configuring infrastructure.

## Key Capabilities

• Create and manage multiple game servers from one browser dashboard with a live console, scheduled restarts, and automated backups
• Role-based multi-user access lets moderators and helpers start, stop, and monitor specific servers without shell or root access to the host
• Per-server resource limits for CPU and memory keep workloads isolated
• Scheduled automated backups with restore and import through the panel, keeping game state safe on a dedicated, independently resizable data volume
• Import existing servers and edit configuration and files directly through the web interface

## Security Hardening

This image follows a defence-in-depth approach:

• No default or shared credentials: the administrator password is generated fresh and at random on every instance's first boot and written only to a root-only file
• Per-instance TLS: nginx terminates TLS on port 443 with a per-instance self-signed certificate generated on first boot; plain HTTP on port 80 redirects to HTTPS
• Network isolation: the Crafty panel binds exclusively to the loopback interface behind nginx; the security group opens only SSH and the HTTPS panel port
• Deliberate game-server exposure: the Minecraft server port is not opened by default; you open it in your security group only for the servers you choose to run
• Dedicated data volume: the panel database, configuration, and every managed game server live on their own disk, surviving OS-disk changes and resizable independently as worlds and backups grow

## No Game Server Is Bundled

This image ships the Crafty Controller panel only. No Minecraft server software is included, and no end-user licence is accepted on your behalf. You choose and download a server through the panel and accept the relevant licence yourself at run time. The panel bundles the Java runtime required to run the servers you create.

## AWS Integration

Deploy on any EC2 instance type; the recommended size is m5.large. Terminate TLS at an Application Load Balancer with your own certificate, or keep the per-instance self-signed certificate. Back up game worlds and the panel database using EBS snapshots or AWS Backup, and resize the dedicated data volume independently of the OS disk as your servers grow.

## About cloudimg

cloudimg provides pre-hardened, production-ready AMIs with 24/7 technical support by email and live chat. Every image is built with security best practices including unique per-instance credentials, TLS by default, and minimal attack surface.

## Get Started

Launch the AMI, retrieve your unique admin password from the root-only file, and log in to the Crafty panel over HTTPS. From there, create your first game server, configure scheduled backups, and invite your team with role-based permissions - all from your browser.

For pre-purchase questions or a guided deployment walkthrough, contact cloudimg support at any time.