Blockwerk

Blockwerk is a Minecraft server network built for flexibility and automation. Instead of relying on static, manually managed servers, it treats server instances as ephemeral resources that come and go as needed. Whether for minigames, testing, or scaling active player hubs, Blockwerk makes it easy to manage a dynamic Minecraft ecosystem.

Server instances are provisioned dynamically as Paper servers, registered at runtime with a Velocity proxy, and orchestrated entirely within Kubernetes. Deployments are managed through Terraform and backed by custom Docker images, allowing consistent, reproducible setups across clusters. Blockwerk is built for modern infrastructure and integrates cleanly into self-hosted or cloud-native environments.

Why not a regular cloud system?

Most existing Minecraft cloud systems like CloudNet are Java-based and come with their own partial implementations of server management. Blockwerk takes a different approach by building directly on Kubernetes, a mature, battle-tested platform designed for orchestrating containerized workloads. Instead of reinventing clustering from scratch, it leverages the full ecosystem of Kubernetes: autoscaling, observability, rollout strategies, and more. With native integration into modern tooling, Blockwerk aligns Minecraft server hosting with industry best practices.

Example deployment

Deploying an entire Minecraft network takes just a few lines of Terraform when using Blockwerk.

module "blockwerk" {
  source = "github.com/xp4u1/blockwerk//terraform"

  paper_velocity_secret = "bd95bf84aa9ab57a9fecce72fad8984cf89383e94f25458616b1c8b80ca1aba7"
  velocity_image        = "velocity:latest"
  paper_groups = [
    {
      name     = "lobby"
      image    = "lobby:latest"
      replicas = 1
    },
    {
      name     = "bedwars"
      image    = "bedwars:latest"
      replicas = 5
    }
  ]
}

Installation

To get a real-world setup running, follow these steps:

1. Configure a local Kubernetes cluster: Use the configs in ./cluster to spin up a k3d-based Kubernetes cluster tailored for Blockwerk.

2. Build custom Docker images: Create your Velocity (proxy) and Paper (server) images using the Dockerfiles in ./docker.
   Make sure to include the Blockwerk plugin in your Velocity image since it handles server registration and lobby coordination.

3. Deploy using Terraform: Use the example above or explore the full configuration options in ./terraform to deploy all resources into your cluster.