I've been hosting and setting up game servers since I was around 13 years old. Recently, I decided it was time to properly take a deep dive into Linux, specifically Ubuntu servers, since this is something I'm genuinely interested in and want to work with professionally.
I set up Ubuntu Server 24.04 in a virtual machine and started building everything from scratch. Along the way, I found myself constantly forgetting certain commands, especially the ones I use most often for Minecraft server hosting and general troubleshooting.
So I created this personal cheat sheet. It's mainly focused on Ubuntu servers running Minecraft, but I also use it as a general Linux refresher. Hopefully, it can help others as well.
Ubuntu / Minecraft Server Cheat-Sheet
Term explanation
vim - terminal text editor
curl - tool to download files from the internet
screen - keeps a program running in a detachable terminal session
tail - displays file output in real time
ssh - log into a remote machine securely
Navigation & files
ls -la - list all files including hidden (with permissions)
cd / - go to root directory
cd .. - go up one folder
cd ~/mcserver - go to Minecraft server folder
pwd - show current directory
cat file.txt - display file contents
rm -f paper.jar - delete file forcefully
nano filename - edit file (Ctrl+O save, Ctrl+X exit)
ip a - show IP addresses (Windows ipconfig equivalent)
Screen commands
screen -S name - create and enter a new screen session
screen -ls - list active screen sessions
screen -r name - reattach to a session
screen -r 1234.mc - reattach using PID
Ctrl + A then D - detach without stopping the server
screen -X -S 1234.mc quit - kill a specific session
screen -wipe - clean up dead sessions
SSH commands
ssh user@ip - connect via SSH
ssh -p 2222 user@ip - connect using custom port
ssh-copy-id user@ip - enable passwordless SSH login
exit - disconnect from SSH
scp paper.jar user@ip:~/mcserver/ - upload file to server
scp user@ip:~/mcserver/logs/latest.log - download file
sudo systemctl status ssh - check SSH status
sudo systemctl start ssh - start SSH service
sudo ufw allow ssh - allow SSH through firewall
RAM / CPU
free -h - show RAM usage
htop - live CPU & memory usage
Downloading files
curl -L -o filename URL - command
-L - follow redirects
-o - output file name
Vim basics
vim file.txt - open file
i - insert mode
Esc :wq - save & quit
Esc :q! - quit without saving
Tail log stuff
tail -f logs/latest.log - live console (Ctrl+C = stop)
tail -f /var/log/syslog - show system messages
tail -f /var/log/auth.log - show who logged in
tail -f plugins/*/debug.log - show plugin debug
tail -f logs/latest.log | grep ERROR - show only errors
MC start one liner
screen -S mc && java -Xmx6G -Xms6G -jar paper.jar --nogui
What are Aikar's flags?
A set of JVM arguments that optimize Java’s garbage collector for Minecraft servers.
Without them: lag spikes & crashes.
With them: much smoother performance and stable TPS.
Starting the MC server with Aikar's flags
java -Xmx6G -Xms6G \
-XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+DisableExplicitGC \
-XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M \
-XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 \
-XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 \
-XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 \
-XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 \
-jar paper.jar --nogui
I'm currently documenting my Linux and game server hosting learning publicly while working toward junior hosting & support roles. If this cheat sheet helped you, feel free to comment or reach out!
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