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Fabricator

Introduction

Fabricator is a self-hosted dashboard for Minecraft server operators. It runs as a Linux systemd service or Docker container and provides a browser UI for creating, starting, stopping, configuring, backing up, and maintaining multiple Minecraft server instances.

The current codebase supports these loaders through a shared installer registry:

  • Fabric
  • Forge
  • NeoForge
  • Quilt
  • Vanilla

Mod and modpack discovery uses the Modrinth API. Java can be installed and selected by Fabricator per server, so you do not need to install a global Java runtime before creating a server.

Core features

Section titled “Core features”
  • Multi-server dashboard — switch between any server stored in Fabricator’s server index.
  • Built-in operator login — first-boot setup, login/logout, password changes, and optional reverse-proxy auth delegation.
  • Server lifecycle — install, start, stop, restart, inspect runtime state, and choose per-server auto-start behavior.
  • Console — read recent stdout/stderr and send commands to a running server.
  • Modrinth integration — search mods and modpacks, resolve compatible versions, install dependencies, and remove installed JARs.
  • Players — view known/online players and manage whitelist, ops, bans, IP bans, and kicks.
  • Files — browse server files and edit UTF-8 text files while staying inside the configured server root.
  • Backups and world import — create quick backups, define scheduled backup configs, download snapshots, restore them, and import world archives with a mandatory safety snapshot.
  • Settings — edit common server.properties values from the UI; advanced settings are available in expert mode.
  • playit.gg tunnels — expose Minecraft servers without router port forwarding and show each server’s public address from the dashboard.
  • Self-update — check GitHub Releases and trigger an in-dashboard update.
  • CLI — system-level commands for status, start, stop, update, version, uninstall, and help.

How it works

Section titled “How it works”

Fabricator has three main parts:

  1. Backend: Python/Flask blueprints under backend/ expose the HTTP API and coordinate installers, processes, backups, player files, and update checks.
  2. Frontend: Vue 3 + Vite under frontend/ renders the dashboard and calls the API.
  3. System integration: tools/install.sh, tools/update.sh, the systemd unit, and the fabricator CLI manage deployment and service lifecycle.

A production install stores application files in /opt/fabricator/app, virtualenv files in /opt/fabricator/venv, mutable data under /var/lib/fabricator, and environment configuration in /etc/fabricator/fabricator.env.

When Fabricator is a good fit

Section titled “When Fabricator is a good fit”

Use Fabricator if you:

  • Run Minecraft servers on a VPS, dedicated Linux box, home server, or Docker-capable host.
  • Prefer a web UI over routine SSH file edits.
  • Want Modrinth search/install and server backups in one tool.
  • Need to manage several server instances from one dashboard.

Fabricator is not a managed hosting service. You remain responsible for the host, firewall, reverse proxy, backups outside the machine, and Minecraft server resource sizing.