Self-host
Run your servers on your own machine
Connect a spare PC, a home server or a VPS you already pay for. One command turns it into a node in your panel, and you create servers on it the same way you would on our hardware. Players connect through our relay, so there is nothing to forward on your router. The first node is free.
- First node free, extras $3 a month
- No ports to forward
- Servers on it use no paid slots
- One command to install
Your machine's own memory. No cap from us.
Nothing forwarded on your router.
| Server | Memory | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| survivalMinecraft, Paper | 8 GB | play.example.com:25565 | Online |
| moddedMinecraft, NeoForge | 10 GB | play.example.com:25566 | Online |
| creativeMinecraft, Paper | 4 GB | play.example.com:25567 | Sleeping |
What put it there
curl -sL "https://api.fadehost.com/api/nodes/<node>/byon/setup/script?signature=<token>" | sudo bashWho runs their own node
The machine is yours and so is its memory. The panel, the relay, the backups and the updates are ours.
Home labs
A NAS, a mini PC or the desktop you replaced last year. It gets a console, a file manager, installers, backups and scheduled tasks instead of an SSH session and a terminal multiplexer.
People who already rent a box
If you pay for a VPS or a dedicated server with spare memory, point it at FadeHost and run your game servers on the capacity you already bought.
Communities that outgrew a plan
A heavy modded server wants more memory than it is worth renting by the gigabyte. Give it a whole machine and keep managing it from the same account as everything else.
From one command to the first server
- 1
Add the node in the panel
Open Self-Hosted, add a node, give it a name and pick North America or Europe. The panel hands you one command. The link in it expires after a day.
- 2
Run the command on the machine
It installs Docker if the machine does not have it, creates a separate user account for the servers, starts our agent and connects the node. The node turns Online in the panel.
- 3
Create a server on it
Pick your node when you create a server. It gets an address, a console, files, backups and schedules like any server on our own hardware.
The panel fills in the node and the signature for you, and the link stops working after 24 hours.
What your node gets
You own the hardware. Everything that usually makes self-hosting a second job is on our side.
The whole panel
The console, the file manager, the installers, scheduled tasks and the settings pages are the ones our own nodes run. Nothing is held back for self-hosted machines.
A relay for your players
When the machine cannot be reached from the internet, servers on it get a public address from the relay in the region you picked. Players paste that address; you forward nothing on your router.
An encrypted link you open
The machine dials out to us and joins a private, encrypted network. No management port is exposed on your side, and the node does not need a static IP.
Backups to our storage
Servers on your node back up to FadeHost's off-site storage on the schedule you set, so a dead disk at home does not take the world with it.
An agent that updates itself
The agent and the game images on your node pull their own updates when we ship a new version. There is no panel of ours for you to patch.
Sleep and wake
A server on your node can sleep when it is empty and start again when someone tries to join, so an idle world is not sitting on the machine's memory.
Private networking
The node joins your own private network, so your servers and databases reach each other across machines without anything being opened to the internet.
SFTP and the file manager
Both reach your node through the relay. Open the file manager in the browser, or point an SFTP client at the node, without forwarding a port for either.
What you need
Most machines people already have qualify. If yours runs Linux and can reach the internet, it can be a node.
- A 64-bit x86 Linux machine, Ubuntu or Debian recommended
- Root on that machine, once, to run the install command
- An outbound internet connection, and nothing forwarded
- Docker, which the installer puts there if it is missing
Pricing
You pay for machines, not for what runs on them.
Your first node
$0
Included with every account, with no subscription behind it.
Each extra node
$3/mo
or $30 a year
Up to ten extra machines on one account.
What is billed
- Extra nodes, $3 a month or $30 a year each, up to ten
What is not
- The servers on your node. They do not use paid server slots
- The memory they take. Your machine's RAM is yours, not a quota
- The panel and the backups. Both come with the node
Extra nodes are not part of a trial. Add them at plan builder, on the same bill as the rest of your account.
What a typical setup costs
One machine at home
First node
$0
As many servers as its memory can run, with the panel, the relay and backups.
A machine at home and a VPS
First node, one extra
$3/mo
Two machines in one panel. Put each server wherever it fits best.
Three machines, paid yearly
First node, two extra
$60/yr
$30 a year for every node after the first.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I really pay nothing for my first node?
- Yes. Every account includes one self-hosted node. Extra nodes are $3 a month or $30 a year each, up to ten. Servers you run on your own node do not use paid server slots and do not count against a memory pool, so the machine's capacity is the only limit.
- Do I need to forward a port or have a static IP?
- No. Your machine opens the connection to us, so nothing has to be reachable on your side for the panel to work. If the machine can be reached from the internet, players connect straight to it. If it cannot, servers on it get a public address from our relay instead, and players use that.
- What are the hardware and system requirements?
- A 64-bit x86 Linux machine with root access. Ubuntu and Debian are the straightforward choices. The installer adds Docker if it is not already there, so the only other requirement is an internet connection and enough free memory for the servers you want to run.
- What does the agent do on my machine?
- It runs your game servers in Docker containers under a separate user account the installer creates, and it keeps a connection open to FadeHost so the panel can start, stop and read them. The connection is opened from your side. You can read the install script before you run it.
- What happens if my machine or my internet goes down?
- The servers on it go offline until it comes back; it is your hardware, so the uptime is yours. The panel marks the node offline in the meantime, your backups stay in our storage, and the node reconnects on its own when the machine returns.
- Can I run my own node and rent servers from you at the same time?
- Yes. Both live in the same account, the same panel and the same private network, and you pick the node when you create a server.
- Can I move a server between my machine and yours?
- Yes, in either direction, with the world and the configuration intact. The server has to be stopped for the move. It is the usual way people start on a spare PC and move to our hardware later, or bring a rented server home.
- Which games can my node run?
- The same ones the panel offers on our own hardware. The current list is on the games page.
- How do I get files on and off the node?
- The file manager in the panel and SFTP both work on a self-hosted node, and both reach it through the relay, so there is no port to forward for file access either.
- Do servers on my own node sleep when nobody is playing?
- They can. Turn it on per server: the server stops when it has been empty for a while and starts again when someone tries to join, which keeps an idle world off the machine's memory.
- What does the region I pick do?
- It decides which relay your servers get their public address from, so pick the one nearer your players. North America and Europe are the two.
- How many machines can I connect?
- One free node plus up to ten extra, at $3 a month or $30 a year each. Extra nodes are not part of a trial.
Read on
Managed VPS
A machine from us instead of one of yours, with root and a terminal in the panel.
Managed databases
MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or Redis on the same private network your node joins.
Pricing
Build the subscription yourself, extra nodes included, on one bill.
Documentation
How the panel works day to day: files, backups, versions, schedules and the rest.