# MC-Gate
MC-Gate is a high-performance, async proxy designed for Minecraft servers. It acts as a smart gateway that multiplexes HTTP and Minecraft traffic while providing automated server wake-up capabilities.
It solves a common problem: keeping a server offline to save resources, but waking it up automatically the moment a player tries to join or pings the server.
## How it works
MC-Gate performs a non-destructive peek on the first few bytes of every new connection to identify the protocol:
- HTTP Traffic: If the stream starts with a standard method (GET, POST, etc.), it's routed to your web target (optional).
- Minecraft Traffic: If a Minecraft handshake is detected, MC-Gate checks if the backend server is online.
## Smart Wake-up & Waitlist
If the minecraft server is down, MC-Gate doesn't just drop the connection:
- Trigger: It executes a custom command (shell script, API call, etc.) to start your server.
- Condition: You can choose to wake the server when someone simply sees it in their MOTD list or only when they attempt to join.
- Waitlist: While the server boots, MC-Gate holds the player in a "waiting room" for 30 seconds (because Minecraft Client limitations) with real-time status messages, preventing the "Connection Refused" error.
## Key Features
- T-Pipe Multiplexing: Share a single port (e.g., 25565) between your web server and your Minecraft server.
- Auto Wake-up: Automated boot-up on demand.
- Waitlist System: Keeps players connected while the world loads.
- Near-Zero Latency: Once the server is up, traffic is piped directly with minimal overhead using Tokio.
- Library Ready: Can be integrated into Rust GUI applications like Tauri.
## How to use
### Standard execution
Check the [Releases](https://github.com/SirCesarium/mc-gate/releases) page for optimized, standalone binaries.
```
./mcg --listen 0.0.0.0:25565 --mc 127.0.0.1:25567 --on-wakeup "./start_server.sh" --wakeup-on join
```
Parameters
- `--listen`: Address to bind the proxy.
- `--mc`: The real Minecraft server address (internal).
- `--web`: (Optional) Route HTTP traffic to this address.
- `--on-wakeup`: Command to execute when the server needs to start.
- `--wakeup-on`: Trigger condition (motd, join, or disabled).
- `--debug`: Enable detailed connection logs.
## As a Library
MC-Gate is decoupled into a core library and a CLI. You can use the engine in your own Rust projects.
```rust
use mc_gate::{Config, WakeupCondition, run};
// Define your custom wakeup logic (e.g., launching a subprocess or a Docker container)
println!("Waking up the server...");
})
});
let cfg = Arc::new(Config {
listen: "0.0.0.0:25565".into(),
web: Some("127.0.0.1:80".into()),
mc: "127.0.0.1:25567".into(),
wakeup_on: WakeupCondition::Join,
on_wakeup: Some(callback),
// ...
});
run(cfg).await?;
```
### Docker (Official Image)
You don't need to build it yourself. Pull it from GitHub Container Registry:
```
docker run -p 25565:25565 ghcr.io/sircesarium/mc-gate:latest \
--listen 0.0.0.0:25565 --mc 1.2.3.4:25567 --on-wakeup "./start_server.sh" --wakeup-on join
```
## How to compile
- Make sure to have `rust` and `cargo` installed and updated.
- Run `cargo build --release`
### Docker (local build)
- Build the image: `docker build -t mc-gate .`
- Run it: `docker run -p 25565:25565 mc-gate --listen 0.0.0.0:25565 --mc 1.2.3.4:25567 --on-wakeup "./start_server.sh" --wakeup-on join`