Swarm Hosts / Guides

Swarm Hosts

Run game servers on hardware you own and manage them from your browser. Swarm Hosts helps you launch games, adjust settings, invite players, and protect your worlds with backups.

You provide a supported Windows 10/11 or Linux computer and an internet connection. Your game servers, worlds, and local backups stay on your hardware. Swarm Hosts runs the web app you use to manage them.

Start with your first server

  1. Create a free account and verify your email.
  2. Install the agent on your Windows or Linux computer.
  3. Confirm your computer appears online in Swarm hosts.
  4. Launch your first Minecraft Java server, check the connection, and invite a friend.

What the app does today

  • Launch and manage servers: choose a supported game, set CPU and memory limits, and start, stop, or restart it from your browser.
  • Manage your game: adjust settings and use the game-specific tools listed in Server Actions.
  • Look after your worlds: manage files, create and schedule local backups, restore a saved world, or move a server to another host.
  • Check server health: view logs, monitor resource use, and check whether players can connect.
  • Share administration: give other registered users access to a host or server without sharing your login.
  • Use Discord: check servers with Swarm Drone or ask Skitter for setup and troubleshooting help.
  • Protect servers across hosts: use Swarm Zones for backup copies and automatic recovery when the zone meets the requirements.
  • Track contribution: view Swarm Evolution and Contribution, set spare-capacity limits, and follow qualification. Running other customers' servers on contributed hardware is not enabled during the current phase.

The User Guide covers these tools in detail, including version changes, ownership transfer, host updates, and storage management.

Product Model

During Early Access, accounts receive preview access to the available platform tools without paid checkout. The plans below describe Free and Plus access; choosing Plus at signup saves a preference and does not activate a subscription or charge you. Check Profile for your account's current access and limits.

  • Free — $0 forever: connect one Swarmhost and run as many game servers as its hardware, ports, and game requirements allow. Managed shared relay, custom DNS, local backups, and the core platform tools are included where supported.
  • Plus — $5/month or $50/year: connect unlimited Swarmhosts and use the same core tools, subject to fair use. Paid checkout is not open yet during Early Access.

You supply the hardware and storage. Neither plan includes hosted compute, cloud backup storage, a dedicated private relay, or an uptime guarantee. See Pricing for plan details and availability.

Moving from Plus to Free does not delete your hosts, servers, or local backups. If you are above Free's one-host limit, you cannot register another host until you reduce usage.

How it works

A swarm host is your computer with the Swarm Hosts agent installed. A Swarm Server is a game server running on that computer.

The installer connects your computer to your account using a one-use enrollment code from Profile → Connect a host → Generate enrollment code. Each code connects one new host and expires after 15 minutes. Enrolled hosts keep their own credentials; account and API tokens cannot enroll a new host. The host then appears automatically in the web app. When you launch a game, Swarm Hosts assigns ports and asks the agent to start the server. Linux uses Docker Engine or rootful Podman; Windows uses Docker Desktop in Linux-container mode.

Players connect using the address shown on the Swarm Server page. Where supported, a managed relay lets them join without home-router port forwarding. See Relays and Port Forwarding for both relay and direct connections.

Best Path To Get Started

Use the installation guide, then follow First Swarm Server. If you are choosing a spare machine, the old PC Minecraft guide helps you plan resources, uptime, and backups.

Still choosing a control panel? Compare Swarm Hosts, Crafty Controller, AMP, and Pterodactyl, or learn what changes when you choose a hosted or self-installed panel.

Public Launch Catalog

Staging Games

Forty additional games are offered in a separate Staging launch category. Client joining and server-browser discovery remain awaiting manual validation; use a test world and read the staging evaluation guide.

Other games are not currently offered for new launches.

Where To Go Next