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PocketMine-MP Hosting

PocketMine-MP (PMMP) is a highly customized, open-source server software for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, written in PHP. It is favored by large networks for its extensive plugin API and high performance compared to the official vanilla bedrock server.

Understanding PMMP Architecture​

To host PMMP effectively, you must understand how it operates:

  1. PHP Base: PMMP runs on a specifically compiled version of PHP (usually with the pthreads or pmmp/threads extension). You cannot simply use the default PHP provided by apt install php. It requires a custom binary.
  2. Single-Threaded Tick Loop: Like most Minecraft servers, the core game logic (ticks, entity updates, block generation) runs on a single main thread.
  3. Asynchronous Tasks: PMMP offloads heavy tasks (like database queries or chunk saving) to asynchronous worker threads to prevent the main thread from stalling (which causes server-wide lag).

Installation​

The most reliable way to install PMMP on a raw Linux machine is using their official installer script.

  1. Create a dedicated user and directory:

    sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash pocketmine
    sudo su - pocketmine
    mkdir server && cd server

  2. Run the installer:

    curl -sL https://get.pmmp.io | bash -s -

    This script downloads the PMMP .phar file (the compiled PHP application) and automatically downloads the correct custom PHP binaries for your OS architecture.

  3. Starting the server:

    ./start.sh

Managing PMMP as a Service​

Running ./start.sh in a terminal is fine for testing, but in production, PMMP must run as a background service that automatically starts on boot and restarts if it crashes.

Creating a Systemd Service​

Create a file at /etc/systemd/system/pocketmine.service:

[Unit]
Description=PocketMine-MP Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=pocketmine
Group=pocketmine
WorkingDirectory=/home/pocketmine/server
ExecStart=/bin/bash /home/pocketmine/server/start.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable pocketmine
sudo systemctl start pocketmine

Performance Optimization​

  • Garbage Collection: PHP's garbage collector can cause lag spikes when it runs. Ensure plugins are written efficiently to avoid memory leaks.
  • View Distance: Reduce the view-distance in server.properties. This drastically reduces the number of chunks the server must keep in memory and send to clients.
  • Opcache: Ensure the custom PHP binary has OPcache enabled. OPcache stores precompiled script bytecode in shared memory, removing the need for PHP to load and parse scripts on each request.
  • Plugins: Poorly coded plugins running heavy operations on the main thread are the #1 cause of PMMP lag. Use the built-in /timings command to profile performance and identify problematic plugins.

Updating​

Updating PMMP usually involves replacing the PocketMine-MP.phar file. Ensure you check for compatibility updates with your installed plugins before updating the core server.