r/admincraft • u/lapic_kr • 5h ago
Software Resource TailCraft — a free, source-available GUI launcher that opens a Minecraft server in one click (no port forwarding)
Thanks to the mod team for allowing a repost after I made it source-available.
TailCraft is a free Windows GUI launcher for hosting a Minecraft server for friends without the usual setup pain — no port forwarding, no manual Java install, no digging through server jars.
What it does
- Run one EXE → pick a language (EN/KO) → an 8-step tutorial walks you to a running server.
- Server types: Paper, Purpur, Folia, Fabric, NeoForge, Forge, and Arclight (Bukkit plugins on a modded server). Versions/builds load automatically; the right Java (8/17/21/25) is installed for you.
- Connect 3 ways: Tailscale (no port forwarding), port forwarding (with UPnP), or LAN. Folia is port-forward-only by design.
- Live dashboard (CPU/RAM/disk/players), Modrinth mod & plugin manager, player tools (whitelist/OP/kick/ban, nickname+IP), console with quick-commands, a separate event-log tab, and one-click diagnostics.
On the concerns raised last time
- Source-available: the full source (launcher.ps1 + lib/core.ps1, the Go EXE wrapper, PDF build scripts) is on GitHub so anyone can audit it. The license keeps modification/redistribution restricted, but reading and auditing is the whole point.
- No bundled third-party software. No server jar, Java, or Tailscale client is included. Everything is downloaded at runtime from official sources (PaperMC, FabricMC, NeoForged, Forge, Modrinth, Adoptium, Tailscale) at the user's choice — so I'm not redistributing Tailscale or anything else.
- Integrity check: the EXE verifies the SHA-256 of its bundled script at launch and refuses to run if tampered with. The official hash is published in the README so you can verify your download with certutil.
Unofficial tool, not affiliated with Mojang/Microsoft/Tailscale/PaperMC/etc. Windows 10/11.
Source + README: https://github.com/lapic121/tailcraft
Download: https://lapic121.github.io/tailcraft/
Happy to take feedback or questions.