EasyRestart

Automated server restarts with cron scheduling, countdown warnings, and optional auto-relaunch.

EasyRestart is a server-side Forge mod that lets you schedule Minecraft server restarts using standard cron expressions. Players receive configurable warnings before each restart, a final countdown with on-screen titles, and the server can automatically relaunch itself via a startup script you define.

Features

• Cron-based scheduling — define any number of restart times using standard 5-field cron syntax (minute hour day month weekday)
• Pre-warning broadcasts — configurable list of minutes before restart at which players are notified (default: 10, 5, 1 minute)
• Final countdown — 10-second countdown with chat messages and configurable on-screen titles
• Sound alerts — plays a pling sound on each warning and countdown tick (can be disabled)
• Auto-relaunch — optionally point the mod to a startup script; it will be launched as a detached process before the JVM shuts down, so the server comes back up automatically
• Forced shutdown watchdog — if the server hangs during shutdown, a background watchdog forcefully terminates it after 120 seconds
• In-game commands — add, remove, list, and reload cron rules without restarting; trigger an immediate restart with /easyrestart now
• Fully configurable messages — all broadcast strings support placeholders and Minecraft color codes

Installation

1. Download the mod .jar and drop it into your server's mods/ folder.
2. Start the server once to generate the config file at config/easy_restart-common.toml.
3. Edit the config to set your desired cron rules, messages, and (optionally) the restart script path.
4. Restart the server — the scheduler will activate immediately.

Server-side only. Players do not need to install this mod.

Configuration

Config file: config/easy_restart-common.toml

General

Cron Rules

Messages

All messages support Minecraft color codes (§a, §c, etc.).

Cron Syntax

EasyRestart uses standard 5-field POSIX cron expressions:

┌─ minute   (0–59)
│ ┌─ hour   (0–23)
│ │ ┌─ day of month (1–31)
│ │ │ ┌─ month (1–12)
│ │ │ │ ┌─ day of week (0=Sun … 6=Sat)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Examples:

Auto-Relaunch Setup

To make the server restart automatically after shutdown:

Linux / macOS

1. Create a startup script (e.g. start.sh) in your server root:

#!/bin/bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"
java -Xmx4G -Xms1G -jar server.jar nogui

1. Make it executable:

chmod +x start.sh

1. Set the config option:

restartScriptPath = "start.sh"
# or absolute: restartScriptPath = "/home/mc/server/start.sh"

Windows

1. Create a start.bat in your server root:

@echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
java -Xmx4G -Xms1G -jar server.jar nogui

1. Set the config option:

restartScriptPath = "start.bat"
# or absolute: restartScriptPath = "C:/servers/minecraft/start.bat"

Note: The script is launched as a detached process before the JVM exits, so it will survive the server shutdown. Make sure the script is not run inside a session manager (like screen or tmux) that would die with the parent process — or wrap the script launch in a new screen/tmux session if needed.

⚠️ Server panels (Crafty, Pterodactyl, Pelican, etc.): Do not use restartScriptPath if you manage your server through a panel. The script would launch a new Java process outside the panel's control — the panel would lose visibility over the server (logs, stop button, monitoring). Instead, leave restartScriptPath empty and enable the panel's own auto-restart feature. EasyRestart will still handle all warnings and countdowns; the panel will detect the shutdown and relaunch the server itself.

Commands

All commands require operator permission level 2.

Compatibility

• Minecraft: 1.20.x
• Mod loader: Forge
• Java: 17 or higher
• Side: Server only

License

MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute.