Hosted by Squab
Our machines. A Squab admin gives your group’s workspace hosting, and the panel picks a machine with room for the server you create. There is no checkout and no charge while we’re in this phase.
Game server hosting · Minecraft Paper first
A game server the whole group can look after.
Squab runs your server and gives you one panel for the console, files, backups and schedules. Invite your friends, then decide who can watch, who can restart and who can touch the world.
Right now we set up hosting for each group by hand. No checkout, no card. Ask on Discord if you want in.
Paper 26.2
Survival
Running Node connected
Public address
play.squab.dev:27014- Memory
- 2.6 / 4 GB
- CPU
- 0.4 / 2 vCPU
- Storage
- 1.3 / 10 GB
[12:04:51 INFO] Preparing level "world"
[12:04:58 INFO] Done (6.214s)! For help, type "help"
> whitelist add Alex
[12:05:02 INFO] Added Alex to the whitelist
[12:06:40 INFO] Alex joined the game
NameSize
worldFolder
pluginsFolder
server.properties1.4 KB
whitelist.json96 B
ops.json2 B
Backups
Sunday, 03:00 Ready · 1.2 GB · Pinned
Snapshots
Today, 11:42 Ready · 1.3 GB · Expires in 7 days
The panel
Every tab, in plain words.
The server view tab by tab, plus the workspace activity log. Everything on this list works in the panel today.
- Overview
- The public address to copy, power controls, and live memory, CPU and storage use next to your limits. A reading that is out of date says so instead of showing zero.
- Console
- The server log, streamed live. Scroll up and it stops following. Commands you send show up in the output, right before the server’s answer.
- Files
- Browse any time; edit and upload while the server is stopped. The editor warns before you leave with unsaved changes, and if someone saved the same file first, you choose what happens. Nothing is silently overwritten.
- Backups
- Backups, snapshots, restore and download. More on those below.
- Schedules
- Restart, back up or run a console command on a schedule, in your time zone. A run that was missed is skipped, not saved up for later.
- Configuration
- Game settings as a form with defaults, help text and allowed ranges. Changes are written while the server is stopped.
- Access
- Who in the workspace can see, run or manage this server. One role per person, per server.
- Activity
- A log for the whole workspace: who started, stopped, restored, invited or changed what. Grouped by day, one line per event.
Backups and snapshots
Two ways to save a world.
A backup is the careful kind. A snapshot is the quick kind. Both
restore the same way, and both download as one .tar file that
your browser saves directly, however big the world is.
| Backup | Snapshot | |
|---|---|---|
| The server | Is stopped first. The panel stops it, makes the backup and starts it again if you tick the box. | Keeps running. Squab asks the game to flush and pause saving, copies the files, then turns saving back on. |
| Players notice | A few minutes of downtime. | Nothing. The console is busy for a moment. |
| How many are kept | Three per server. A new one replaces the oldest unpinned one. | One per server by default. Each expires after 7 days. |
| Pin to keep | Yes | No, they expire |
| Games | All of them | Games that support it. Minecraft Paper and CurseForge modpacks today. |
Restoring needs the server stopped. Your current files stay in place until the restore has succeeded. Backups and snapshots live on the machine that runs your server, so they cover mistakes, not the loss of that machine. Download a copy of anything you can’t lose.
Sharing
Share the server, not a password.
Everyone signs in with their own Squab account. A workspace holds your servers and your people. Invite links expire after seven days and can be revoked.
Workspace owners and admins have full access to every server. Everyone else gets a role per server.
| Viewer | Operator | Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| See status, resources and activity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Read the console | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Start, stop, restart and send commands | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Files, configuration, backups and schedules | – | – | ✓ |
| Delete the server | – | – | ✓ |
Console output can contain things you would rather not share, so even Viewer is a deliberate choice. Every change ends up in the activity log with a name next to it.
Games
What you can run.
Every game comes from an image we build, pin to an exact version and run as a non-root user. You can’t bring your own image yet. When a newer image is out, the panel offers the upgrade and you confirm it. Worlds, settings and ports stay.
Minecraft Java · Paper
SupportedPaper 26.2 · TCP
Our first game and the one we play on ourselves. You accept the Minecraft EULA when you create the server. On restart Paper picks up the newest stable build of your Minecraft version and never jumps to a new version on its own. Live snapshots work here.
Hytale
EarlyHytale 0.6.8 · UDP
In the catalog, not yet proven with real players. On first start you sign in to Hytale yourself, and the game files come from Hytale into your server. Backups only, no snapshots.
Palworld
EarlyPalworld 1.0.5 · UDP
In the catalog, not yet proven with real players. The official server is part of the image, so no Steam account is needed. Backups only, no snapshots.
Minecraft Java · CurseForge modpacks
EarlyForge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt · TCP
In the catalog, not yet proven with real players. You add your own CurseForge API key and pick a modpack. Squab installs its server pack and the right Java, and keeps your world when you change the pack version. Live snapshots work here.
Under the hood
Where your server actually runs.
The panel talks to Squab’s API. The API talks to Wing, our agent on each machine. Wing runs every game in its own container.
- youpanel.squab.devSquab APIWinggame
- playersplay.squab.devgatewayWinggame
- Each game gets fixed memory, CPU and disk limits, and its world lives outside the container.
- Restarting or updating Wing leaves your running games alone.
- Players join through
play.squab.devon a port Squab assigns. The server sees our gateway’s address, not each player’s, so use the whitelist rather than IP bans.
Before you start
Straight answers.
What does it cost?
Nothing right now, and you can’t buy it yet. We assign hosting to workspaces while we build. Paid plans will show their prices here before anyone is charged. Running Squab on your own machine will stay free from our side.
Can I connect my own machine?
Not yet. The Wing agent and the panel’s connection steps exist, but we haven’t opened them up. We’ll say so here when we do.
Can I add plugins?
Yes, on Paper. Upload the jar into plugins with the file
manager while the server is stopped. Uploads are up to 100 MB per file.
There is no SFTP yet.
Do I need Discord?
No. Everything happens in the browser with a Squab account. Discord is where we answer questions and post updates.
Is there an uptime guarantee or DDoS protection?
No to both. Game traffic goes through a single gateway without failover, so restarting it drops connected players. We’d rather tell you than print a percentage. Current status is on status.squab.dev.
Recently shipped
Lately in the panel.
The full notes are under What’s New, next to the version number in the panel.
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SFTP access
Connect to your server files with FileZilla, WinSCP or sftp, where SFTP access is available.
-
API tokens
Create personal API tokens so your own scripts and tools can use Squab as you.
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Usage history and notifications
See how much memory, CPU and storage a server used over time, and get notified in the Panel when something needs your attention.
Questions, bugs, wishes.
Ask in our Discord, report a bug or tell us what your group is missing.