Servo

Install Servo#

# Install servo where your game server will run
curl -fsSL https://releases.sproutcli.dev/servo/install.sh | sh

# Create your admin login, enter a strong password
servo users add --username admin --perms "admin"

Then open https://localhost:8829 (or https://<LAN IP>:8829) and sign in. You’ll be greeted with a scary warning, this is cause servo self-signs it’s certificate. Click trust / proceed anyway.

If you plan on inviting friends or connecting from outside your local network put Caddy in front of it. Then you’ll have a domain and a trusted HTTPS certificate.

Add your game#

A driver is a small script that knows how to start, stop, update and backup your game. Servo does the dashboard / calling it part. To keep things simple you can only have one “active” driver / game at a time.

You can start with the Fedora Palworld driver or write your own. Read the script and edit its settings first: passwords, ports, container name, the usual stuff.

# from the directory containing your driver
cp my-game-driver.sh ~/.servo/drivers/
chmod +x ~/.servo/drivers/my-game-driver.sh

In Settings, select and activate the driver. Then head back to the dashboard, click Install, wait for it to finish, then Start.

To install a driver you need shell/SSH access. There is no driver-upload in the UI. That would be begging to be a remote code execution attack vector, no thanks.. On that note, read drivers before use.

To switch drivers later, stop the current game first. Switching doesn’t delete its data or backups, but an unknown game status blocks the switch.

Invite your friends#

Give players the controls they need, if any:

servo users add --username alice --perms "game.control"
servo users add --username bob --perms "game.control game.backup"
servo users list

Send them your dashboard URL and their login. Everyone who signs in can see status, players, connection details and activity. Extra permissions unlock actions:

Permission	What they can do
`game.control`	Start, stop, restart and update the game
`game.backup`	Make and download backups
`game.restore`	See backup names/dates and restore them
`servo.settings`	Change/enable the restart/backup, connection details, themes and service settings
`servo.control`	Stop, restart and update Servo itself
`admin`	Everything, including driver activation, game install/uninstall, site styling, and detailed logs

To remove someone, run servo users remove --username alice. Their existing logins are revoked too. For a new password or different permissions, just remove the account and add it again.

Logins last 30 minutes. Clicking around doesn’t extend that. If you’re signed out while a backup or update is running, it carries on. Just log back in to see how it went.

Day to day#

The dashboard is the place for game controls, connected players, metrics and activity. Some extras depend on what your driver supports.

A version warning means the reported game/container version differs from the driver’s. It doesn’t do anything, just a warning “hey this driver was written when game/container was at version x”.

Game server controls affect the game. Servo controls in Settings affect the dashboard service. A game managed independently by its driver can keep running while an idle Servo restarts or updates. Though restarting Servo during an operation interrupts it.

One operation runs at a time. Update, backup and restore stop a running game first, then start it again only if every step succeeds. A game that was already stopped stays stopped. If any step fails, the sequence ends. There’s no auto retry / recovery. Check Activity and the game before trying again; admins get the full log.

In Settings, fill in the game’s address and password so friends can copy them from the dashboard. These are just the join details: editing them doesn’t reconfigure the game. Keep them in sync with your driver.

You can also pick a theme, choose separate login/dashboard backgrounds, and adjust blur and alignment. Background uploads need admin access and are capped at 8 MiB (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or AVIF). A login background is visible before signing in. A forced theme applies to everyone; otherwise each browser can choose light or dark.

Backups & restarts#

Backup now makes an archive you can download. By default Servo keeps the newest five archives; set retention to zero for unlimited. Older archives are pruned when new ones that push the total count over the limit are created successfully.

To roll back, choose Restore on an archive and confirm. It replaces current game data. Restore has its own permission and needs driver support. Test this full flow on a dummy game before using it for real.

For daily maintenance, choose a time in Settings. Daily Restart and Scheduled Backups share that window, in the host’s local timezone.

A running game stops, optionally backs up, then starts again on success.
A stopped game stays stopped. A scheduled backup can still run.
Backups work with daily restart disabled, but a running game still needs downtime.
Busy or missed windows are skipped. Game updates are always manual.

In-game player warnings default to ten minutes ahead, if the driver supports them; zero turns them off. On a daylight-saving change, a missing clock time is skipped and a repeated time runs only on its first occurrence.

Troubleshooting#

Can’t reach the dashboard? Check servo service status and servo config show. The dashboard listens on port 8829 on your LAN; check the host address and firewall. For a domain, check the Caddy guide.

Driver missing or activation refused? It must be a regular executable directly under ~/.servo/drivers/, not a symlink. Check missing dependencies, stop the outgoing game, and resolve any status error before switching. Servo expects its directories to be owned by your user with mode 0700; it won’t quietly fix unexpected permissions.

Failed or interrupted operation? Check Activity as an admin, then check the game itself. Servo doesn’t resume interrupted work. A failed stop or status check means the game might still be running.

Servo update failed? Look at ~/.servo/logs/maintenance.log. Rerun the installer if the installation needs recovery. Don’t manually replace files with an older version. For a reproducible bug, open an issue, with passwords and private log details removed.

Uninstalling#

Uninstall game stops and removes the game through its driver, then deletes that driver’s data after successful teardown. It keeps the script and backups.

To uninstall Servo itself run:

servo uninstall

That removes Servo, its settings, logins, etc. It keeps ~/.servo/drivers/, ~/.servo/driver-data/ and ~/.servo/backups/. If you want the game gone too, uninstall it from the dashboard first.