Confused about setup

[ReticentRobot]

I'm getting the following error after trying to follow the instructions, not sure what I'm doing wrong:

backup-1  | [15:40:38.726][info    ] Initializing Bedrockifier Daemon
backup-1  | [15:40:38.734][info    ] Configuring Bedrockifier Daemon
backup-1  | [15:40:38.735][info    ] Loading Configuration From: /config/config.yml
backup-1  | [15:40:38.742][error   ] typeMismatch(Yams.Node.Sequence, Swift.DecodingError.Context(codingPath: [CodingKeys(stringValue: "containers", intValue: nil), CodingKeys(stringValue: "bedrock", intValue: nil)], debugDescription: "Expected to decode Sequence but found Node instead.", underlyingError: nil))
backup-1  | [15:40:38.742][error   ] Unable to read configuration file, fix the above errors and try again

I have the itzg bedrock image running from /minecraft/bedrock, my service name is bds - so I've tried replacing 'public' in the instructions with bds, but I think I'm missing or not understanding something...

here is my docker compose (compose.yaml):

services:
  bds:
    image: itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server
    expose:
      - 2222
    restart: always
    environment:
      ENABLE_SSH: "TRUE"
      EULA: "TRUE"
      SERVER_NAME: "Survive"
      GAMEMODE: "survival"
      FORCE_GAMEMODE: "true"
      LEVEL_NAME: "Empire"
      LEVEL_SEED: "1920597806638889562"
      TICK_DISTANCE: "12"
      MAX_THREADS: "0"
    ports:
      - "19132:19132/udp"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true

  backup:
    image: kaiede/minecraft-bedrock-backup
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      # Make sure the minecraft service starts before the backup
      - "bds"
    environment:
        # Without this, your log timestamps will be in the GMT timezone.
        TZ: "America/Chicago"
    volumes:
      # (Optional) Map a configuration folder separately from the backups.
      - /minecraft/backup-config:/config
      # Map your backups folder into /data
      - /minecraft/backups:/data
      # Map your server's data folder wherever you like
      - /minecraft/bds:/bds

and my config.yml in /minecraft/backup-config

# Configures the containers to be backed up
containers:
  bedrock:
    -name: bedrock_bds
    ssh: bds:2222
    passwordFile: /bds/.remote-console.yaml
    worlds:
      - /bds/worlds/Empire

# Configures the schedule for backups
schedule:
  onPlayerLogin: true
  onPlayerLogout: true
  minInterval: 3h

# Configures how backups are 'trimmed' to save disk space
trim:
  trimDays: 2
  keepDays: 14
  minKeep: 2

Should I move my container from /minecraft/bedrock to /minecraft/bds to match the service name?
Thanks!

[Kaiede]

YAML is great because it is a more human-readable form of JSON. YAML is terrible because many/most parsers will not point out syntax errors in a useful way.

This block describing the containers is not properly formatted, as under bedrock should be a list of items.

containers:
  bedrock:
    -name: bedrock_bds
    ssh: bds:2222
    passwordFile: /bds/.remote-console.yaml
    worlds:
      - /bds/worlds/Empire

It should look like this instead (and indenting is important):

containers:
  bedrock:
    - name: bedrock_bds
      ssh: bds:2222
      passwordFile: /bds/.remote-console.yaml
      worlds:
        - /bds/worlds/Empire

[ReticentRobot]

Thank you! Took me way too long to see the difference between those two 😆

[ReticentRobot]

Thanks again for the help with the config. I'm now confused about where the backups are supposed to be going?

I was having issues figuring out where all the folders where supposed to be between my service being named bds, so I renamed it to be bedrock to match the examples - but I'm not seeing where the backups are going. I'd like for the backups to go into /minecraft/backups

I think maybe this part is telling it to put the backups where I want them, but I'm not seeing anything show up in /minecraft/backups on the supplied schedules/triggers:

      # Map your backups folder into /data
      - /minecraft/backups:/data

If I understand everything right, it should be creating a backup whenever a player logs on, when one logs off, and daily at 3am with the way I have the config.yml right now - but it doesn't seem to be creating anything.

This is my current backup config in compose.yaml and the config itself in /backups/backup-configs/config.yml:

compose.yaml:

services:
  bedrock:
    image: itzg/minecraft-bedrock-server
    expose:
      - 2222
    restart: always
    environment:
      ENABLE_SSH: "TRUE"
      EULA: "TRUE"
      SERVER_NAME: "Empire - Survive"
      GAMEMODE: "survival"
      FORCE_GAMEMODE: "true"
      LEVEL_NAME: "Empire"
      LEVEL_SEED: "1920597806638889562"
      TICK_DISTANCE: "12"
      MAX_THREADS: "0"
    ports:
      - "19132:19132/udp"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true

  backup:
    image: kaiede/minecraft-bedrock-backup
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      # Make sure the minecraft service starts before the backup
      - "bedrock"
    environment:
      # Without this, your log timestamps will be in the GMT timezone.
      TZ: "America/Chicago"
    volumes:
      # (Optional) Map a configuration folder separately from the backups.
      - /minecraft/backups/backup-configs/bedrock:/config
      # Map your backups folder into /data
      - /minecraft/backups:/data
      # Map your server's data folder wherever you like
      - /minecraft/bedrock/data:/bedrock

config.yml:

# Configures the containers to be backed up
containers:
  bedrock:
    - name: bedrock
      ssh: bedrock:2222
      passwordFile: /bedrock/.remote-console.yaml
      worlds:
        - /bedrock/worlds/Empire

# Configures the schedule for backups
schedule:
  onPlayerLogin: true
  onPlayerLogout: true
  #minInterval: 1h
  daily: 03:00

# Configures how backups are 'trimmed' to save disk space
trim:
  trimDays: 2
  keepDays: 14
  minKeep: 2

[Kaiede]

I have an e-mail with an additional update that I don't see here, but that update was rather important.

The first step in debugging this is to look at the logs. If you are seeing issues with SSH, then you should also look at the minecraft server logs as SSH connection errors suggest. There is also the skeleton of a troubleshooting section here:

https://github.com/Kaiede/Bedrockifier/wiki/Troubleshooting#ssh-connection-failure-nioposixnioconnectionerror-error-1

That should catch one of the more common reasons why connections fail.

But something I didn't add to the wiki (but should) is that the minecraft logs contain auditing details that I added specifically to make this a little easier: The MC server runner that itzg's containers use will emit a log line telling you that remote connections are active: Running with remote console support. If you see that line at the start of the logs, then it's enabled. If not, then need to make sure you are on a recent enough version of the server image that includes support for it. Each connection will also emit a log line for auditing purposes: Remote console session accepted ... or Remote console session rejected .... The backup service will always connect with the bedrockifier username to identify it in the logs.

If it's getting rejected, it tends to be because the password file is outdated. If no line is emitted at all (accepted or rejected), then there's something likely weird about the docker networking setup. I don't see anything obvious from the configuration here, and so to get any more specific, I'd have to see logs.

[ReticentRobot]

Hmm... yeah everything looks okay from what I can tell. I'm on the newest bedrock itzg, I'm exposing 2222 and then connecting to 2222 in config.yml (well, attempting to at least). Both services are in the same compose file, so I think they should be on the same network. Weird.

[ReticentRobot]

Huh, well I changed this:

    depends_on:
      # Make sure the minecraft service starts before the backup
      - "bedrock"

to this from the troubleshooting stub:

   depends_on:
      bedrock:
        condition: service_healthy

and now SSH seems to be working again...

I guess now I'll see if it will make a backup :)

bedrock-1  | DEBU[0000] Using /data to match uid and gid             
bedrock-1  | DEBU[0000] Resolved UID=0 from match path               
bedrock-1  | DEBU[0000] Resolved GID=0 from match path               
bedrock-1  | Image info: buildtime=2025-11-03T23:28:52.713Z,version=master,revision=759b5a6b9f5816468e7bbf99472ac874c244f6c7
bedrock-1  | Looking up latest version...
bedrock-1  | Updating permissions
bedrock-1  | Starting Bedrock server...
bedrock-1  | 2025-12-18T21:09:21.349Z	INFO	mc-server-runner	Running with remote console support
bedrock-1  | 2025-12-18T21:09:21.349Z	INFO	mc-server-runner	Starting remote shell server on 2222...
bedrock-1  | 2025-12-18T21:09:21.350Z	INFO	mc-server-runner	Reading host keys for remote shell from /data/.hostKey.pem.
bedrock-1  | NO LOG FILE! - setting up server logging...
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Starting Server
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Version: 1.21.131.1
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Session ID: 03877bd0-058e-40e5-8913-be69b6f40525
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Build ID: 39746295
backup-1   | time="2025-12-18T15:09:26-06:00" level=debug msg="Using /data to match uid and gid"
backup-1   | time="2025-12-18T15:09:26-06:00" level=debug msg="Resolved UID=0 from match path"
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Branch: r/21_u13
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Commit ID: 3c929d6fc41f48b65a9ff77078f269f25e6c9b9b
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Configuration: Publish
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:383 INFO] Level Name: Empire
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:385 INFO] No CDN config file found at: cdn_config.json for dedicated server
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:385 INFO] Game mode: 0 Survival
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:385 INFO] Difficulty: 1 EASY
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:386 INFO] Content logging to console is enabled.
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:857 INFO] Opening level 'worlds/Empire/db'
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:21:872 INFO] Pack Stack - None
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:22:707 INFO] IPv4 supported, port: 19132: Used for gameplay and LAN discovery
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:22:707 INFO] IPv6 supported, port: 19133: Used for gameplay
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:22:746 INFO] Waiting for Minecraft services...
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:09:22:847 INFO] Server started.
bedrock-1  | 2025-12-18T21:09:26.606Z	INFO	mc-server-runner	Remote console session accepted (bedrockifier/172.19.0.3:51968) isTTY: false
backup-1   | time="2025-12-18T15:09:26-06:00" level=debug msg="Resolved GID=0 from match path"
backup-1   | [15:09:26.575][info    ] Initializing Bedrockifier Daemon
backup-1   | [15:09:26.580][info    ] Configuring Bedrockifier Daemon
backup-1   | [15:09:26.580][info    ] Loading Configuration From: /config/config.yml
backup-1   | [15:09:26.586][info    ] Configuration Loaded, Running Service...
backup-1   | [15:09:26.589][info    ] Starting Container Connection. newline = ssh
backup-1   | [15:09:26.589][info    ] Host PTY Handle Opened: /dev/pts/0  (bedrock - 6)
backup-1   | [15:09:26.589][info    ] Child PTY Handle Opened: /dev/pts/0 (bedrock - 7)
backup-1   | [15:09:26.590][info    ] Connecting to bedrock:2222
backup-1   | [15:09:26.604][info    ] Existing host key not found. Accepting and recording.
backup-1   | [15:09:26.606][info    ] SSH Terminal fully connected.
backup-1   | [15:09:26.606][info    ] Checking for servers that might not be cleaned up
backup-1   | [15:09:26.607][info    ] Backup Time: 03:00
backup-1   | [15:09:26.607][info    ] Next Backup: 19 Dec 2025 at 3:00:00 AM
backup-1   | [15:09:26.608][info    ] Starting Listeners for Containers
backup-1   | [15:09:26.608][info    ] Service Started Successfully.
backup-1   | [15:09:26.608][info    ] Starting HTTP Service...
backup-1   | [15:09:26.619][info    ] Server started and listening on 0.0.0.0:8080

[ReticentRobot]

Okay! I wouldn't have thought that line would have fixed anything... but it looks like everything is good now!

backup-1   | [15:18:41.546][info    ] Player Logged Out: bedrock, Players Active: 0
backup-1   | [15:18:41.546][info    ] Running Single Backup for bedrock
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:18:41:586 INFO] Saving...
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:18:41:654 INFO] Data saved. Files are now ready to be copied.
bedrock-1  | Empire/db/006537.ldb:2133927, Empire/db/006542.ldb:6918, Empire/db/006552.ldb:2812, Empire/db/006538.ldb:2133658, Empire/db/006539.ldb:2133926, Empire/db/006547.ldb:27958, Empire/db/MANIFEST-006526:2361, Empire/db/006551.ldb:2133665, Empire/db/006532.ldb:2127347, Empire/db/006540.ldb:2138486, Empire/db/006550.ldb:2136475, Empire/db/006533.ldb:2112719, Empire/db/CURRENT:16, Empire/db/005938.ldb:3949, Empire/db/006544.ldb:2134362, Empire/db/006536.ldb:2123688, Empire/db/006534.ldb:2109193, Empire/db/006545.log:2881100, Empire/db/006549.ldb:2110858, Empire/db/006511.ldb:2124519, Empire/db/006541.ldb:2120472, Empire/level.dat:3171, Empire/level.dat_old:3171, Empire/levelname.txt:6
backup-1   | [15:18:41.655][info    ] Starting Backup of worlds. (container: bedrock)
backup-1   | [15:18:41.655][info    ] Backing Up: Empire
backup-1   | [15:18:41.764][info    ] Backed up as: Empire.20251218-151841.mcworld
backup-1   | [15:18:41.764][info    ] Backups for bedrock finished successfully...
bedrock-1  | [2025-12-18 21:18:41:815 INFO] Changes to the world are resumed.
backup-1   | [15:18:41.816][info    ] Performing Trim Jobs
backup-1   | [15:18:41.819][info    ] Single Backup Completed

Thank you!!

[Kaiede]

Huh, well I changed this:

    depends_on:
      # Make sure the minecraft service starts before the backup
      - "bedrock"

to this from the troubleshooting stub:

   depends_on:
      bedrock:
        condition: service_healthy

and now SSH seems to be working again...

This is exactly why it was added to the troubleshooting page.

Unfortunately, there's a race between the two servers if they start up nearly the same time. For some configurations (timed backups that wait a couple minutes before the first backup), this is fine. But other configurations (watching player events, immediate backups on launch), it's easy for the backup service to start a hair faster than the server itself.

There's some reliability work for SSH I've been meaning to get to that would help solve this (retry with back-off), just haven't had a ton of time for personal projects due to family health stuff to go tackle it.

[ReticentRobot]

I definitely appreciate it! Sorry to hear about your family stuff going on. Thanks again for all of the help!!