I always wanted a Minecraft server but they always seemed a bit expensive to run. So I created this configuration that shuts down automatically but persists the world between sessions. Its perfect for me and my family to play on occasionally.
Find the Terraform recipe on Github (MIT license).
If you need help setting it up I am experimenting with supporting the software through an living Google doc.
Features - Runs itzg/minecraft-server Docker image - Preemptible VM shuts down automatically within 24h if you forget to stop the VM - Reserves a stable public IP, so the minecraft clients do not need to be reconfigured - Reserves the disk, so game data is remembered across sessions - Restricted service account, VM has no ability to consume GCP resources - 2$ per month - Reserved IP address costs: $1.46 per month - Reserved 10Gb disk costs: $0.40 - VM cost: $0.01 per hour, max session cost $0.24