Introduction
RCON (Remote Console) lets you send server commands from outside without going through the panel. Essential for: integrating a Discord bot, automating broadcasts, managing from CLI, hooking up external dashboards. This guide gets you set up properly and safely.
Prerequisites
- A Vanilla / Paper / Spigot / Forge / Fabric Minecraft server at VeryCloud
- Wisp panel access
- An RCON client (mcrcon, mcstatus, RconClient, etc.)
Step 1: Configure server.properties
In Wisp → Files, open /server.properties and modify:
enable-rcon=true
rcon.port=25575
rcon.password=A_LONG_RANDOM_PASSWORD
broadcast-rcon-to-ops=true
rcon.port: default 25575. Verify the port is allocated if you change it.rcon.password: minimum 16 random chars, never the same as ssh or panel.broadcast-rcon-to-ops: in-game OPs see RCON commands (useful for audit).
Step 2: Allocate the RCON port
In Wisp → Network → Create Allocation → 25575/tcp (TCP, not UDP).
⚠️ Critical security: never leave RCON open on the Internet without precautions. See step 7.
Step 3: Restart the server
Restart. Logs should show:
[Server thread/INFO]: RCON running on 0.0.0.0:25575
Step 4: Test with mcrcon
Install mcrcon (open source, multi-OS):
Linux/macOS:
git clone https://github.com/Tiiffi/mcrcon.git
cd mcrcon && make && sudo make install
Windows: download the compiled binary from the GitHub repo.
Usage:
mcrcon -H VERYCLOUD_IP -P 25575 -p YOUR_PASS "list"
mcrcon -H VERYCLOUD_IP -P 25575 -p YOUR_PASS "say Announcement via RCON"
Step 5: Interactive mode
mcrcon -H VERYCLOUD_IP -P 25575 -p YOUR_PASS -t
Type quit to exit.
Step 6: Automate tasks
Daily 8 PM broadcast via cron on another VPS:
#!/bin/bash
mcrcon -H VERYCLOUD_IP -P 25575 -p "$MCRCON_PASS" \
"say [Auto] Restart at 11 PM tonight."
Cron 0 20 * * *. Put MCRCON_PASS in ~/.profile, never plaintext in the script.
Step 7: Secure RCON exposure
Most neglected point. By robustness:
Option A — IP whitelist (recommended) If you connect from a dedicated VPS or fixed IP, open a VeryCloud ticket to whitelist only your source IP on port 25575.
Option B — SSH tunnel
ssh -L 25575:127.0.0.1:25575 user@verycloud-jumphost
Then point mcrcon at 127.0.0.1:25575 locally.
Option C — VPN / WireGuard RCON listens only on the VPN IP.
Avoid: leaving RCON open on 0.0.0.0 with a weak password. Bots scan constantly.
Step 8: Discord bot integration
Python example:
from mcrcon import MCRcon
with MCRcon("VERYCLOUD_IP", "PASS", port=25575) as mcr:
print(mcr.command("list"))
A /mc list slash command in your bot can run that and reply with the online player list.
Troubleshooting
Connection refused — RCON not started, port not allocated, firewall dropping.
Invalid password — recopy without stray spaces, prefer long alphanumeric.
Server freezes on heavy command — RCON runs on main thread. Avoid giant /fill. Use async plugins.
Useful commands
mcrcon -H IP -P 25575 -p PASS "list" # one-shot
mcrcon -H IP -P 25575 -p PASS -t # interactive
ssh -L 25575:127.0.0.1:25575 user@host # tunnel
Conclusion
Properly enabled RCON = automation, alerting, Discord integration. But it's an admin entry point: don't expose openly. Long password, whitelisted port, and you have a powerful tool.
Going further: REST API gateway, Grafana stats, in-game ↔ Discord bridge.