AMP by CubeCoders: Minecraft and Game Server Panel Guide (2026)

AMP (Application Management Panel) by CubeCoders is a paid, polished server management panel. Most people meet it through Minecraft and then find out it runs the rest of their server list too. You install it on a VPS or a dedicated box, and every game server becomes an instance with its own console, file manager, schedule and player list, instead of a screen session you have to remember the name of.

This covers what the license actually costs, how to install it, how to get a Minecraft server running on it, what changes when the game is Rust or ARK instead, and when Pterodactyl is still the better answer.

Is AMP free?

There is a free tier that covers 2 instances. That is enough for a Minecraft server plus one other game while you decide whether you like the panel. Past two instances you need a license:

• Professional: $10 one time for 5 instances
• Professional+: higher instance counts at higher prices
• Enterprise: subscription pricing for larger deployments, with support included

The Professional license is a purchase, not a rental. It stays valid and it includes updates, so that $10 is not a line on next month's bill. For anyone running one or two servers at home, the free tier plus a single Professional license is usually the whole spend.

What AMP actually does

• Auto-configuration: AMP detects the game and generates a management UI for its settings, so you are editing fields instead of config files
• Instance management: each server runs as an isolated instance with its own RAM and CPU limits
• Console and file manager: full server console in the browser, plus file access per instance
• Scheduling: automated restarts, backups and tasks
• User management: multiple admins with granular permissions
• Monitoring: live CPU, RAM and player counts
• Automatic updates: one-click server updates, and SteamCMD-driven updates for Steam games
• REST API: for automation, provisioning scripts and billing integrations
• Docker support: optional containerization, not a requirement

Installing AMP on Linux

Quick way, fine for a throwaway box:

bash <(wget -qO- getamp.sh)

The repository package is what I would use on anything I plan to keep, because updates then come through apt with everything else:

curl -fsSL https://repo.cubecoders.com/cubecoders-repo-buster.deb -o repo.deb
sudo dpkg -i repo.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ampinstmgr
sudo ampinstmgr quickstart ADS01 admin yourEmail@example.com strongpassword

ADS is the controller instance, the thing that manages every other instance. It listens on port 8080. Reach it through an SSH tunnel rather than opening 8080 to the internet, since that panel can start processes on your machine.

Then:

1. Open http://your-server-ip:8080
2. Log in with the credentials you set during install
3. Create a new instance

Creating a Minecraft server in AMP

In the ADS web UI:

1. Create instance, Application Type: Minecraft Java Edition.
2. Set RAM (for example 8192 MB) and a CPU limit (200 % is two cores).
3. Pick the server type. The first start downloads the jar for Vanilla, Paper, Forge or Fabric on its own, so there is no manual jar hunting.
4. Open the instance, go to Configuration, Java Args, and paste your Aikar flags before the first real start.
5. Console, Start.

Bedrock instances follow the same path, you just choose the Bedrock application type instead.

Minecraft-specific features

This is where AMP earns its price over a generic process manager:

• Mod manager: install Forge and Fabric mods through the UI
• Plugin manager: browse and install Spigot and Paper plugins
• World management: upload, download and switch worlds without touching FTP
• server.properties editor: every setting as a form field, with the defaults explained
• Player management: whitelist, ban and OP from the panel
• Console: the real server console, in the browser, with command history

Backups

Backups tab, Schedule, daily, retain 7. AMP's built-in backup tars up the instance directory and keeps it on the host. That covers a bad plugin update or a griefed world. It does not cover the host itself dying, so add a cron rsync of the backups directory to a different machine. A backup living on the same disk as the world it protects is not a backup.

Using AMP for game servers other than Minecraft

AMP is a general game server panel, and the Minecraft support is one template among a long list. Rust, ARK, Valheim and FiveM all have first-party templates, alongside most of the usual dedicated server list. You create the instance the same way you created the Minecraft one, pick the application type, set resource limits, start it.

Two things behave differently once you leave Minecraft:

• Steam games update through SteamCMD. AMP handles the SteamCMD call for you, so an ARK or Valheim instance can pull the current build on a schedule or on restart. That is the part people usually script by hand, and it is the main reason to run these games under a panel at all.
• Resource limits are per instance, not per box. RAM and CPU ceilings are set on the instance itself, so one game cannot eat the whole machine when it misbehaves.

Running several games on one box is the case AMP is genuinely built for. Each instance gets its own RAM ceiling and CPU share, so a Rust server wiping its map does not starve the Minecraft instance next to it. The REST API sits underneath all of it if you want to create and destroy instances from your own tooling instead of clicking.

AMP vs Pterodactyl

The real comparison for most people, because Pterodactyl and its successor Pelican are free.

The split is simple. AMP costs money and saves you an afternoon. Pterodactyl costs an afternoon and saves you money, and it scales across nodes for free, which matters once you are past one machine. If Docker is not something you already run, AMP's native install removes an entire category of problems you would otherwise be debugging. If you are comfortable with containers, see Docker versus Pterodactyl and the Pterodactyl panel VPS setup before you buy anything.

Pelican is the community fork of Pterodactyl, so if you go the free route, read the Pterodactyl and Pelican comparison before you pick which one to install.

AMP vs free panels generally

If you want free and lightweight for a single Minecraft box, Crafty Controller is the smaller option and does not need a license at all.

When to use AMP, and when to skip it

Use it when:

• You manage several game servers on one machine and want one clean GUI for all of them
• You want a professional panel without standing up Docker and a database first
• You need someone to email when it breaks
• You prefer paid software with guaranteed updates

Skip it when:

• You are on managed hosting. A control panel already comes with the plan, so paying for a second one buys you nothing. AMP is for people running their own VPS or dedicated server.
• You are running one server and never plan to run two. A systemd unit and a backup cron do the job.
• You need many nodes. Free multi-node with Wings is hard to argue with at that size.

Common breakage

Is AMP worth it?

For a single Minecraft server, the free tier answers the question at no cost, and the $10 license is worth it the moment you add a second game and start caring about scheduled backups. For a hosting business, the polished UI and the API are the parts that pay for themselves. For a large multi-node build, Pterodactyl or Pelican still wins on price and flexibility.

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Want a machine to run it on? KVM VPS plans if you want to install AMP yourself, or Minecraft hosting if you would rather the panel came with the server.