File management & SSH/sFTP

Information about managing files and logging in via SSH/sFTP

Installation Locations

All installations are stored within the /home/minecraft/* directory within their respective folders...

Minecraft: /home/minecraft/mc-instances/* - See here for extra information on Minecraft instance identification.
CS:GO /home/minecraft/csgo/*
ARK: /home/minecraft/ark/*
...etc.

Hidden Directories

Have you ever tried to change mods list (mods-list.json) for Factorio via sFTP/File Manager, but it is not working or loading any mods? Or thought "Hey, why is my uploaded Terraria save not working?", you may be the victim of a hidden directory!

Some games will store the information in a hidden directory, on your home computer, this may be located in the %App Data%. However, most of our services run on Linux CentOS, Linux does not have a %App Data%, instead, it stores these files in hidden directories such as /home/minecraft/.local/, the full stop in the directory name makes the directory hidden by default.

Hidden directories cannot be 'seen' in the File Manager, the only way to access these directories is via sFTP, the sFTP client must have 'Show Hidden Files/Folders' enabled in the client's settings/options in order to see these directories.

Note: Never remove or edit your .ssh .pki directories, you can break your service!

 

Restoring Backups

If you have made a backup via the Service > Backupspage, you can restore it by:

1) Visit any Console submenu for the game software you intend to restore, ensure the server is shut down by clicking the red stop button on the right side of the page and waiting for the running indicator on the games menu to turn red.
*If the server is running, some files may not be overwritten OR may be overwritten by data in RAM when the server reboots, reverting your restoration changes.


2) Click Restore next to the backup you want to restore on the Service > Backups page.
Restoration may take a few mins depending on the size of your backup, the more data, the longer it will take.

File Manager

Navigating Around

To open a folder or a file all you need to do is double click on the file/folder

Edit Files

If you want to edit a file(s) first find the file you want to edit then double click on it, it will then open the file in a built-in text editor if it is a supported file type, if the panel does not recognise the file type of the file you are trying to edit it will ask if you want to download the file.

Uploading Files

To upload files to your server you can drag the file from your desktop then drop it on the file manager and it should upload the file for you.

Extracting/Compressing Files

If you have uploaded a compressed file or there is a compressed file you would like to extract on your server you can right-click the file then select Extract from the menu to extract the file.

You can also compress files by right-clicking on the file/folder and selecting compress from the menu. This will then generate a compressed zip of the files/folders you selected.

Setting up SSH/sFTP

If you are looking to manage your server using SSH or want to transfer files using sFTP you will need to download the SSH/sFTP key from the access page of the panel as we do not provide a password for logging in via these methods.

Using an SSH/sFTP key increases the security of your service as it requires the user connecting to the service to have a physical file on their system rather than just entering a password.

Generating/Uploading an SSH/sFTP key

  1. Login to the CreeperPanel then click on the Access link in the sidebar, This will take you to the Access page where you can upload your own SSH key or generate one.
    msedge_2022-10-28_19-52-58.png

  2. We can either click on Upload key to upload a key from your computer, or Generate key to generate a key from the panel. If you generate a key through the panel you will need to convert the key before being able to use it with Putty
    This guide will go through generating our own key and uploading it to the panel.
    msedge_2023-03-23_01-36-10.png

  3. Please follow this guide on generating an SSH key https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/books/general-information/page/generating-your-own-ssh-key
  4. Now that you have saved your keys, copy the public key that's in the box highlighted below, then go to the CreeperPanel
    puttygen_2023-03-23_02-19-24.png

  5. Click on the Upload key button, then paste the public key you copied into the pop-up that opens and click Upload.

  6. If this is the first time connecting via SSH/sFTP you will now need to log in to your server with PuTTY to set a sudo password, if you have previously set a password you can skip to the next step.
    A sudo password allows you to run commands with elevated privileges, and it's important to remember this password.
    You can use the following guide to set up PuTTY then once you are connected through PuTTY you will be prompted to set the password https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/books/general-information/page/putty-078-ssh-guide

    Your password will not show up while typing it


    putty_2022-10-28_21-10-48.png

  7. You can now follow one of our guides at the following link to set up your tool of choice :

WinSCP SFTP Guide

Download and install WinSCP. This is Windows only. You can do this by either going directly to the website, or downloading the archive linked below which can be run without installation.

WinSCP website: http://winscp.net/
WinSCP download (portable, non-install version): https://winscp.net/download/WinSCP-5.21.5-Portable.zip

IMPORTANT!
You will now need to download the SSH/sFTP key from the panel, a guide on finding and downloading the key can be found at https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/books/general-information/page/how-to-sshsftp-into-your-server

Next, open WinSCP.
Ensure the following:

Click "Advanced" under the password (leave the password blank):

WinSCP_2022-10-28_20-47-34.png

Select "Authentication" in the left menu of WinSCP., then click "..." next to "Private key file:" and select the .PPK file you downloaded from the control panel.

Click "OK" to close the settings.

WinSCP_2022-10-28_20-51-16.png

Click on "Save" then click "Login".

WinSCP will now login to your server's sFTP and display your /home/customer/* directory, ready for you to drag, drop, double-click open configuration files for editing (Control+S to save edits using the in-built editor)... etc.

Note: PPK files have a limited lifespan, after approx. 90mins you will need to obtain a new one in order to login again. This lifespan can vary.

CyberDuck SFTP Guide

Firstly, download and install CyberDuck. This can be used on either Mac or Windows. You can do this by going to the CyberDuck website http://cyberduck.io

IMPORTANT!
You will now need to download the SSH/sFTP key from the panel, a guide on finding and downloading the key can be found at https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/books/general-information/page/how-to-sshsftp-into-your-server

Open CyberDuck, then click "Open Connection".

Cyberduck_2022-10-28_20-53-41.png

Ensure the following:

Cyberduck_2022-10-28_20-54-57.png

Finally, click connect - and you will be able to access the server's filesystem

Note: PPK files have a limited lifespan, after approx. 90mins you will need to obtain a new one in order to login again.

FileZilla sFTP Guide

IMPORTANT!
Before proceeding with following the guide, you will fist need to follow this guide to download or set your SSH/sFTP key.
https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/books/general-information/page/how-to-sshsftp-into-your-server

1. Click on File > Site Manager

WindowsSandboxClient_2022-01-04_22-23-40.png

2. Click on New Site

WindowsSandboxClient_2022-01-04_22-24-24.png

3. Give it a name then change the following options:

filezilla_2022-10-28_20-59-35.png

4. You should now be able to click on Connect and if all goes well it will connect you to your server

PuTTY (>=0.78) SSH Guide

Putty is a piece of software that can be used to connect to your server using SSH and can be downloaded at the following link https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

Once you have putty downloaded, open it and you will be greeted with the following screen.

putty_2021-08-06_20-20-00.png

Now enter customer@YOURSERVERNAME.plyat.ch into the Host Name box

putty_2022-10-31_20-48-47.png

Next you will need to click on the + next to SSH and then Auth then click on Credentials

putty_2022-10-31_20-49-55.png

You will now be on a screen where you can select a Private key file, this is the PPK file that you generated or uploaded to the CreeperPanel, to select the file click on the Browse button then navigate and select the ppk file.
After selecting the key file, click on the Open button to connect via SSH

putty_2022-10-31_20-50-23.png

PuTTY (<=0.77) SSH Guide

Putty is a piece of software that can be used to connect to your server using SSH and can be downloaded at the following link https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

Once you have putty downloaded, open it and you will be greeted with the following screen.

putty_2021-08-06_20-20-00.png

You will now want to enter customer@yourServerName.playat.ch in the Host Name box then click the Plus button next to SSH then click on the text Auth, you should now see a text box with a browse button next to it, click on browse then navigate to where you save the SSH/sFTP key to, select the key then click Open. Now click on Session and (optionally) Enter a name in the text box below Saved Sessions and click the save button to save the Configuration. Finally, click on open to connect to your server.

Generating your own SSH key

Windows

To generate an SSH key on Windows you will need to download PuttyGen from https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

Once you have PuttyGen downloaded, open it and you should see a screen such as the one below.puttygen_2023-04-12_21-50-38.png

We would recommend changing the Parameters at the bottom so that EdDSA is selected, this will allow you to generate a key quickly and provide a shorter yet very secure key.

Once you have selected EdDSA click on the generate button.

puttygen_2023-03-23_02-18-27.png

You will now need to move your mouse around in the box below the progress bar to generate your key.

puttygen_2023-03-23_02-18-40.png

Once the key has been generated and the progress bar disappears, click on the Save public key and the Save private key and save them to a safe location on your computer, you can also set a passphrase/password on the keys if you desire.

puttygen_2023-03-23_02-19-40.png

macOS/Linux