ACLClouds
ACLClouds

My game server crashes on startup: how to diagnose?

Read the first meaningful error, then check resources, variables, files and dependencies.

The last line is not always the cause. Work back to the first specific error, before the cascade of shutdown messages.

Step-by-step procedure

  1. Find the first error

    Check for ERROR, FATAL, Exception, Segmentation fault or a missing file.

  2. Check resources

    An OOM error or exit code 137 usually means the server ran out of memory.

  3. Check the variables

    Check license key, version, ports and boot command.

  4. Isolate the add-ons

    Temporarily remove the last added plugin or mod, then reboot.

  5. Create a ticket

    Attach the log lines from before the crash, the time and the last change. Remove any token from the log.