Introduction
indiekku is a lightweight game server orchestration tool for Unity multiplayer games. It manages Docker containers running Unity dedicated servers, providing a simple CLI, REST API, and web UI for server lifecycle management.
What is indiekku?
indiekku simplifies the deployment and management of Unity multiplayer game servers by providing:
- Simple CLI - Intuitive command-line interface for server management
- Web UI - Modern web interface with drag-and-drop upload and auto-refreshing server list
- REST API - Programmatic control over server lifecycle
- Docker-based - Isolated server instances with automatic port management
- Automatic Rebuilds - Upload new builds and automatically rebuild Docker images
- Single Binary - Embedded Dockerfile for true single-binary distribution
Key Features
Automatic Port Management
indiekku automatically assigns ports starting from 7777, so you don't have to manually configure networking for each server instance.
Background Daemon
The API server runs as a persistent background process, allowing CLI commands to execute quickly and exit cleanly.
API Key Authentication
Secure your server management with automatically generated API keys. Keys are generated on first run and stored locally.
Video Game Themed Names
Servers are assigned memorable names like "legendary-sword" or "crimson-dragon" for easy identification.
Auto-discovery
indiekku automatically detects Unity server binaries (.x86_64 or .exe) in your game_server/ directory.
Use Cases
indiekku is perfect for:
- Development - Quickly spin up multiple server instances for testing
- Testing - Validate server builds before production deployment
- Small-scale hosting - Run multiple game servers on a single machine
- CI/CD pipelines - Automate server testing and deployment
Architecture
indiekku uses a client-server architecture:
┌─────────────┐
│ CLI/Web │ ← User interaction
└──────┬──────┘
│ HTTP
↓
┌─────────────┐
│ API Server │ ← Background daemon
└──────┬──────┘
│ Docker API
↓
┌─────────────┐
│ Docker │ ← Container management
└──────┬──────┘
│
↓
┌─────────────┐
│Unity Servers│ ← Game server instances
└─────────────┘