Minecraft Server Scanner

An Apify Actor that scans IP ranges to discover Minecraft servers across the internet and collects detailed information about them.

Features

• Fast Scanning: Uses masscan to efficiently scan /16 subnets (65,536 IPs each)
• Server Verification: Verifies each discovered host is actually a Minecraft server
• Detailed Data Collection: Captures version, player count, descriptions, and online players
• Cloud Scalable: Runs on Apify's infrastructure with progress tracking and checkpoints
• Pay-per-Event: Fair pricing model - you only pay for subnets actually scanned
• JSON Output: Clean, structured data output optimized for analysis

Input Parameters

• start_ip (string): Starting IP address as JSON array (e.g., "[185,130,197,0]")
• max_subnets (integer): Number of /16 subnets to scan (each subnet = 65,536 IPs)
• timeout_per_server (integer): Timeout for each Minecraft server check (5-30 seconds)

Example Input

{
  "start_ip": "[185,130,197,0]",
  "max_subnets": 5,
  "timeout_per_server": 10
}

Output Format

Each discovered server is saved to the Apify dataset with the following structure:

{
  "address": "185.130.90.243:25565",
  "version": "Paper 1.21.1",
  "players_online": 3,
  "players_max": 20,
  "description": "Welcome to our survival server!",
  "player_list": ["Steve", "Alex", "Notch"],
  "online_players": "Steve, Alex, Notch",
  "found_at": "2025-09-07T12:00:00.000Z",
  "subnet": "185.130.0.0/16"
}

UI Display

The actor shows a clean table view with these columns:

• Server Address | Version | Online | Max Players | Description | Players

Additional metadata (player_list, found_at, subnet) is stored in the dataset but hidden from the table view for cleaner presentation.

How It Works

1. Port Scanning: Uses masscan at 40,000 packets/sec to scan for open port 25565
2. Server Verification: Queries each discovered host with mcstatus to verify it's a Minecraft server
3. Data Collection: Extracts server version, player counts, description (MOTD), and player names
4. Progress Tracking: Automatically saves progress and can resume from interruptions
5. Pay-per-Event: Charges once per subnet scanned for fair, transparent pricing

Pricing

This actor uses a pay-per-event model:

• Event: subnet-scanned
• Cost: Set by the actor publisher
• Fair Usage: You only pay for subnets actually scanned, regardless of how many servers are found

Example Usage

To scan 3 subnets starting from 185.130.197.0:

{
  "start_ip": "[185,130,197,0]",
  "max_subnets": 3,
  "timeout_per_server": 10
}

This will scan:

• 185.130.0.0/16 (65,536 IPs)
• 185.131.0.0/16 (65,536 IPs)
• 185.132.0.0/16 (65,536 IPs)

Logs and Monitoring

The actor provides detailed logs:

• 🔍 Scanning subnet X/Y: A.B.0.0/16
• 💳 Charged for scanning subnet: A.B.0.0/16
• 📡 Found X hosts with port 25565 open
• ✅ Found server: IP:25565 | Version | Players
• 📈 Subnet complete. Found X Minecraft servers

Limitations

• Scan Rate: Optimized at 40,000 packets/sec for cloud performance
• Network Dependencies: Requires raw socket access (provided by Apify infrastructure)
• Server Timeouts: Some servers may timeout during verification
• Rate Limits: Some networks may implement rate limiting

Use Cases

• Server Discovery: Find public Minecraft servers for directories or analysis
• Market Research: Analyze server versions, player counts, and descriptions
• Network Analysis: Study Minecraft server distribution across IP ranges
• Competitive Intelligence: Monitor server landscapes in specific regions

Technical Details

• Masscan: Fast SYN scanner for initial port discovery
• mcstatus: Python library for Minecraft server status queries
• Concurrency: Asynchronous server verification for efficiency
• Checkpoints: Automatic progress saving for reliable resumption

Support

For issues or questions, contact the actor publisher or refer to the Apify documentation.

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Author: Mr_Brogrammer
License: MIT