Ghost
Why Choose Ghost?
If you're tired of overpaying for managed game hosting and want full control over your infrastructure, Ghost is probly the best fit for tech savvy players. The main draw here is pricing flexibility since you deploy straight onto your own Hetzner account instead of locking into a pricey reseller plan. You can get servers for games like Rust, Valheim, or even Palworld running in seconds without waiting for support tickets or dealing with weird rate limits on shared hardware. What really sets this apart tho is that its open source, meaning you aren't stuck relying on some company's roadmap for new features. Since the code is out there, you can tweak the backend or add mods easier if you know your way around git repos. Its gives you actual ownership of the environment which is huge for folks worried about privacy or data sovereignty in the long run. Just keep in mind this isnt exactly plug-and-play for complete newbies. Ull need to handle the initial cloud setup and ssh access yourself, so expect a steeper learning curve compared to standard commercial panels. Its awesome for those ready to manage their own ops, but if you just wanna click buy and play instantly without touching any config filez, you might wanna stick to a paid provider.
Open-source dedicated game server platform. Spin up Minecraft, Valheim, Rust, Palworld, Enshrouded and Terraria on your own Hetzner Cloud account in seconds.
Ghost Introduction
What is Ghost?
Ghost is an open-source platform built for hosting dedicated game servers without needing a middleman. If you play Minecraft, Rust, Valheim, or stuff like Palworld and Enshrouded, this lets you spin them up on your own Hetzner Cloud account in seconds. It's really useful for anyone tired of paying high monthly fees to std providers and wants full control over their setup. Basically its for communities or friends who just wanna get a server running quik and have total admin access.
How to use Ghost?
To get going, u gotta sign up for a Hetzner cloud account first since thats where the servers actually live. Grab the source code from github and run the install script, then input ur API key when prompted. The tool links up with ur cloud provider automatically so u dont have to mess with terraform or docker files unless u really want to. Just be aware that even tho ghost is free, the server costs come from Hetzner so keep an eye on the bill. Inside the dashboard, choose which game u wanna spin up like Palworld or Terraria. Pick the CPU and RAM you think u need, select a datacenter, and click deploy. Within a minute or two ull see the server status turn green and get the IP address. Its way easier than building a VM from scratch and supports a lot of popular titles outta the box. For daily stuff, most admin tasks happen right in the UI. Restarting, adding players, or updating mods is pretty simple without needing ssh access. Its great for people who want self hosting power without the headache of linux maintenance. Just make sure to shut down unused instances cause storage and compute adds up fast. Works best if u already know basic cloud concepts tho.
Why Choose Ghost?
If you're tired of overpaying for managed game hosting and want full control over your infrastructure, Ghost is probly the best fit for tech savvy players. The main draw here is pricing flexibility since you deploy straight onto your own Hetzner account instead of locking into a pricey reseller plan. You can get servers for games like Rust, Valheim, or even Palworld running in seconds without waiting for support tickets or dealing with weird rate limits on shared hardware. What really sets this apart tho is that its open source, meaning you aren't stuck relying on some company's roadmap for new features. Since the code is out there, you can tweak the backend or add mods easier if you know your way around git repos. Its gives you actual ownership of the environment which is huge for folks worried about privacy or data sovereignty in the long run. Just keep in mind this isnt exactly plug-and-play for complete newbies. Ull need to handle the initial cloud setup and ssh access yourself, so expect a steeper learning curve compared to standard commercial panels. Its awesome for those ready to manage their own ops, but if you just wanna click buy and play instantly without touching any config filez, you might wanna stick to a paid provider.