Mindustry vs Steam Headless

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureMindustrySteam Headless
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageJavaShell
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM512 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binary, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 28,532★ 4,539
First released20172022
ReplacesFactorioGeForce NOW

Why pick each one

Choose Mindustry if…

  • Lightweight server
  • Large active community
Mindustry details

Choose Steam Headless if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Shell
Steam Headless details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mindustry or Steam Headless better?

Mindustry is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Steam Headless if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Mindustry and Steam Headless free and open-source?

Yes. Mindustry is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Steam Headless under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mindustry and Steam Headless with Docker?

Mindustry: yes. Steam Headless: yes.

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