Mineflayer vs shapez.io
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Mineflayer
JavaScript library for creating Minecraft bots and automation
VS
shapez.io
Open-source factory-building puzzle game
| Feature | Mineflayer | shapez.io |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Game Servers | Game Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,312 | ★ 6,932 |
| First released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Replaces | commercial game bot frameworks | Factorio |
Why pick each one
Choose Mineflayer if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Mineflayer or shapez.io better?
Neither is universally better. Mineflayer has the larger community, while shapez.io is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mineflayer and shapez.io free and open-source?
Yes. Mineflayer is licensed under MIT and shapez.io under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mineflayer and shapez.io with Docker?
Mineflayer: check the project docs for container support. shapez.io: check the project docs for container support.