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Introduction to NodeMesh

NodeMesh is a game server hosting platform built around Bring Your Own Host (BYOH) — the idea that you should be able to run game servers on hardware you already own, without sacrificing convenience or exposing your home IP.

The platform has three main components:

• Agent — a lightweight binary you install on any Linux machine. It connects back to NodeMesh and awaits commands.
• Control plane — the web panel. Creates/starts/stops game servers, manages config, handles billing.
• Traffic proxy — a reverse tunnel that routes player TCP/UDP traffic to your machine without port forwarding.

Install the Agent

The agent runs as a background service and communicates with the NodeMesh backend over an encrypted connection. Installation takes under 60 seconds.

Linux (recommended)

Docker

Your First Server

Once your node is connected, creating a game server takes about 30 seconds.

Connecting Players

Once your server is running, the dashboard shows the public address. Players connect using their game's server browser or direct connect feature:

• Minecraft — Add the address in Multiplayer → Direct Connect
• Valheim — Join via IP in the server browser or use the Steam server list

If the traffic proxy is enabled, players connect through your-proxy-address:port — your real IP is never exposed.

Hosts (BYOH)

A node is any machine with the NodeMesh agent installed. It can be a gaming PC, home server, Raspberry Pi, or a cloud VPS you own.

• Status — online / offline / degraded (live heartbeat)
• CPU & RAM — real-time utilisation from the agent
• Runtimes — Java, SteamCMD auto-managed by the agent
• Instances — up to 5 game servers per node

Game Instances

An instance is a single game server running on a node. Each instance has its own config, files, console, and lifecycle. You can run up to 5 instances per node.

• Status — stopped, starting, running, stopping, error
• Auto-restart — if a server crashes, NodeMesh detects the exit and restarts it automatically
• Email alerts — crash and auto-stop notifications sent to your verified email
• RAM/CPU — live per-instance resource monitoring while running

Traffic Proxy

The traffic proxy is NodeMesh's solution to NAT traversal. When you start a game server, the agent opens an outbound connection to our edge proxy. Players connect to the proxy address — their packets are relayed through the existing agent tunnel.

• No port forwarding required
• Your home IP address is never exposed
• Works behind CGNAT, university networks, and VPNs
• TCP and UDP both supported
• Included free with your first BYOH node

Supported Games

NodeMesh currently supports two games in beta, covering the two major server runtime types:

More games planned post-beta: Minecraft Bedrock, CS2, ARK, Rust, Terraria.

Configuration UI

NodeMesh provides a visual config editor for each game. Instead of editing server.properties or INI files manually, you get sliders, dropdowns, and toggles for every setting — max players, world seed, game mode, difficulty, and more.

File Manager

Browse, edit, upload, and download server files directly from the web panel — no SSH or FTP required.

• Browse — navigate the server directory tree
• Edit — in-browser text editor for config files, scripts, etc.
• Upload — drag-and-drop file uploads to any directory
• Download — single-click file downloads
• Create folders — organize your server files

Live Console

Real-time stdout/stderr streaming via Server-Sent Events. Type commands directly in the browser — they're forwarded to the game server's stdin.

• Full command history
• Color-coded warnings and errors
• Quick console widget on the dashboard
• No WebSocket library — just the browser's native EventSource

Mod Manager

Browse, install, and manage mods directly from the panel — powered by Modrinth.

• Search the Modrinth catalog from the panel
• One-click install with dependency resolution
• Version compatibility checks
• Supports Fabric and Forge mod loaders

Billing & NMC

NodeCoin (NMC) is NodeMesh's internal credit system. During beta, NMC is granted by the NodeMesh team. Self-service top-up is coming post-beta.

What's free (no NMC needed)

• Your first BYOH node with up to 5 instances
• All management features (console, files, config, mods)
• Traffic proxy on your free node
• Crash recovery and email notifications

What costs NMC

• Extra BYOH nodes — 5 NMC/month each
• Cloud servers — 20–100 NMC/month depending on game and player count

During beta, the NodeMesh team grants NMC to your account. See the pricing page for full details.

Server Fund

Server Fund lets your players contribute NMC directly to a game server's balance. Share a link, players transfer NMC — no credit card needed on their side.

• NMC-only transfers between users and server balances
• Billing deducts from server fund first, then falls back to owner balance
• No payment processing — just NMC wallet transfers

Agent Installation

The agent only needs a pairing token to connect. Everything else — data directory, storage paths, runtime versions — is configured from the NodeMesh dashboard. No config files to edit, no restarts when settings change.

Open Source Agent

The agent is open-source (MIT licensed) and fully auditable. It communicates only with NodeMesh servers over an encrypted connection and does not access files outside its data directory.

You can inspect the source code on GitHub before installing anything on your machine.