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Integrations

Optional services that extend dashboard functionality. Configure only what you need - the app degrades gracefully when any of these are absent.

Tailscale (Network Tab)​

The Network tab shows all devices on the club's shared Tailscale network and surfaces join requests from members.

Install Tailscale on the server​

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up

Follow the login URL printed by tailscale up to authenticate with the club Tailscale account.

Generate an API key for the dashboard​

  1. Tailscale admin console → Settings → Keys → Generate access token
  2. Give it a description (e.g. dashboard) and set an expiry
  3. Add to .env.production:
TAILSCALE_API_KEY=<paste here>
TAILSCALE_TAILNET=-

Restart the dashboard to pick up the new values:

sudo systemctl restart trickfire-dashboard

[!NOTE] TAILSCALE_TAILNET=- is a special value meaning "the tailnet that owns this API key". You can also use your tailnet name explicitly (e.g. trickfirerobotics.com).

[!CAUTION] The key is shown once. If it leaks, rotate it immediately in the Tailscale admin console and update .env.production.

Connect other devices​

On any device you want on the network:

sudo tailscale up

Log in with the club Tailscale account. The device will appear in the Tailscale admin console and in the dashboard Network tab.

Quick reference​

TaskCommand / Location
Check statustailscale status
Get device IPtailscale ip
List devicesTailscale admin console → Machines
Remove a deviceTailscale admin console → Machines → … → Remove
Rotate API keyTailscale admin console → Settings → Keys
View logsjournalctl -u tailscaled -f

Minecraft Server​

The Minecraft server runs as an independent systemd service managed by Azalea. The dashboard can start and stop it, stream its logs, and send console commands via RCON - without the server depending on the dashboard process.

Install Azalea​

Azalea requires Python 3.9+. Ubuntu 20.04 ships Python 3.8, so install 3.9 first if needed:

sudo apt-get install -y python3.9 python3.9-venv
python3.9 -m pip install --user git+https://github.com/matejstastny/azalea.git
sudo ln -sf /home/trickfire/.local/bin/azalea /usr/local/bin/azalea
azalea --version

Create the systemd service​

Create /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service:

[Unit]
Description=Minecraft Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=trickfire
WorkingDirectory=/home/trickfire/minecraft
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/azalea server run
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable minecraft   # enable but don't start - the dashboard controls that

Configure RCON​

The dashboard sends console commands to the server via RCON. Enable it in /home/trickfire/minecraft/server.properties:

enable-rcon=true
rcon.port=25575
rcon.password=<openssl rand -hex 16>

[!NOTE] The Minecraft server must be restarted after changing server.properties for RCON to take effect.

Environment variables​

Add these to .env.production:

MINECRAFT_SERVER_HOST=localhost
MINECRAFT_SERVER_PORT=25565
MINECRAFT_SERVER_PATH=/home/trickfire/minecraft
MINECRAFT_WORLD_PATH=/home/trickfire/minecraft/world
MINECRAFT_RCON_PORT=25575
MINECRAFT_RCON_PASSWORD=<same password as server.properties>
MINECRAFT_BOT_NAMES=BotA,BotB   # append :SkinURL for a custom skin

Restart the dashboard to pick up the new values:

sudo systemctl restart trickfire-dashboard

Troubleshooting​

Minecraft card shows "offline"

Verify MINECRAFT_SERVER_HOST and MINECRAFT_SERVER_PORT are correct in .env.production and that the dashboard server can reach the Minecraft server on the LAN. The status check fails gracefully to "offline" - it's not a crash.

Pl3xMap (World Map)​

The Minecraft page embeds the Pl3xMap world map. The dashboard proxies it at /pl3xmap so it's accessible via the dashboard URL without exposing Pl3xMap's port publicly.

Install Pl3xMap​

Pl3xMap is a server-side Minecraft mod. Follow the official Pl3xMap docs for your server type (Fabric, Paper, etc.). Its internal web server runs on port 8080 by default.

Configure the dashboard​

Add to .env.production:

# If Pl3xMap runs on the same machine as the dashboard:
PL3XMAP_URL=http://localhost:8080

# If Pl3xMap runs on a separate machine:
PL3XMAP_URL=http://<minecraft-server-ip>:8080

Restart: sudo systemctl restart trickfire-dashboard

[!NOTE] Port 8080 must not be open to the internet. The dashboard is the only entry point. If Pl3xMap is on a separate server, the dashboard host needs LAN access to port 8080 on that machine.

Troubleshooting​

Pl3xMap shows "map unavailable"
  1. Confirm Pl3xMap is running: curl http://<pl3xmap-host>:8080 should return HTML.
  2. Check PL3XMAP_URL in .env.production points to the correct host and port, and the dashboard server can reach it on the LAN.
  3. Restart after any env change: sudo systemctl restart trickfire-dashboard
  4. If the map loads but tiles are empty, Pl3xMap may still be rendering the world - check its logs on the Minecraft server.