Server Control Manager (SCM)

A simple web-based control panel built with Flask to manage and monitor server processes launched via batch files.

Features

• Web Interface: Easy-to-use interface to start, stop, and monitor servers.
  • Process Management: Finds server folders containing a specified batch file (starter.bat by default) within a base directory.
  • Real-time Output: Streams live console output (stdout & stderr) from running server processes using Server-Sent Events (SSE).
  • Command Execution: Send commands directly to the stdin of running server processes (requires a command password).
  • Logs: View each and every server's log files.
  • Authentication: Secure login system using Flask-Login to protect access.
  • SSL Support: Optional SSL/TLS encryption for secure connections (requires certificate and key files).
• Backup Copy: Automatically copies the latest backup folder from a server's backups directory to a shared location upon stopping the server.
• Configurable: Key settings like server directory, batch file name, host, port, and credentials can be easily modified in app.py or via .env for passwords.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• requirements.txt

You can install the required Python packages using pip:

pip install Flask Flask-Login Flask-Limiter Werkzeug dotenv

or

pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

Before running the application, you must configure the following variables at the top of app.py:

1. SERVERS_BASE_DIR: Set this to the absolute path of the directory containing all your individual server folders.

   SERVERS_BASE_DIR = r"C:\\path\\to\\your\\servers" # Example for Windows
   # SERVERS_BASE_DIR = "/path/to/your/servers" # Example for Linux/macOS

2. PASSWORD / CMD_PASSWORD:
   • These can be set directly in app.py as fallback values.
   • Recommended: Create a .env file in the same directory as app.py and define them there for better security and easier management:

     PASSWORD="your_strong_admin_password"
     CMD_PASSWORD="your_strong_command_password"

   • If .env is used, the values in app.py will be overridden. Change the default passwords!
3. SECRET_KEY: For production or persistent sessions, set the FLASK_SECRET_KEY environment variable or replace the secrets.token_hex(24) call with a fixed, strong, secret string.

   # Recommended: Set environment variable FLASK_SECRET_KEY
   # Or replace in code (less secure):
   # SECRET_KEY = "your_very_strong_random_secret_key"

Optional Configuration:

• BATCH_FILE_NAME: Change if your server startup scripts have a different name (default: starter.bat).
• BACKUPS_DIR: Name of the shared directory where backups from individual servers are copied (default: Backups). This directory is created within SERVERS_BASE_DIR.
• HOST / PORT: Modify the network interface and port the web server listens on.
• USERNAME: Change the default admin username if desired.
• SSL_CERT_PATH / SSL_KEY_PATH: Provide paths to your SSL certificate and key files to enable HTTPS. If these files exist, ensure the app.run call at the bottom of app.py is the one that includes ssl_context=ssl_context (and the other is commented out).

Server Folder Structure

The application expects the following structure within your SERVERS_BASE_DIR:

SERVERS_BASE_DIR/
├── ServerA/
│   ├── starter.bat  # Executable to start the server
│   ├── ...          # Other server files/data
│   ├── logs/        # Folder for output logs
│   │   ├── 2024-01-02-1.log.gz  # Old log files will be decompressed when viewed in the UI
│   │   ├── debug-1.log.gz
│   │   ├── latest.log
│   │   └── debug.log
│   └── backups/     # Optional: Folder for server backups
│       ├── backup_2024-01-01_1000/
│       └── backup_2024-01-02_1200/  # Latest backup folder or file will be copied
├── ServerB/
│   ├── starter.bat
│   └── ...
└── Backups/  # Automatically created by the script inside SERVERS_BASE_DIR
    ├── ServerA_backup_2024-01-02_1200/  # Copied backup from ServerA (requires manual cleanup)
    └── ...                              # Other copied backups

• Each direct subfolder in SERVERS_BASE_DIR is treated as a potential server.
• A server is only listed if it contains the BATCH_FILE_NAME (e.g., starter.bat).
• The optional backups folder inside each server's directory (e.g., ServerA/backups/; based on FTB Backups' uncompressed backups) is scanned for the latest backup when that server is stopped.
• When a server is stopped, its latest backup (if found) is copied into a shared Backups folder located directly within the SERVERS_BASE_DIR. The copied folder is named using the format {server_name}_{original_backup_folder_name}.

Running the Application

1. Ensure you have configured app.py as described above.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt.
3. Navigate to the directory containing app.py.
4. Run the script using Python (this can also be done through its own batch file):

   python app.py

5. The application will start, and you can access it in your web browser at the URL printed in the console (e.g., http://0.0.0.0:25564 or http://127.0.0.1:25564).

Usage

1. Open the web interface URL in your browser.
2. Log in using the configured username and password.
3. You will see a list of available servers found in your SERVERS_BASE_DIR.
4. Start: Click the "Start" button next to a server to execute its batch file. The status will change to "Running", and the output console will appear.
5. Stop: Click the "Stop" button to terminate the server process. If a backups folder exists with subfolders, the latest backup will be copied. The status will change to "Stopped" or "Finished".
6. View Output: The output area below each server shows the real-time console output while it's running and persists after it stops.
7. Send Command: For a running server, type your command into the "Enter command..." field, enter the "Cmd Password", and click "Send". The command will be sent to the server's input.
8. Logout: Click the "Logout" link in the top navigation bar.

Security Notes

• Change the default password immediately!
• Keep your SECRET_KEY confidential.
• Run this application on a trusted network. If exposing it externally, ensure proper firewall rules and consider using a production-grade WSGI server (like Gunicorn or Waitress) behind a reverse proxy (like Nginx or Apache) instead of the Flask development server.
• Enable SSL/TLS for encrypted communication, especially if accessed over untrusted networks.

To-Do

• Add support for automatically finding an open port for each process