Linux File Permissions for Minecraft Servers Explained

Direct answer

A dedicated, non-root Linux user should own the writable server data. Permission errors may come from wrong ownership, a read-only mount or restrictive parent directories.

Recommended procedure

Find the effective service user with systemctl show -p User minecraft.service if using systemd; replace the example unit name.
From the server directory inspect pwd, ls -ld ., ls -ld world plugins, and namei -l /path/to/server where available.
Look at the exact failing path in the server log and check whether it is mounted read-only.

What to change

systemctl show -p User minecraft.service
ls -ld /srv/minecraft
namei -l /srv/minecraft/world
# Example only, after verifying user, group and target:
sudo chown -R minecraft:minecraft /srv/minecraft

Stop the service and take a backup before repairing a large tree.
If ownership really is wrong, have an administrator correct only the affected files, for example sudo chown -R minecraft:minecraft /srv/minecraft after verifying that path and account.
Grant the minimal required owner/group write access; restart as the dedicated account and retry the failing operation.

How to verify the result

Confirm normal plugin saves, world writes and restarts work without root privileges, and verify no unrelated directories changed.

Version and safety notes

Do not blindly run recursive chmod 777 or chown against /, the wrong world mount or a directory used by other services. SELinux/AppArmor and hosting panel ACLs can impose separate restrictions.

Official references

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