Create a Minecraft server on Google Cloud Platform in moments. Running this script amounts to accepting the Minecraft EULA. Based on https://cloud.google.com/solutions/gaming/minecraft-server but without the dedicated storage and backups.

mc-server.yaml

resources:
- type: compute.v1.address
  name: mcs-ip
  properties:
    region: australia-southeast1
- type: compute.v1.instance
  name: mc-server
  properties:
    zone: australia-southeast1-c
    machineType: zones/australia-southeast1-c/machineTypes/n1-standard-1
    disks:
    - type: PERSISTENT
      deviceName: mc-server
      boot: true
      autoDelete: true
      initializeParams:
        sourceImage: projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/images/family/ubuntu-1604-lts
        diskType: zones/australia-southeast1-c/diskTypes/pd-ssd
    networkInterfaces:
    - network: global/networks/default
      accessConfigs:
      - name: External NAT
        type: ONE_TO_ONE_NAT
        natIP: $(ref.mcs-ip.address)
    tags:
      items:
      - minecraft-server
    scheduling:
      preemptible: true
    metadata:
      items:
      - key: startup-script
        value: |
          if [ ! -d /home/minecraft ] ; then
            apt-get update
            apt-get dist-upgrade -y
            apt-get install -y default-jre-headless screen
            echo alias mcc=\"sudo su -s /bin/sh minecraft -c \'script -q -c \\\"screen -r\\\" /dev/null\'\" >> /etc/bash.bashrc
            echo Welcome to Ed\'s quick\'n\'dodgy Minecraft server! > /etc/motd
            echo Use the \'mcc\' command to connect to the console, and \'Ctrl+A d\' to disconnect again. >> /etc/motd
            echo >> /etc/motd
            adduser --system minecraft
            cd /home/minecraft
            sudo -u minecraft -H sh -c "
              curl -sSO https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.12.2/minecraft_server.1.12.2.jar
              java -Xms1G -Xmx7G -d64 -jar minecraft_server.1.12.2.jar nogui
              sed -i 's/eula=false/eula=true/' eula.txt
              sed -i 's/white-list=false/white-list=true/' server.properties
              cat << 'EOF' >> whitelist.json
              [
                {
                  \"uuid\": \"069a79f4-44e9-4726-a5be-fca90e38aaf5\",
                  \"name\": \"Notch\"
                }
              ]
              EOF"
          fi
          cd /home/minecraft
          sudo -u minecraft -H screen -d -m -S mcs java -Xms1G -Xmx7G -d64 -jar minecraft_server.1.12.2.jar nogui
      - key: shutdown-script
        value: |
          #!/bin/bash
          sudo -u minecraft -H screen -r -X stuff '/stop\n'
- type: compute.v1.firewall
  name: minecraft-rule
  properties:
    allowed:
    - IPProtocol: tcp
      ports:
      - '25565'
    direction: INGRESS
    network: global/networks/default
    sourceRanges:
    - 0.0.0.0/0
    targetTags:
    - minecraft-server

• Edit the contents of the "whitelist.json" section to give your user(s) access to the server, rather than Notch.
• The "scheduling" section makes your server preemptible, which means GCP may shut it down at any moment, and will always shut it down after 24 hours. It makes the instance much cheaper, and ensures that you don't leave it running for days racking up charges when it's not being used. Remove it if you'd rather pay more to ensure that your server can be up 24/7.
• Change all instances of the strings "australia-southeast1" and "australia-southeast1-c" to the region and zone of your choice
• If a newer version is available, update instances of the string "minecraft_server.1.12.2" to refer to the newer version
• To use the script:
  • Sign up for a GCP account
  • Create a project
  • Open the "Cloud Shell" (one of the icons in the top bar)
  • Open the "Code Editor" from the menu bar of that shell
  • Using the code editor, create the mc-server.yaml file and paste in the contents
  • Edit as required, then save
  • Run the following commands at the cloud shell command-line:
    gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com
gcloud services enable deploymentmanager.googleapis.com
gcloud deployment-manager deployments create minecraft --config=mc-server.yaml