Crafting Comrades Website
Playing Minecraft with friends is amazing, but we all became frustrated with keeping everyone on the same page with server info, mod packs, and world saves. It was starting to get out of hand. That’s why I built the Crafting Comrades Website - a central online space just for our Minecraft community!
A Central Hub for Minecraft Adventures
The Crafting Comrades Website is the go-to for everything related to our Minecraft server. No more digging through Discord for links or asking “where’s the world download again?” It’s all right here!
We got tired of sharing mod packs and world saves through direct messages. The Modpack Downloads section is a centralized repository for all current and past Minecraft server mod packs. And whenever we update one, we tell everyone to download the new version from the website. Easy! The same thing goes for the worlds we play in. After we are done with one, we ZIP it and toss it onto the website for people to continue playing or exploring. Everyone in the community can easily grab the latest versions or revisit old worlds with just a click.
Live Minecraft Server Status
Is the server up? How many players are online?
Find out instantly!
The website displays a live Minecraft server status directly on the homepage. You can instantly see if the server is up, how many players are currently online, and plan your next play session. This is powered by the MC Server Status API 1 , keeping everyone informed in real-time.
Quick Access to Server World Maps
The world map is a great way to explore our world from above. If you’re lost in the world or need to find someone else. The website provides a quick link to the interactive map of our current Minecraft server world. It makes planning expeditions, locating landmarks, and getting a bird’s-eye view of our creations much easier, without even logging in to the game.
Dynamic Website Theming
For a touch of fun, the website features a dynamic theming system. Throughout the year, the website’s theme automatically changes to reflect holidays or special events. From a pirate theme for Talk Like a Pirate Day to a summery theme for July, it adds a bit of extra personality to our community hub.
Built with SvelteKit and PocketBase
To build the Crafting Comrades Website, I used SvelteKit 2 for the frontend framework and PocketBase 3 for the database. PocketBase 3 provided a simple and easy-to-use backend solution, and since I didn’t need much more than a database display, SvelteKit was easy to use and fast. Especially with the server-side rendering!
There have been a couple of improvements to the website over the years. The biggest was the addition of automated deployments. For automated deployment, we use GitHub Actions 4 for CI/CD, building a Docker 5 container and deploying updates whenever we push changes.
Key Contributions
As the initial solo developer and designer, I was responsible for all aspects of the Crafting Comrades Website:
- Designed and developed the entire Crafting Comrades Website from scratch using SvelteKit and PocketBase, creating a central hub for the Minecraft community.
- Implemented key features including mod pack and world save download management, live server status integration, and dynamic website theming.
- Designed the website’s user interface (UI) and created custom visual elements, including the website banner and overall design aesthetic.
- Actively curates and maintains the website content, including uploading new mod packs and world saves to keep the community resources up-to-date.