Let a friend manage your Minecraft server without giving them SSH

Give your friend their own browser login and permissions for the Minecraft server they need to help with. You can keep your Linux account and SSH key private while they use the panel from a Windows PC.

I’m Regrave, the developer of Aperture. The worked example below uses Aperture’s English interface and starts with read-only file access.

Last updated 3 November 2026

What stays on your Linux host

Aperture hosts the control panel and account service. Your Minecraft server, world and local backups stay on the Linux machine you connect. You still maintain that machine.

If you haven’t connected a machine yet, follow the setup guide and check the supported Linux host requirements. Your friend doesn’t need a Linux account or their own Aperture workspace to accept a server invitation.

They will use your panel’s HTTPS address in their browser. Inviting a panel user does not require forwarding an SSH port. Player connections are separate: keep using the game address shown in the panel, and follow the game connection guide for Direct or free Aperture relay setup.

Start with the access the task needs

If your friend needs to inspect a configuration file, begin with permission to list files and read their contents. Keep changes to the world, mods and server settings with you until you have agreed what they need to change.

Read access deserves care too. The permissions below apply to the chosen server’s files, not just the one configuration file you ask your friend to check. File contents can include passwords or other secrets, and permission to read contents also permits downloads. If that is more access than you want to give, send a redacted excerpt instead.

Invite your friend to one server

Start with a Minecraft server already created in Aperture and a connected Linux host. Sign in as the server owner and open the server you want to share.

Open Subusers in that server’s navigation.
Choose Create Subuser if this is the first entry. If the server already has subusers, the button is labelled Create. The dialog is titled Create Subuser in either case.
Enter your friend’s own address in Email.
In Permissions, expand FILES using its chevron. Select Read and Read-content individually. Avoid the group checkbox and Select All.
Check that the selected-permissions pane contains only files.read and files.read-content. Leave every other permission off for this example.
Choose Create to add your friend to this server.

The two selections do different jobs:

Permission shown in the panel	What it allows
Read (`files.read`)	List the contents of a directory.
Read-content (`files.read-content`)	Open file contents and download files.

For a new account on that panel, your friend opens the Account Created email and chooses Set Your Password. The form has Password and Confirm Password fields. Its submit button is labelled Reset Password, including when they are setting a password for the first time.

The separate Added to Server email contains Access Server. If your friend already has an account on this same panel, they can use its existing login rather than setting up another account.

When signing in:

Open the panel address from the invitation. Keep using that panel’s .aptr.sh address when returning.
Under Panel user sign-in, enter the invited email in Username/Email and choose Continue.
Enter Password and choose Sign In.
Open the invited server, then Files.

Continue with Aperture is the separate route through the central Aperture account. For the invited panel account in this example, use Panel user sign-in. Keep the password and invitation link private; your friend should never need your owner password or SSH key.

Check the access, then remove it when it is no longer needed

Check from your friend’s signed-in account, not from your owner session. Ask them to open Files and read a harmless text file you agree on. Review which servers and actions that account can access before relying on the arrangement. Do not grant extra permissions merely because a control is missing.

If you later need to change the permissions, return to Subusers, open the row’s three-dot menu and choose Edit. The dialog is Update Subuser; save with Update.

To revoke this server’s access:

Open Subusers on that server.
Open the friend’s row menu and choose Remove.
In Confirm Subuser Removal, choose Remove.
Ask your friend to refresh and confirm that the server is no longer available from that account.

Removal ends that server membership, not the whole panel account. If you shared several servers, review each membership. It also cannot erase files your friend has already downloaded.

Treat commands and mod changes as more powerful access

This example grants file viewing, not console commands, file writes or SFTP access. Add permissions only for a task you have agreed on, and keep a backup before changes.

Console commands can change the running Minecraft server, including in-game privileges. Write access to mods or plugins can let someone supply code that the game process will load. Give that access only to someone you trust with the server and its data.

Panel permissions limit what the account can do through the panel. They do not make untrusted mods or plugins safe. You still need to secure and maintain the Linux host, keep it updated and keep independent backups.

If the invitation email does not arrive

Confirm the email address you invited with your friend, and ask them to check their spam folder. An existing account on the same panel will not need a new Account Created email.