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Check the error log for the cause, then verify permissions and the startup script.
cat /tmp/minecraft_error.log

serv status
If the process failed due to a permissions problem, restore ownership of the server directory:
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /usr/local/games/minecraft_server/java
Verify that start.sh is executable:
ls -l /usr/local/games/minecraft_server/java/start.sh
Confirm the cron entry exists, then check whether it fired and what the last run produced.Verify the cron entry:
sudo crontab -l
Check the last run output:
tail -50 /var/log/minecraft_snapshot.log
Verify cron fired at the expected time:
grep CRON /var/log/syslog | tail -20
The pack format number in pack.mcmeta does not match the running server version.
1

Get the correct pack format number

Run the following command in the server console to identify the current version:
version
2

Rebuild the datapack

Update pack.mcmeta with the matching pack format number for your Minecraft version.
3

Re-download the datapack

Replace the existing datapack file on the server with the rebuilt version.
Reset the permissions on the tmux socket file:
sudo chmod 770 /tmp/minecraft-tmux
sudo chown $USER:$USER /tmp/minecraft-tmux
The snapshot script automatically force-kills the server after 30 seconds if it does not stop on its own. No manual action is needed for a one-off occurrence.
If force-kills happen regularly, check available system memory. The server may be thrashing under load during the snapshot window.
This is caused by a zombie tmux session that outlived the server process.serv start automatically detects and cleans up zombie sessions before starting. If you need to remove the session manually:
tmux -S /tmp/minecraft-tmux kill-session -t minecraft
The player count display requires the mcstatus Python package. Install it with:
pip install mcstatus
Once installed, serv status will show the current player count automatically.