MC-Limit

Minecraft Limiter (mc-limit) launches Minecraft in offline mode and automatically terminates the game after it has been played for a pre-determined amount of time.

• Minecraft (http://minecraft.net/download)
• Java VM (http://java.com/download)
• Ruby 1.9.x (http://ruby-lang.org/en/downloads)

Run gem install mc-limit.

The utility uses environment variables for its configuration.

Set the DEFAULT_MC_LIMIT variable to equal the default number of minutes of Minecraft play to allow per day. If the variable is not set, the default time limit will be 30 minutes.

Set the MC_LIMIT_FILE variable to the full pathname of the file that is used to store the remaining play time between runs. If the variable is not set, the default file is:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\.mc-limit\remaining.yml
• Others: $HOME/.mc-limit/remaining.yml

Set the MC_LIMIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD variable to be the plain text password required in order to run the administration tool. If this variable is not set, the administration tool will not run.

Set the MC_LIMIT_COMMAND variable to the complete command line used to launch Minecraft.

Run "mc-limit" to launch Minecraft. I recommend creating a desktop shortcut to make it easier to run.

Run "mc-limit-admin" to launch the administration tool. This tool can be used to add or subtract minutes from today's limit.

This utility is by no means hacker-proof. Any curious child (or adult) who is literate and moderately skilled with computers is capable of discovering how to defeat the time limit. I consider it a challenge for my kids.

• Make it portable
• Display a timer while Minecraft is running that shows how much play time is left.
• Improve security.