Stuck on "Containers" during setup? A VPN might be blocking it

If SpawnBox gets stuck on the Containers step during setup, a VPN like NordVPN can block the Linux engine from reaching the internet. Here's the fix.

· 5 min read · beginner

If your setup keeps getting stuck on the Containers step and never finishes, the most common cause is a VPN quietly blocking part of your computer from reaching the internet. The good news: it’s a quick fix, and nothing is broken.

What’s actually happening

To run your Minecraft server, SpawnBox installs a small Linux engine (it’s called Docker) behind the scenes. The very first time you set up, that engine needs to download a few pieces from the internet.

If a VPN is switched on, it can block the engine’s internet connection even though your web browser still works perfectly. When that happens, setup gets stuck on the “Containers” step and keeps retrying without ever finishing.

The one we see most often is NordVPN with its Kill Switch turned on, but any VPN can do this - NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, Cloudflare WARP, and others all behave the same way.

The fix (about 2 minutes)

  1. Fully quit your VPN. Don’t just disconnect - close the VPN app completely. If it has a Kill Switch setting, turn that off too. The Kill Switch is the part that blocks everything else, so this step matters.

  2. Restart the Linux engine. The engine needs a fresh start after the VPN is off. The easiest way is to restart your computer. If you’d rather not, you can restart just the engine: press the Windows key, type Command Prompt, open it, and run:

    $ wsl --shutdown

    That command is safe - it simply stops the Linux engine so SpawnBox can start it again cleanly.

  3. Open SpawnBox and try setup again. With the VPN off and the engine restarted, the Containers step should now finish on its own.

If you need your VPN on

Some people keep a VPN on all the time. You have two options:

  • Turn the VPN off just for setup. Let SpawnBox finish setting up and download your server, then turn the VPN back on. Keep in mind that running a server and downloading mods also use the Linux engine’s internet, so you may hit the same block again later with the VPN on.

  • Let the engine skip the VPN. Many VPNs have a “split tunneling” setting that lets you choose which apps skip the tunnel. Allowing the Linux engine (and SpawnBox) through is the most reliable way to keep your VPN on and still have everything work.

Still stuck?

If setup is still stuck after this, we’re glad to help. In SpawnBox, open Settings and build a Diagnostic Package - it gives us a private snapshot of what’s happening on your machine. It’ll show you a reference id that looks like diag-xxxxxxxx. Share that id with us in our Discord community and we’ll take a look at exactly what’s going on with your setup.