Minecraft Server Setup

Your first hour: from a fresh order to friends in the world

New servers are normally ready within 20 minutes of payment, and your panel login arrives by email. Six steps turn a stock Java server into a world your friends can actually reach.

1. Open the panel and press StopChoose your Minecraft service in the game panel and stop it before changing anything. The server reads its settings as it boots, and it rewrites files such as the whitelist itself, so edits belong in the quiet moments between Stop and Start.
2. Choose the releasePress More and run Update Minecraft Repo, then open the Mod Manager and pick a version in the Minecraft Vanilla section. 26.3 is the newest release; take an older one if your modpack or minigame was built for it.
3. Set the matching JavaEvery release since 26.1 needs Java 25. The panel's Java version selector swaps the runtime in one click, and the versions chapter lists what older releases want.
4. Edit server.propertiesUnder Configuration Files, open server.properties. Give the server a motd (the line players see in their server list) and a sensible max-players. The settings chapter explains the rest, line by line.
5. Start it and add your playersPress Start and open the Web Console. Mojang switched the whitelist on by default in 26.3, so type whitelist add followed by each friend's exact Java username, then op with your own name to unlock admin commands.
6. ConnectIn Minecraft: Java Edition, choose Multiplayer, then Add Server, and paste the address and port from your panel. Friends do exactly the same; nobody has to open a port on their router.

server.properties explained: the lines worth changing

A Java server reads server.properties once at start-up, one key=value pair per line. On our panel it sits under Configuration Files. The values below are Mojang's current defaults, as listed by the Minecraft Wiki that Mojang's own server download page points to.

Name, access and security

World and gameplay

Performance

A resource pack for everyone

A server resource pack is offered to each player as they join. Host the zip somewhere that serves a direct download, paste the link into resource-pack, add the file's SHA-1 checksum to resource-pack-sha1 if you have it, and set require-resource-pack=true to disconnect anyone who declines. Our resource pack guide shows how to turn a Dropbox share link into one that downloads directly.

Lines that have moved out

Looking for pvp, spawn-monsters, allow-nether or enable-command-block? Mojang took them out of server.properties during the 1.21.9 snapshots (25w35a) and turned them into game rules, which the next chapter covers. A tutorial that still tells you to edit them here was written for an older version.

Game rules: keep inventory, PvP, mob griefing and friends

Game rules belong to the world rather than to server.properties, and you change them with a command while the server runs. Since 1.21.11 (snapshot 25w44a) their names are written in snake_case, so keepInventory became keep_inventory.

/gamerule keep_inventory true
/gamerule players_sleeping_percentage 50
/gamerule pvp false

Because rules are stored with the world, they survive restarts and travel inside the world folder. Upload a different world and you set them again. On Paper, each dimension keeps its own game rules, so repeat the important ones in the Nether and the End.

Versions and Java: choosing a release everyone can join

A Java server runs one exact version, and every player needs that version, or the matching modpack, to connect. Mojang now numbers Java releases by year: 26.1 was the first game drop of 2026, and 26.3 Wilderness Bound arrived on 15 September 2026.

The Java each release needs

• 26.1 and newer: Java 25, a requirement that arrived with the very first 26.1 snapshot.
• 1.20.5 to 1.21.11: Java 21.
• 1.18 to 1.20.4: Java 17.
• 1.17: Java 16.
• 1.16.5 and older: Java 8.

Modpacks usually state their own Java version, and when they do, the pack wins. Current Paper builds also ask for Java 25.

Changing version on our panel

1. Back upStop the server and press Backup Server. A world that has been opened in a newer release should never be loaded in an older one, so this copy is your only way back.
2. Refresh the listUnder More, run Update Minecraft Repo so the latest releases show up.
3. Install the releaseOpen the Mod Manager, press Update in the Minecraft Vanilla section, choose the version and press Install.
4. Swap Java if neededPick the runtime for that release in the Java version selector and execute it.
5. Start and watchStart the server with the Web Console open. The version prints during boot, and a Java mismatch fails within seconds, which makes it easy to spot.

Snapshots and pre-releases are Mojang's test builds. Try them on a separate test server or a copied world, never on the world your group has spent months on.

Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge or NeoForge: picking a server type

The server type decides what you can add later, so settle it before the world grows. Plugin servers keep the normal game for players, while mod loaders change the game on both ends of the connection.

Getting one onto your server

The Mod Manager carries installers for CraftBukkit, Spigot, Forge and SpongeVanilla, and our mod installer guide has a short video of each. For Paper, Fabric, NeoForge or a modpack's own server files, open a ticket with a public link to the files: our team installs mods and packs for you at no charge.

Plugins, mods, data packs and modpacks without the crashes

Most broken Minecraft servers were broken by something added to them, not by Minecraft. A short routine prevents nearly all of it.

1. Match the versionCheck that the plugin or mod lists your exact Minecraft version and server type. A Fabric mod will not load on Forge, and a plugin written for 1.21 may refuse to start on 26.x.
2. Add one thing at a timeStop the server and upload the .jar into plugins (Paper, Spigot) or mods (Fabric, Forge, NeoForge) with the File Manager or SFTP. Then start and check before adding the next.
3. Confirm it loadedOn Paper, the plugins command lists every plugin in green when it is enabled and red when it failed. The start-up log, logs/latest.log, names whatever went wrong.
4. Then configure itMost plugins and mods create their config files on first start, under plugins/<name>/ or config/. Edit those with the server stopped too.

Only from sources you trust

Paper's documentation puts it plainly: a plugin gets full access to the server and to the machine it runs on. Take plugins from Hangar, Modrinth, BukkitDev or the author's own GitHub, and mods from Modrinth or CurseForge, never from re-upload sites.

Modpacks

Most packs on CurseForge and Modrinth publish a separate server pack. Use it rather than the client download, because client-side mods such as minimaps and shader loaders can stop a dedicated server from booting. Every player then installs the same pack version through their launcher.

Data packs

Data packs go in the world's datapacks folder and work on every server type, vanilla included. /datapack list shows which are active, and a restart or /reload picks up new ones.

Whitelist, operators, bans and permission levels

A Java server keeps its player lists in small JSON files next to server.properties. You can manage every one of them with commands, from the Web Console or in game as an operator.

Permission levels

op-permission-level in server.properties, 4 by default, sets how much a newly made operator can do. Each level includes the ones below it:

• 1: may build inside spawn protection.
• 2: the cheat-style commands such as /gamemode, /give and /tp, plus command blocks.
• 3: multiplayer management: /kick, /ban and /op.
• 4: everything, including server management such as /stop and /save-all.

For finer control, such as a helper who may only teleport, run Paper with a permissions plugin rather than handing out operator status.

Keep the front door locked

• Leave online-mode=true. It is what proves each player really owns the name they join with.
• Make as few operators as you can, and keep level 4 for yourself.
• Panel helpers can get their own login as a panel sub user with just the boxes you tick, so nobody needs your password.

Bedrock players: Geyser on Java, or a Bedrock server of your own

Mojang states that Java and Bedrock use different servers, so friends on consoles, phones and Bedrock for Windows cannot join a Java server as it comes. There are two ways to play together anyway.

What changes on a Bedrock server

• Players are Xbox accounts. Whitelist by gamertag with whitelist add <gamertag>, wrapping names that contain spaces in double quotes. The list lives in whitelist.json, and whitelist reload picks up edits by hand.
• Operators use XUIDs. Join once with the Web Console open and your XUID appears beside your name. Put it in permissions.json as operator, member or visitor, or run op <player> while signed in to Xbox Live.
• Two settings change live. changesetting allow-cheats true and changesetting difficulty hard apply at once, but leave server.properties as it was.
• Behaviour packs go in behavior_packs/, then the world's world_behavior_packs.json lists each pack's UUID and version from its manifest.json. Packs load in the order listed.
• Backups while it runs use save hold, then save query until it returns the file list, then save resume once the copy is done.
• A reserved place: ignoresPlayerLimit in whitelist.json lets a listed player in when the server is full, up to a soft cap.

Memory, lag and the 20 ticks per second target

A Java server runs the world in ticks and aims for 20 of them every second. When it falls behind, the console prints "Can't keep up!" and players feel it as blocks that reappear, rubber-banding mobs and slow farms.

Sizing memory on our plans

• Plans are memory sizes: 13 of them, from 1GB to 32GB, all on the same CPUs and NVMe storage. 3GB is our suggested start for a vanilla world among friends; plugin servers often want 4GB to 6GB and modpacks 8GB or more.
• No slots to buy: max-players sets the cap, and memory decides what stays smooth.
• Upgrades keep the world: move to a bigger size from the client area under Services, My Services, Upgrade/Downgrade options, pay the difference and restart.
• CPU headroom: 5.0GHz is included, with 5.2GHz+ and 5.6GHz+ upgrades and High or Realtime CPU priority from the same menu.

Watch Activity and Stats during your busiest evening. A memory graph pinned at the ceiling calls for a bigger size. A server that stutters with memory to spare is short of tick time instead, and the settings below are where you win it back.

Settings that buy back performance

• Trim view-distance: 8 instead of 10 cuts the terrain each player keeps loaded by about a third.
• Lower simulation-distance first when mobs and farms are the strain: players see as far as before, but less of the world is updated.
• Tame the farms: huge mob farms, item piles and packed villager halls are the usual culprits, because every entity in a loaded chunk costs tick time.
• Move to Paper: if a vanilla server needs headroom, performance is the reason Paper exists.
• Let it rest: pause-when-empty-seconds stops the world ticking when nobody is on.
• Restart on a schedule: a Scheduled Restart in your quietest hour keeps long-running modded servers fresh.

Worlds, seeds, backups and starting over

A Minecraft world is just a folder. Once you know which line points at it, moving, copying and resetting worlds takes minutes.

Bring a singleplayer world

1. Find it on your PCSingleplayer worlds are folders inside the saves directory of your Minecraft installation, one per world.
2. Upload itStop the server and upload the folder with the File Manager or an SFTP client such as WinSCP or FileZilla, signing in with your panel username and password.
3. Point the server at itSet level-name to the folder's name and start. The previous world stays on disk, untouched, in case you want it back.

For a brand-new world, give level-name a fresh folder name and, if you want a particular landscape, set level-seed and level-type before the first start. Both are read only at the moment the world is created.

Backups you can count on

Before any version change or big install, take a copy with Backup Server, and use Restore Server if you need to roll the world back to a date you pick. A Scheduled Backup task stops the server, copies it and starts it again, so it can double as a nightly restart. To keep copies on your own PC, sign in to Backup Manager; its password is printed on the button. On top of that, we keep offsite copies for the last seven days.

Starting over

Wipe Server clears the progress you choose and leaves your settings alone. Reinstall goes further and returns every server file to default, while the backups stay where they are, which makes it a safe clean slate for a modded server that will no longer boot.

When it breaks: the fixes we reach for first

Most Minecraft tickets we see fall into a short list. Work through these before you reinstall anything.

• "You are not white-listed on this server"Since 26.3 the whitelist is on by default. Add the player with whitelist add <name> in the Web Console, or set white-list=false with the server stopped.
• "Outdated client" or "Outdated server"The player and the server run different versions. Change the server's version in the Mod Manager, or have the player pick the matching release in their launcher.
• The server stops right after installing a modpackMost often it is the wrong Java. Switch Java in the panel to what the pack needs; if it still fails, reinstall from More and install the pack on the clean server.
• A plugin shows up in redIt failed to enable. Read logs/latest.log from the top: a missing dependency or a plugin built for another Minecraft version is the usual reason.
• Players time out with "connection forcibly closed"Lower view-distance, ask them to lower their render distance, check their router's NAT acceleration and firewall, or ask us to move the server closer to them.
• A settings change seems to do nothingThe server only reads its settings as it boots, and files it manages itself, such as whitelist.json, can overwrite edits made while it runs. Stop, edit, save, start.
• The resource pack never downloadsThe link must be a direct download, not a preview page. Our resource pack guide shows the Dropbox version of the fix.
• Lag at the same time every dayCheck Scheduled Tasks for a backup or restart that runs then, and move it to your quietest hour.
• A .dll, .exe or .bat upload is refusedThose file types are blocked for security. Send them to support and the team puts them in place; plugin and mod .jar files upload as normal.

Your own PC or a rented server: the honest comparison

Mojang gives the Java server away free, and a spare PC can run a small world well. The real question is who looks after it.

Running it yourself means installing the right Java, downloading the server jar from minecraft.net, accepting the EULA by setting eula=true in eula.txt, starting it with a memory flag such as -Xmx4G, and forwarding port 25565 on your router so friends outside your home can connect. After that, the PC has to stay on whenever anyone wants to play.

For a few friends who play together one evening a week, a home PC is a perfectly good start. When people want to log in at different times, or the modpack outgrows your desktop, renting gives the world a home that never switches off. Memory sizes and locations are listed on our Minecraft Server Hosting page.