Setting up your Minecraft server

Your Minecraft server is ready to start as soon as it is created, but a few minutes of setup makes it feel like yours. Everything below is done in our game panel. We will cover choosing the right size and server type, adding plugins and mods, the settings worth changing, and how to get your friends in.

How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?

RAM is the main thing that decides how many players, plugins and mods your server can handle. Player slots are unlimited on every one of our plans, so memory is the real limit. As a rough guide:

• 2 GB (Coal): a small vanilla or Paper survival world for you and a few friends.
• 4 GB (Iron): a growing survival server with a handful of lightweight plugins.
• 6 GB (Copper): a busy community server running plenty of plugins.
• 8 GB (Gold): a large plugin server, or a modest modpack.
• 12 GB (Lapis): the sweet spot for most modpacks and busy communities.
• 16 GB and above (Redstone, Emerald, Diamond): heavy modpacks, big player counts and large networks.

Modded servers need much more memory than vanilla or Paper, because every mod adds blocks, items and code to load. Check the modpack's page for its recommended server RAM, and allow a little extra headroom. If you pick too small, you can upgrade at any time from your client area.

Java or Bedrock?

The steps in this guide are for Minecraft: Java Edition, which is what Paper, Fabric, Forge and CurseForge modpacks all run on. Bedrock Edition players, on consoles, phones and the Windows Bedrock version, cannot join a Java server on their own. Plugins such as Geyser can bridge the two, but they need an extra port, so ask us before setting it up.

1. Choose your server type

This is the big decision, because plugins and mods are not interchangeable.

• Vanilla: plain Minecraft, exactly as Mojang ships it.
• Paper: a faster drop-in replacement for vanilla that runs Bukkit and Spigot plugins. Best for survival servers, minigames and communities, and players join with a normal unmodded client.
• Fabric: a lightweight mod loader. Great for performance mods and the latest versions. Players usually need the same mods installed.
• Forge (or NeoForge on newer versions): the classic loader for big content mods. Players need the same loader and mods.
• CurseForge modpack: a ready-made bundle of mods installed in one go. Players install the same pack through the CurseForge app.

Not sure? If your friends want to join with a normal Minecraft client, choose Paper. If you want new blocks, creatures and dimensions, choose a modpack. You can switch type or version later from the panel, but take a backup first, as worlds do not always move cleanly between versions or loaders.

2. Install plugins or mods

1. 1Stop the server.
2. 2For Paper, upload plugin .jar files into the plugins folder. For Fabric or Forge, upload mod .jar files into the mods folder.
3. 3Make sure each one matches your Minecraft version and your loader. A Forge mod will not load on Fabric, and plugins do nothing on a modded server.
4. 4Start the server and watch the console for errors. Most plugins create their own config folder on first start.

Download plugins and mods from trusted sites such as Modrinth, CurseForge, Hangar or SpigotMC, and avoid random re-uploads. Popular first plugins for a Paper server include EssentialsX for everyday commands, LuckPerms for permissions, and a land claim plugin to protect players' builds from griefing.

3. Set your MOTD

The MOTD is the message players see under your server's name in their multiplayer list. Open server.properties in the file manager, change the motd= line, save, and restart the server. You can add colour with section-sign codes, for example §a for green.

4. Other server.properties settings worth knowing

• difficulty: peaceful, easy, normal or hard.
• gamemode: the default mode for new players, such as survival or creative.
• pvp: true or false, to allow or block players hurting each other.
• max-players: how many can be online at once. Your slots are unlimited, so set this to what your RAM can comfortably handle.
• view-distance and simulation-distance: how many chunks are sent to players and kept active. Lowering these is the single easiest way to reduce lag.
• spawn-protection: the radius around spawn that only ops can build in. Set it to 0 to switch it off.
• level-seed: the seed for a new world. It only applies when a new world is generated.
• online-mode: leave this set to true. It checks that players own the account they are using, and turning it off makes your server easy to impersonate.

Changes to server.properties only apply after a restart. Edit the file while the server is stopped, so nothing overwrites your changes.

5. Whitelist and ops

A whitelist means only players you have approved can join. Operators (ops) can use admin commands. Type these into the console in the panel, without a leading slash:

• whitelist on turns the whitelist on.
• whitelist add PlayerName lets a player in. Use their exact Java username.
• whitelist remove PlayerName takes them off again.
• op PlayerName makes someone an operator, and deop PlayerName removes it.

Only op people you trust, as operators can change the world, give items and kick other players. On a Paper server, a permissions plugin such as LuckPerms lets you give moderators only the commands they need, rather than full op.

6. Upload an existing world

1. 1Stop the server and take a backup.
2. 2On your computer, find the world folder. For singleplayer worlds it is inside the saves folder of your Minecraft installation.
3. 3Zip the world folder, upload it through the file manager and extract it.
4. 4Make sure the folder name matches the level-name setting in server.properties, which is world by default.
5. 5Start the server. On Paper, the Nether and End are stored in separate world_nether and world_the_end folders.

7. Share your address

Your server's address is shown at the top of the panel as an IP and port. Friends add it in Minecraft under Multiplayer, then Add Server. If your port is 25565 they can leave it off, otherwise they need the full address including the colon and port.

Got your own domain? You can point a subdomain like play.yourdomain.com at your server with DNS records, including an SRV record so players do not need to type the port. Our guide on pointing your domain covers it, and we are happy to help set it up.

How to reduce lag on a Minecraft server

• Run Paper rather than vanilla. It is dramatically faster with the same gameplay.
• Lower view-distance and simulation-distance a little.
• Pre-generate your world with a plugin such as Chunky, so new chunks are not generated while people play.
• Limit huge mob farms and redstone clocks, which are common causes of lag.
• Use a profiler such as spark to find what is really using the server's time before you add more RAM.

Backups

Every Minecraft plan includes automatic daily backups, and you can take a manual backup any time from the panel. Get into the habit of taking one before updating Minecraft, switching loader or adding a big batch of mods.

Troubleshooting

• Outdated client or outdated server: your friends' game version does not match the server. Change the server version in the panel, or ask players to switch version in the launcher.
• Cannot connect: check the IP and port against the panel, and check the server has finished starting in the console.
• Mod mismatch on modded servers: every player needs exactly the same modpack version as the server.
• Server crashes on start: read the last lines of the console. It usually names the plugin or mod at fault. Remove it and try again.

Still stuck? Our team plays Minecraft too, so ask us on live chat or Discord.