How to set up a Minecraft server

A Minecraft server on Headpat Space is ready in a few minutes. You pick the server type, the panel installs it, and you get an address your friends can join. This guide covers the whole setup, from ordering to your first login.

What you need

• A Headpat Space account with a verified email address and your billing details filled in.
• Minecraft: Java Edition, or Bedrock Edition if you pick the Bedrock variant.
• An idea of how many people will play. The preselected 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM is a good start for a small group on Vanilla or Paper. Large modpacks usually need 6 to 8 GB or more. You can change the plan later.

1. Order the server

1. Sign in to the panel, open Game Servers in the sidebar and click New server.
2. Under 1. Pick a game, choose Minecraft.
3. Under 2. Pick a variant, choose the server type. The list below helps you decide.
4. Under 3. Pick a location, choose the location closest to your players.
5. Under 4. Configure resources, set CPU, RAM and disk. The recommended values are already selected.
6. Under 5. Name and finalize, give the server a name. If you have a promo code, click Have a promo code? and apply it.
7. Check Game settings. Leave the version on latest for the newest release, or type a specific version number. Under Java version, keep the default unless you run an old Minecraft version. Modern Minecraft builds need Java 21 or newer.
8. Click Continue to checkout and pay. You land on the page of your new server, where the installation starts on its own.

Which variant should you pick?

• Vanilla: the official server from Mojang. No plugins, no mods.
• Paper: faster than Vanilla and runs plugins. The best choice for most servers.
• Purpur: Paper with extra settings to tweak gameplay.
• Spigot: the classic plugin server. Pick it only if a plugin asks for it.
• Folia: a Paper fork for very large servers. Many plugins do not support it.
• Fabric, Forge and Neoforge: for mods. Every player needs the same mods installed.
• SpongeForge: Forge with support for Sponge plugins.
• CurseForge: installs a complete modpack. You need the modpack project ID and your own CurseForge API key.
• Bedrock: for Bedrock Edition players on consoles, phones and Windows.
• Velocity: a proxy that links several servers together. It is not a game server itself.

2. Start the server and accept the EULA

The server does not start by itself after the installation. Watch the Console until the installer is done, then click Start under Server actions.

On the first start of a Java server, Minecraft asks you to accept its EULA. The panel shows the dialog Accept the Minecraft EULA. Click Accept & start and the server boots. It is ready when the console prints a line starting with Done.

3. Connect

The Address card on the server page shows how to reach your server.

• If Host shows a name such as my-server.headpat.games, Java players only need that name. The port is found automatically.
• If Host shows an IP address, enter the host and the port together, like 203.0.113.10:20015.

In Minecraft: Java Edition, open Multiplayer, click Add Server and paste the address into Server Address.

Bedrock players always enter the host and the port in two separate fields.

Want a different name? Open Network, and under Subdomain click Change.

4. Make yourself operator

Type commands into the field below the console and press Enter. Do not add a slash in front.

op YourName

To let only invited players in:

whitelist on
whitelist add FriendName

5. Change the server settings

Open Files, click server.properties, change what you need and click Save. Then click Restart on the server page so the changes apply.

Settings people change most often:

Setting	What it does
difficulty	peaceful, easy, normal or hard
gamemode	The mode new players start in
max-players	How many players can be online at once
motd	The text shown in the server list
pvp	Whether players can hurt each other
white-list	Only listed players can join

Leave server-port alone. The panel sets it for you.

6. Add plugins or mods

• Paper, Purpur and Spigot: upload the plugin .jar files to the plugins folder.
• Fabric, Forge and Neoforge: upload the mod .jar files to the mods folder. Most Fabric mods also need the Fabric API mod.

Restart the server afterwards. In Files you can upload files of up to 100 MB each. For larger files or many files at once, use SFTP: see Upload files to your game server with SFTP.

7. Change the Minecraft version later

1. Make a backup first: see Back up and restore your game server.
2. Open Startup and, under Variables, change the version field. Click Save next to it.
3. Back on the server page, click Reinstall under Server actions.
4. Leave Also delete all files switched off. The installer then runs over your existing files and your world stays where it is.

Minecraft can upgrade a world to a newer version, but not back to an older one.

If something does not work

• Players cannot connect: check that the status is Running, that the port is right, and that everyone uses the same Minecraft version and edition as the server.
• The server stops right after starting: an old Java version is the usual cause. Open Startup and pick Java 21 or newer under Container image. It takes effect on the next restart.
• Lag: look at Live usage on the server page. If RAM stays close to the limit, give the server more memory under Change plan.

Ready to start? Order your Minecraft server.