Install plugins and mods on your Minecraft server

Plugins and mods turn a plain Minecraft server into your own: land claims, economy, new mobs, whole new dimensions. This guide explains the difference between the two, which server type you need, and how to install them without breaking your world.

Plugins or mods: what is the difference?

Plugins run only on the server. Players join with a normal Minecraft client and do not have to install anything. Plugins add things like permissions, protection, minigames and commands, but they cannot add new blocks or items to the game.

Mods change the game itself. They can add new blocks, items, creatures and dimensions. For most mods, every player needs the same mods and the same mod loader installed in their own game.

You cannot mix the two freely. A plugin does not work in the mods folder, and a mod does not work in the plugins folder.

Which server type do you need?

You want to use	Variant you need	Folder
Plugins	Paper, Purpur or Spigot	plugins
Fabric mods	Fabric	mods
Forge mods	Forge	mods
NeoForge mods	Neoforge	mods
A complete modpack	CurseForge	installed for you

Vanilla runs neither plugins nor mods. Folia runs plugins, but only those that say they support it.

Is your server on the wrong type?

You can change the variant with Switch game on the server page. Switching wipes all files on the server and runs the installer again, so download your world first or make a backup: see Back up and restore your game server.

Before you start

• Make a backup. A broken mod can damage a world.
• Check the Minecraft version of your server. You find it under Startup, in Variables. If the field says latest, the first lines in the Console show the exact version when the server starts.
• Download only from the official page of the plugin or mod. A .jar file is a program that runs on your server.

Install plugins

1. Download the .jar file of the plugin for your Minecraft version.
2. Sign in to the panel, open Game Servers and click your server.
3. Click Files and open the plugins folder.
4. Click Upload and pick the file, or drag it into the file list.
5. On the server page, click Restart under Server actions.

On the first start, most plugins create their own folder inside plugins with a config.yml. Open it in Files, change what you need, click Save and restart again.

Install mods

1. Download the .jar file of the mod for your mod loader and your Minecraft version.
2. Open Files and open the mods folder. If it is not there yet, click New folder and name it mods.
3. Click Upload and pick the files.
4. Check what the mod depends on. Most Fabric mods need the Fabric API mod, and many mods need a library mod that is named on their page. Upload those too.
5. Click Restart under Server actions.
6. Install the same mods in your own game, with the same mod loader and version. Your friends have to do the same.

Settings of mods are in the config folder.

Some mods are for the client only, such as minimaps and shaders. Do not upload those to the server. They can stop it from starting.

Upload many or large files

In Files you can upload files of up to 100 MB each. For a whole set of mods, SFTP is faster. The connection details are on the SFTP card on your server page. Step by step: Upload files to your game server with SFTP.

Check the console for errors

After the restart, watch the Console on the server page while the server starts. The server is ready when it prints a line starting with Done.

• Lines marked ERROR or WARN that name your plugin or mod tell you what went wrong.
• On a plugin server, type plugins into the field below the console and press Enter. Loaded plugins are listed in green, failed ones in red.
• The full log of the last start is in logs/latest.log under Files.

Messages you will see most often:

Message contains	What it means
Could not load 'plugins/...'	The plugin does not fit this server type or version
UnsupportedClassVersionError	The Java version is too old. Pick a newer one under Startup, in Container image
requires or depends on	Another mod or plugin is missing. Upload it too

Update or remove

To update, delete the old .jar in Files, upload the new one and restart. Two versions of the same plugin or mod in one folder cause errors.

To remove a plugin, delete its .jar and restart. Be careful when you remove mods: blocks and items from that mod disappear from your world. Make a backup first.

If something does not work

• The server no longer starts: remove the file you added last and restart. If that fixes it, the file was the problem.
• The server is slow or runs out of memory: look at Live usage on the server page. Modded servers need much more RAM. You can add more under Change plan.

New to Minecraft servers? Start with How to set up a Minecraft server.