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GuideVersions and modpacks
The version number decides who can connect. The engine decides what you can add. Both can be changed from the panel, without transferring a single file.
You choose two things, not one
When setting up a server, you first set the game version: it decides which client your players connect with. Then the engine, the software that runs the world. Mojang publishes one; the community has written others, open to additions.
These additions come in two distinct forms, and that is all you need to understand before choosing. A plugin lives only on the server; a mod modifies the game itself, and must therefore be present on both sides.
Server side only
Ranks, economy, area protection, mini-games. Your players launch a stock Minecraft, type your address, and get in. They install nothing.
On both sides at once
Blocks, machines, dimensions, creatures. The server and every player carry the same loader and the same list of mods. One difference, and the connection is refused.
The official server
Vanilla is Mojang's software, with nothing around it. It accepts neither plugins nor mods: it can only be bent with datapacks and commands. Bedrock, for its part, is not an engine but the other edition of the game: see Java or Bedrock.
The Bukkit family: plugins
CraftBukkit led the way by exposing a programming interface. Spigot took it over, Paper carried on the work on the server code, and Purpur sits on top of Paper, adding fine-tuning settings.
All four speak the same language: a plugin written for Bukkit generally runs on the whole family. The panel offers 18,774 to install without downloading anything, detailed on the page plugins.
Mod loaders
Forge is the historic loader. NeoForge grew out of it and covers the same ground on recent versions. Fabric is newer and follows its own pace; Quilt is derived from it.
A mod written for Fabric will not start on Forge, and the reverse is also true: the loader is chosen before the mods, never after.
Hybrids
Mohist and Sponge try to make mods and plugins coexist on the same instance. On paper, you get the best of both worlds; in practice, the setup is delicate, because a mod and a plugin end up wanting to control the same thing at the same time. Add one piece at a time, and only go down this road if you really need to.
Proxies
A proxy runs no world at all: it sits in front of several servers and spreads players between a lobby, a survival world, a creative world. Players keep a single address and move from one to the other without leaving the game. It is the building block of networks, not of a first server.
| ENGINE | POSSIBLE ADD-ONS | PLAYER SIDE |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | datapacks and commands | nothing to install |
| CraftBukkit, Spigot, Paper, Purpur | plugins | nothing to install |
| Forge, NeoForge, Fabric, Quilt | mods | the same loader, the same mods |
| Mohist, Sponge | mods and plugins | the same mods |
| Proxies | none, they only route | nothing to install |
Modpacks
A modpack is a list of mods already assembled, configured and tested together. You no longer decide piece by piece: you take the pack, the server is set up with the right loader, and your players install the same one from their launcher. The panel serves packs from Curse, Modrinth and FTB.
This is where memory becomes the issue. A modpack loads a long list of mods at startup, each with its own blocks and recipes: it fills up memory before a single player has even arrived.
Every modpack states on its own page how much memory it needs. Our plans range from 2 GB to 20 GB, and the calculation is detailed on the page dedicated to RAM.
Choosing in three questions
- Will your players install anything?
No: the Bukkit family, Paper for example. Yes, and only in that case: a mod loader.
- Which version are you asking the group to use?
A plugin or a mod does not necessarily exist for the latest release. Fix the version first, then look for what exists for it.
- A ready-made pack, or a hand-picked list?
A modpack updates as a single block. A hand-picked list can be tuned more finely, but every game version has to be redone, mod by mod.
All of this takes a single click
You compile nothing, you send no files over FTP, you rename no server.jar : every engine mentioned here, and the modpacks, are picked from the same list, from the panel. Changing your mind costs the time of a restart.
Try the engine before deciding
The 10-day trial requires no bank card and runs on the same hardware as the paid plans. Set up a Paper, then a Fabric, and keep the one that suits you.