Minecraft server mods, plugins and add-ons

What you can add to a Minecraft server depends on its type. Paper and Purpur run plugins, Fabric, NeoForge and Forge run mods, and Bedrock runs add-ons. Install any of them in one tap from the Mods tab, or upload them through Files.

Plugins, mods and add-ons

Plugins change what the server does: homes, claims, shops, mini-games, chat tools. Players join with the normal game.

Mods can add new blocks, items, mobs and dimensions. When a mod adds content, every player needs it too, at the same version. A few mods are server-only, like many performance mods, and friends don’t need those.

Vanilla servers don’t run plugins or mods. To add some, switch the server type first. The server types guide helps you choose and switch safely.

Install from the Mods tab

1. Open Mods.
2. Search for what you want, for example “voice chat” or “claims”.
3. Results match your server’s game version and type. Ones that won’t work are marked.
4. Pick the one you want and install it. The panel shows what it will add, including any other mods it needs (dependencies).
5. Confirm. We make a backup first, then download every file from its official source.
6. Restart the server when the panel asks. A sleeping server picks the change up when it wakes.

To remove one, open it in Mods and remove it. The settings file it made stays unless you choose to delete it too.

Install by hand through Files or SFTP

Use this for a file you made yourself, or one the Mods tab can’t fetch.

1. Stop the server on Overview.
2. Open Files (or connect with SFTP on port 2022, with the details from the SFTP card in Files).
3. Upload the file into the right folder:

Bedrock .mcpack and .mcaddon files are zips. Unzip them first, then upload each pack folder to the right place.

4. Start the server and watch Console for errors.

Check two things before you upload a Java file: it must be made for your exact game version and for your server type. A Fabric mod won’t load on NeoForge, and a mod for 1.21.1 won’t load on 26.3. Most Fabric mods also need Fabric API.

Bedrock add-ons

Bedrock add-ons come as behavior packs (they change how things act) and resource packs (they change how things look). Many come together as an .mcaddon file, which is a zip holding both.

The simplest way to add them:

1. On a Windows PC or phone, open the world in single player and turn the add-on on under the world’s settings. Turn on any experiments it asks for.
2. Export the world and upload it to your server. See bring your world.

The packs travel inside the world, so the server loads them for you.

To add packs to the world already on the server, upload them in Mods or through Files:

• Packs in the server’s top behavior_packs and resource_packs folders are there for every world on the server.
• The world itself turns packs on. Its folder inside worlds has world_behavior_packs.json and world_resource_packs.json, which list each pack’s ID and version from the pack’s manifest.json.

Add-ons bought from the Minecraft Marketplace can’t be copied to a server.

What your friends need

• Plugins and Bedrock add-ons: nothing. Bedrock players get the server’s resource packs when they join. The game may ask them to accept the download.
• Mods: the same mod loader, the same mods and the same versions. The Mods tab has a card that shows what your friends need.
• Modpacks: the same pack at the same version, installed with a launcher. See what friends install.

Bedrock players can join a Java server with mods only when every mod is server-only. See Bedrock crossplay.

Updates and version matching

Mods and plugins never update by themselves, because an update can break a world. When updates are ready, Mods shows them with their changelogs. You can update them all at once, with one backup first.

When you change the Game version in Settings, every plugin and mod must also support the new version. Mods are pickier than plugins. Wait until your important mods support a new release before you update, or pin the version you have. Modded servers are pinned by default.

If something breaks

• The Console shows a crash helper card when it spots a known problem, such as a mod made for another game version, a missing dependency or not enough RAM. Most have a fix button.
• Restore the backup we made before the install, in Backups.
• Look up the message in common errors.