Changing version

Swapping your server's engine — from Vanilla to Paper, from 1.20 to 1.21, from Forge to NeoForge — is two clicks away in the Game Panel. The catch is picking the right engine for what you want to do. This guide walks every category in the version picker, explains who each one is for, and shows the install flow end-to-end.

Minecraft Last updated May 20, 2026 ~10 min read

Before you start

Changing version reinstalls the server JAR. Your world files, plugins, mods and configs are kept by default — but a downgrade across major versions (e.g. 1.21 → 1.20) can corrupt the world, and plugins/mods built for one engine usually don't load on another. A few minutes of preparation saves an hour of recovery:

  1. Take a full backup. Open Backups in the panel and click Create. Wait for it to finish before you touch anything.
  2. Stop the server. The installer will refuse to run on a live process. Use the dashboard Stop button — don't kill it.
  3. Note your current build. Type version in the console (or read the last startup log) so you can roll back if needed.
  4. Decide if you want a clean slate. If you're switching engine families (e.g. Forge → Paper), a wipe is usually cleaner than fighting incompatible mods. More on this below.
Downgrading MC versions can break worlds

Minecraft worlds are forward-compatible, not backward. Loading a 1.21 world on a 1.20 server can corrupt chunks, lose entities, or wipe newer blocks. If you must downgrade, restore from a backup taken before the upgrade — don't try to "convert" the world in-place.

Opening the version picker

Sign in to the Game Panel, open your server, and click Version in the left sidebar (it's the tab with the loop-arrow icon). You'll see every supported engine grouped into five categories:

Each card shows the engine's icon, name, how many Minecraft versions it supports, and how many builds are available. Cards with a ⚠ warning mark are flagged Experimental; cards with a 💀 (like Waterfall) are end-of-life and shouldn't be used for new servers.

These six cover almost every use case. Pick from this row unless you have a specific reason not to.

recommended 
Vanilla     822 MC versions · 822 builds   — official Mojang server, no plugins/mods
Paper        64 MC versions · 5,538 builds — fastest plugin server, drop-in for Vanilla
Fabric      475 MC versions · 39,900 builds — lightweight mod loader, fast updates
Forge        58 MC versions · 4,311 builds — original mod loader, biggest mod library
NeoForge     28 MC versions · 1,508 builds — modern Forge fork, where most new mods go
Velocity     11 project versions · 475 builds — proxy for connecting many servers

Vanilla

Mojang's untouched server. Pick this if you want pure Minecraft, no plugins, no mods, no surprises. It's also the right choice if you're building snapshot/experimental worlds — Vanilla supports every MC version Mojang has ever shipped (822 at the time of writing), including weekly snapshots.

Paper

A high-performance fork of Spigot. Compatible with all Bukkit/Spigot plugins, with massive performance and stability improvements. This is the default choice for survival/SMP servers.

Fabric

A small, fast mod loader that updates to new MC versions within hours of release. Most modern performance mods (Lithium, Sodium's server companions, FerriteCore) are Fabric-first.

Forge

The original Minecraft mod loader and still the biggest mod ecosystem — anything with "Tech" or "Magic" in the name (IndustrialCraft, Thaumcraft, Create…) is Forge first. Updates slower than Fabric.

NeoForge

A community fork of Forge from late 2023, now where most new mod development happens. API-compatible with Forge in most cases, but with cleaner governance and faster releases.

Velocity

Not a Minecraft server — a proxy. Velocity sits in front of multiple backend servers (lobby, survival, minigames…) and routes players between them. Modern, fast, the default proxy for new networks.

Not sure? Pick Paper.

For a friends-and-family SMP, a public survival server, or anything where you might want to add a plugin later — Paper is the right answer. It runs Vanilla content unmodified and gives you the option to install plugins whenever you want.

Established forks

Battle-tested alternatives to the recommended set. Pick one of these when you have a specific reason — extra performance, regionised threading, a different proxy preference.

Purpur

A Paper fork with hundreds of additional config knobs — gameplay tweaks, mob behaviour, ride mechanics, custom enchant limits. Same plugin compatibility as Paper. Good if you want to deeply customise vanilla mechanics without writing a plugin.

Pufferfish

A Paper fork focused on raw performance. Slightly more aggressive optimisations, async chunk loading, AI improvements. Use when TPS matters more than feature breadth.

Folia

PaperMC's experimental regionised multi-threaded server. Splits the world into independent regions, each ticking on its own thread — meaning a single server can host hundreds of distant players without TPS dropping. Significant caveat: many plugins are not yet Folia-compatible and need explicit support.

Sponge

An independent server platform with its own plugin API (SpongeAPI). Not compatible with Bukkit/Spigot/Paper plugins. Pick this only if you want SpongeAPI specifically — most users want Paper.

Spigot

The original Bukkit fork that Paper itself is forked from. Slower and with fewer optimisations than Paper. There is essentially no reason to pick Spigot over Paper today — plugin compatibility is identical.

BungeeCord

The classic Minecraft proxy. Still works, but Velocity is faster, safer and better-maintained. Use BungeeCord only if you have a plugin that hasn't been ported to Velocity.

Waterfall 💀

End of life. Waterfall (PaperMC's BungeeCord fork) was discontinued in 2023. The team's recommendation is to migrate to Velocity. Don't start a new network on Waterfall.

Experimental

Newer projects that are usable but may have rough edges or fast-moving APIs.

Quilt ⚠

A community fork of Fabric with a more permissive governance model. Compatible with most Fabric mods. Pick Quilt if you specifically need a mod that's Quilt-only — otherwise Fabric is the safer choice.

Canvas ⚠

A new fork in the Paper family focused on next-generation performance. Promising but young — expect occasional plugin incompatibility. Worth testing on a staging server before production.

Miscellaneous

Hybrid loaders that run plugins and mods, plus a few niche performance forks. These shine in very specific situations.

Velocity-CTD

A community fork of Velocity with extra features (extended queueing, custom Tab UI, broader plugin compatibility). Drop-in replacement for Velocity for most setups.

Arclight

A Forge + Bukkit hybrid. Runs Forge mods alongside Bukkit/Spigot/Paper plugins. Lets you build modpack-style content with the rich plugin ecosystem on top. Tradeoff: heavier RAM use and occasional crash edge-cases when mod and plugin features collide.

Mohist

The other big Forge + Bukkit hybrid, similar to Arclight. Mohist supports more legacy Forge versions; Arclight tends to be faster on modern ones. Pick whichever has better builds for your target MC version.

Magma

Yet another Forge + Bukkit hybrid, focused on 1.12/1.16 era modpacks. Useful if you're hosting an old Forge pack and want to add admin plugins.

DivineMC

A Paper-family fork with aggressive multi-threading and async optimisations. Similar idea to Folia but with broader plugin compatibility. Still maturing.

Leaf & Leaves

Two separate (and confusingly similarly-named) Paper forks focused on small-server performance and quality-of-life. Both compatible with Bukkit plugins. Pick based on which has builds for your MC version.

ASPaper

"Async Paper" — a Paper fork that moves additional subsystems off the main thread. Niche; useful for very high player counts on a single instance.

Limbos

NanoLimbo

A lightweight server that does nothing except hold players in a void world. Used behind a proxy as a "fallback" when your main server is restarting, or as a "queue" room. Uses tiny amounts of RAM (under 50 MB). Not a game server — only useful as part of a Velocity/BungeeCord setup.

Picking the Minecraft version

Click any engine card and the panel switches to a list of supported Minecraft versions, newest first. Using Paper as an example:

paper versions 
[ ← Go Back ]   [ 📦 Show Snapshot Versions ]

  1.21.12   RELEASE   61 builds
  1.21.11   RELEASE   92 builds
  1.21.10   RELEASE   51 builds
  1.21.9    RELEASE   20 builds
  1.21.8    RELEASE   55 builds
  1.21.7    RELEASE   28 builds
  1.21.6    RELEASE   46 builds
  1.21.5    RELEASE  111 builds
  1.21.4    RELEASE  224 builds
  1.21.3    RELEASE   82 builds
  1.21.1    RELEASE  128 builds
  1.21      RELEASE  129 builds
  ...
Pick the second-newest MC version

The very newest version usually has few builds, fewer compatible plugins, and the most rough edges. Drop back one minor version (e.g. 1.21.11 instead of 1.21.12) and you'll have a wider plugin selection and a more stable server.

The Install modal

Click a Minecraft version and an Install modal slides in. Using Paper 26.1.2 as the example:

modal 
Install Paper 26.1.2                                    [ × ]

  [ Build #64                                              v ]

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ ⚪ WIPE SERVER FILES                                     │
  │    This will delete all files on your server before     │
  │    installing the new version. This cannot be undone.   │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ ⚪ ACCEPT EULA                                           │
  │    By enabling this option you confirm that you have    │
  │    read and accept the Minecraft EULA.                  │
  │    (https://minecraft.net/eula)                         │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

                                       [ Cancel ]  [ Install ]

Build dropdown

Defaults to the latest build for that MC version. The build number (#64) is the engine's internal build counter — higher = newer. For Paper specifically, builds tagged main are stable; experimental ones are not. Stick with the default unless you have a specific reason.

Wipe Server Files

Off by default — and that's almost always what you want. Leaving this off keeps your world, plugins, mods and configs in place. The installer only swaps the server JAR.

Flip it on only when:

Wipe is irreversible

The modal says it for a reason. Wiping deletes everything: world folders, plugins, mods, configs, logs. There is no undo. Take a backup first.

Accept EULA

Mandatory for any non-Vanilla Minecraft server. The Mojang EULA forbids charging for in-game advantages — read it once at minecraft.net/eula. If this toggle is off, the server will write eula=false to eula.txt on first start and refuse to boot.

Hitting Install

Press Install. The panel will:

  1. Download the new server JAR (a few hundred MB for modded engines, ~50 MB for Paper/Vanilla).
  2. If Wipe was on — delete the existing server files.
  3. Replace the server JAR and update the startup command.
  4. Set eula=true in eula.txt if you accepted.
  5. Display a toast confirming success.

Installation usually takes 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on engine size and your storage tier.

After installing

  1. Go to the dashboard.
  2. Click Start.
  3. Watch the console. First boot is slower — the server is generating data files, copying registries, and (for Forge/NeoForge) running its installer.
console 
[INFO] Starting minecraft server version 1.21.11
[INFO] This server is running Paper version 1.21.11-64-main
[INFO] Loading libraries, please wait...
[INFO] Preparing level "world"
[INFO] Time elapsed: 4521 ms
[INFO] Done (8.412s)! For help, type "help"

Confirm the line This server is running <Engine> version <MC>-<build> shows the engine and MC version you picked. If it doesn't — stop the server, check the install completed cleanly, and try again.

Post-switch checklist

Rolling back

If the new version broke something:

  1. Stop the server.
  2. Open Backups, find the snapshot you took before changing version, and click Restore.
  3. Go back to Version and reinstall the previous engine/MC version.
  4. Start the server.

If you don't have a backup, you can still reinstall the previous engine — your world data is usually still on disk — but any block changes made since the switch will reflect the newer version's chunk format and may not load cleanly on a downgrade.

Common issues

Still stuck? Open a ticket with your console log and the engine/version you tried to install — we'll dig in.