# How to add mods to your Minecraft server

> Install Fabric, Forge or NeoForge mods from the panel, or upload the jars yourself, and keep clients matching.

Source: https://fadehost.com/docs/add-mods/

Mods need a mod loader: Fabric, Forge or NeoForge. A Paper or vanilla server cannot load them. Check the loader at the top of the server page first.

## Install from the panel

1. Open the **Resources** tab and choose **Mods**.
2. Search. Results come from Modrinth and CurseForge and are filtered to your loader and Minecraft version.
3. Press **Install**. Required dependencies are installed with the mod. Optional ones are listed so you can pick.
4. Restart the server. Mods load at boot, not while running.

The **Installed** view lists what is on the server, tells you when an update exists and updates it in one click.

## Upload jars yourself

1. Open **Files** and go into the `mods` folder.
2. **Upload files**: the `.jar` files, or a zip you then **Unzip**.
3. Restart.

Files uploaded this way also show up in **Installed**; **Import** matches them to their Modrinth or CurseForge entry so they get update checks too.

## Switching to a mod loader

A server made for plugins has no loader. Open **Server Software** in the header, set the loader (Fabric, Forge or NeoForge) and the version, and save. The world stays; plugins do not carry over.

## Good to know

- Everyone joining needs the same mods on their client, at the same versions. Content mods (new blocks, items, mobs) are refused by the server if they are missing on the client; a few server-side mods such as performance mods are not.
- Client-only mods (shaders, minimaps, HUD tweaks) belong on the player's PC. The installer skips the known ones; on a dedicated server they crash the boot.
- More RAM per mod: a Fabric server with a handful of mods runs in 2 to 4 GB, a 200-mod pack wants 6 to 8. See [Allocate RAM](/docs/allocate-ram/).
- For a whole pack instead of picking mods, [install a modpack](/docs/custom-modpack/).