How to add mods to your Minecraft server

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, choose Mods, then Browse.
2. Search. Results come from Modrinth and CurseForge and are filtered to your loader and Minecraft version.
3. Press Install for the newest build made for your server, or open Versions to pick an older or a beta one. A version that needs other mods says how many (for example “1 required”); install those as well.
4. Restart the server. Mods load at boot, not while running.

Installed lists the mods the panel tracks. Check for updates looks for newer builds made for your loader and Minecraft version, and Update installs one.

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.

Uploaded files are not tracked yet. Back in Resources, Import from server recognises each jar from Modrinth or CurseForge and imports the whole folder in one click, so they get update checks too. Two copies of one mod are pointed out, so you can keep one.

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.
• For a whole pack instead of picking mods, install a modpack.