Vanilla, Paper, Fabric or Forge? Choosing your server software

Before anyone joins your server, you have to make one decision that shapes everything after it: which server software to run. It decides whether you can use plugins, whether you can use mods, and how well your server performs under load.

The good news: switching later is possible in most cases, but starting on the right one saves you headaches. Here is what each option actually is.

Vanilla, the official server

Vanilla is the server software Mojang ships. It runs the game exactly as designed: no plugins, no mods, no behaviour changes.

It works fine for a handful of friends playing plain survival, but it is the least optimized option. It also gives you almost no admin tools beyond the basic built-in commands.

• ✦Pick it if: you want a 100% unmodified experience for a few players
• ✦Avoid it if: you want plugins, performance tweaks or more than ~10 players

Paper (and Spigot), the plugin servers

Spigot extended the original Bukkit project and introduced the plugin ecosystem most server admins know today. Paper is a fork of Spigot that is significantly faster and has become the standard for plugin-based servers.

Plugins are server-side only. Your players join with their normal, unmodified Minecraft client, they don't need to install anything. That makes Paper the safest choice for a public or semi-public server.

If you want even more configuration options, Purpur is a fork of Paper with extra gameplay toggles, but Paper is the sensible default.

• ✦Pick it if: you want plugins (economy, protection, permissions, minigames)
• ✦Pick it if: you just want better performance than Vanilla with zero downsides
• ✦Avoid it if: you specifically need Forge or Fabric mods

Fabric, the lightweight mod loader

Fabric is a modern, lightweight mod loader. It updates to new Minecraft versions very quickly and is popular for performance mods (Lithium, Krypton) and tech-focused communities.

Unlike plugins, most gameplay mods need to be installed on the server and on every player's client. That is the trade-off of any modded server: more power, more setup for your players.

• ✦Pick it if: you want a lightly modded server or maximum performance mods
• ✦Pick it if: you want to play the newest Minecraft version with mods early

Forge & NeoForge, the modpack standard

Forge is the oldest major mod loader and the foundation of most large modpacks. NeoForge is a community-driven continuation of Forge that most modern packs have moved to.

If you want to run a big modpack like the 'All the Mods' series, the pack itself decides the loader for you; you install whatever the pack was built on.

• ✦Pick it if: you want to run an established modpack
• ✦Keep in mind: large modpacks need significantly more RAM. See our RAM guide

Quick decision table

• ✦Plain survival with friends → Paper (yes, even then, it's just faster)
• ✦Public server with plugins → Paper
• ✦Light mods / newest versions → Fabric
• ✦Big modpacks → whatever the pack uses (usually NeoForge/Forge)
• ✦Purist, untouched gameplay → Vanilla