Version and engine
Choosing between Vanilla, Paper, Forge and the rest — and what each one can actually run.
The Version and engine tab changes what your server runs: the Minecraft version and the server software behind it. Both in one place, both without touching a file.
Which engine to pick
This is the decision that matters, because it determines whether you can run plugins, mods, or neither.
| Engine | Plugins | Mods | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | yes | no | Almost everyone. Fast, stable, huge plugin ecosystem |
| Purpur | yes | no | Paper plus extra gameplay tweaks |
| Spigot, CraftBukkit | yes | no | Older plugins that never moved to Paper |
| Pufferfish, Folia | yes | no | Large player counts, performance-focused forks |
| Vanilla | no | no | The pure game, exactly as Mojang ships it |
| Forge, NeoForge | no | yes | Classic modpacks and most mod content |
| Fabric, Quilt | no | yes | Lightweight modern mods, fast updates |
| Mohist, Arclight, Magma | yes | yes | Mods and plugins together — powerful, less stable |
The panel marks Paper as recommended, and for most servers it is the right answer: it behaves like vanilla for players, runs faster, and every common plugin supports it.
Changing the version
Pick the engine, pick the version, confirm. The panel downloads the correct build and swaps it in.
Take a backup first. Version changes are the single most common way to damage a world:
- Going up is usually safe. Minecraft converts an older world when it loads.
- Going down is not. A world saved by a newer version generally will not open in an older one. There is no built-in way back.
Mods and plugins are tied to versions too. Jumping from 1.20 to 1.21 means every mod needs a 1.21 build, and some will not have one yet.
The badges
Next to each engine the panel shows whether it supports plugins and mods. Use them as a sanity check — if you are about to install a plugin and the badge says no, you are on the wrong engine.
Changing engine on an existing world
The world itself carries over between engines in the same family. Vanilla → Paper → Purpur is painless; the world format is identical.
Moving between families is different. Going from Forge to Paper leaves blocks and items from mods in a world that no longer knows what they are — usually they vanish, sometimes the chunk fails to load. If you have a modded world you care about, keep it as a Game Swap preset before switching.
After the change
Restart, then watch the console. The first boot on a new version takes longer than usual — the server converts the world and rebuilds caches. Let it finish before judging performance.