Modpack Catalog

How to set up a modpack server

A modded server must run the same mods and versions as the players. Whether you need one at all depends on the pack.

Does the pack need a server install?

Some packs are client-only: they change rendering, menus or performance and nothing the server needs to know about. Modrinth marks these as unsupported on the server side. Players use such a pack on their own computer and join any ordinary server running the matching Minecraft version.

Packs that add blocks, items, mobs or machines are server-side. Every player and the server need the same content, or joining fails. Each pack page on this site starts its server section with this verdict.

Match versions exactly

  • Use the same pack version on the server and on every client.
  • Use the same Minecraft version and the same loader (Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or Quilt).
  • When the pack updates, update the server first or at the same time, then the players.

Option 1: a host with a modpack installer

The easiest route is a server host whose control panel lists modpacks. You pick the pack and version and the host builds the server. Check that the host lists the exact pack and version you want, and that the plan has enough memory for it. Some hosts only carry packs from one source, such as CurseForge.

Option 2: official server files

Some authors publish a server pack next to the client files on the project page. If one exists, download the version matching the client, unzip it on the machine that will run the server and follow the start script it includes. Where authors do not publish one, the pack page says so when we know it.

Option 3: build it yourself from a Modrinth pack

  1. Install the Java version your Minecraft release needs.
  2. Use a tool such as mrpack-install, which reads a Modrinth pack file and creates a server folder with the right loader and mods. Client-only mods are skipped using the pack's own metadata.
  3. Open the folder and run the start script or the loader's server jar.

Always take the mod list from the official pack file, not from a third-party copy.

Memory

Give the server at least the minimum memory shown on the pack page, then watch it under real load. A server with many players, big worlds or heavy machine mods needs more than the same pack on a single-player client. The figure on each pack page is the authors' own, attributed, or our estimate from the mod count, labelled as an estimate. Never allocate all of the machine's memory; leave room for the operating system.

Accept the EULA and start

The first start creates an eula.txt file and stops. Read Mojang's EULA, set eula=true in the file if you agree, and start the server again. Then open port 25565 on your router if you are hosting at home, or use the address your host gives you.

Joining

Players install the same pack version through their launcher (see the install guide) and add the server address in the multiplayer menu.

Back to all modpacks.