Install mods on your server
Mods need a mod loader. Install Fabric, Forge or NeoForge from the Versions tab first — then the Plugins and Mods tab searches Modrinth for mods and installs them in one click.
Mods and plugins are not the same thing
Plugins run on Paper and Purpur. They change the server only, so players join with a normal, unmodded Minecraft client. Mods run on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, and every player needs the same mods installed in their own client to join. Vanilla runs neither.
Step 1 — install a mod loader
- Open your server in the game panel (via Open Game Panel on your service page).
- Take a backup from the Backups tab first — changing software is a big change.
- Go to the Versions tab and pick Fabric, Forge or NeoForge.
- Choose your Minecraft version, accept the Minecraft EULA and click Install.
- The server stops, updates and starts again — usually under a minute. The matching Java runtime is picked for you.
Which loader should you pick?
Pick the one your mods are built for — a Fabric mod will not run on Forge, and the other way round. Fabric works on every Minecraft version. Forge is available from Minecraft 1.17 upwards; older Forge builds do not start on modern hosting, so they are not offered. NeoForge only exists for Minecraft 1.20.1 and newer.
Step 2 — install your mods
The sidebar entry is always called Plugins and Mods. Once a mod loader is installed, the page itself is titled Mods and searches mods instead of plugins.
- Open the Plugins and Mods tab.
- Type what you want in the search box — it searches Modrinth, filtered to mods that match your loader and your Minecraft version, so anything you see will fit.
- Click Install. The newest compatible version is picked automatically and downloaded into the server's
/modsfolder. - Anything the mod requires — Fabric API, for example — is installed with it automatically.
- Restart the server from the Console tab. Mods only load on a restart.
- Tell your players which mods and which loader to install in their own launcher, or they will not be able to join.
Removing a mod
- Find it in the installed list on the same tab and click Remove. It takes effect after a restart.
- If another installed mod depends on it, removal is blocked with a message saying so — remove the mod that needs it first.
A mod that isn't on Modrinth
Use the upload box on the same tab to add your own .jar straight into the mods folder — up to 50 MB per file. Uploaded jars appear in the installed list alongside the rest, and load after a restart.
Want a whole modpack instead?
Use the Modpacks tab. It installs complete Modrinth modpacks — the loader, every server-side mod and all the pack's configs — in one click, for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge.
Modpack installs wipe the server
A modpack is always a clean install: the server is stopped and all existing files are deleted before the pack goes on. Take a backup first if you want to keep your current world.
Good to know
- Mods eat RAM. A modded server needs far more memory than a vanilla one — 4 GiB is a sensible floor, and big packs want more. You can change plan at any time and your files are kept.
- Client-side mods do nothing on a server. Shaders, minimaps and similar belong in your own Minecraft client, not here.
- Switching back to Paper or Vanilla from the Versions tab leaves your mods on disk but they will not load — and a modpack record is cleared.
- Keep using the Versions tab. The Reinstall Server button on the Settings tab reverts your server to Paper.