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Managing your server

How to add or remove a mod or plugin

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You can add or remove single mods and plugins on top of what your server already runs. Pick them from CurseForge or Modrinth with the Mod Installer or Plugin Installer, or upload your own file with the File Manager. Either way, restart the server to load the change.

Check what your server can load

  • Mods need a mod loader: Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or Quilt. A Vanilla server doesn't load mods.
  • Plugins are for Paper-type servers (Bukkit, Spigot and Paper plugins).
  • A mod must be made for the same loader and the same Minecraft version as your server. A Fabric mod won't load on Forge, and a mod made for 1.20.1 won't load on 1.21. Your server's loader and version are shown at the top of the Mod Installer.
  • Bedrock servers can't run Java mods or plugins. Use Add-ons (Bedrock) instead.
  • To switch loader or Minecraft version, use the Version Changer first. See How to change your Minecraft version.

Add a mod or plugin from the catalog

  1. Open your server, then choose Software and Mod Installer (or Plugin Installer).
  2. Search for the mod and click Add. In the Plugin Installer the button reads Install.
  3. In Select version, choose the platform, game version and version that match your server.
  4. Leave the wipe boxes unticked. They delete your server's files.
  5. If the server is running, tick I understand my server is running.
  6. Click Install mod (or Install plugin).
  7. When it finishes, a banner says Mods added (or Plugins added) and "Restart the server to apply the changes." Click Restart to apply, or restart the server yourself.

The file is placed straight away, but the server only loads it when it starts again. That is true even if the server was running when you added it, so always finish with Restart to apply or a restart of your own.

Remove a mod or plugin you added from the catalog

  1. In the Mod Installer or Plugin Installer, switch the list from Show All to Installed.
  2. Click Uninstall on the mod, then confirm.
  3. Restart the server so it stops loading the mod.

If you see a message that the file name wasn't on record, check the mods or plugins folder in the File Manager and remove the file there.

You can also add or remove up to 50 mods at once by ID or slug: open Add or remove by ID or slug under the catalog, choose the Action and Source, list the IDs, and click Add mods or Remove mods. This doesn't restart the server either.

Upload your own file

  1. Stop the server.
  2. Open Files & Data, then File Manager.
  3. Open the mods folder (or plugins for plugins).
  4. Click Upload and choose the .jar file.
  5. Start the server.

To remove a mod by hand, stop the server, click Delete next to the file in the mods folder and choose Move to Recycle Bin, so you can restore it within 30 days. See How to use the File Manager.

Client-only mods

Some mods only run in a player's game, not on a server: minimaps, shaders and many performance and menu mods, for example. They don't belong in your server's mods folder and can stop it from starting. With Automatic repair on, MineXEngine moves mods that declare themselves client-only, and a short list of known ones, out of the mods folder before the server starts. They are moved aside, not deleted. Players can still use these mods in their own game.

Help players get the same mods

Players usually need the same mods in their own game to join a modded server. On the Mod Installer page, the Client pack for players card builds a Modrinth pack (.mrpack) of your server's mods. Click Preview pack, then download it and share it with your players. They import it into a launcher that reads Modrinth packs, such as the Modrinth App or Prism Launcher. Mods that aren't on Modrinth are listed for players to add by hand. If your server runs a modpack, players should install that modpack instead.

Good to know

  • Make a backup before adding several mods at once. Changes made with the Mod Installer or Plugin Installer also appear on the Rollback page, so you can put the server back to how it was before one, as long as a backup from before it exists.
  • Many mods need other mods (dependencies), such as a library mod. If the server won't start after you add one, read the recovery card above the console. See My modpack won't start.
  • For a short list of hand-picked add-ons, see One-click add-ons.
  • MineXHost doesn't choose or change the mods on your server for you. Which mods and versions you run is up to you.