How to change your Minecraft version or server software

Open Software, then Version Changer, pick the software and Minecraft version you want, and click Change Version. A version change is a full reinstall, so stop the server first. By default the panel takes a checkpoint backup before it changes anything.

Before you start

• Stop the server. While it is online, the Version Changer shows Stop the server to change its version and won't continue.
• A version change doesn't change your mods or plugins. Each mod is built for one Minecraft version and one loader, so if you change either, replace your mods with versions made for the new setup, or the server may not start.
• To install a modpack, or a different version of one, use the Modpack Installer instead. See How to install a modpack.

Change the version

1. Open your server, then choose Software and Version Changer. Running now shows what the server runs today, and Loader build shows the exact loader build.
2. Under Choose your software, click Select on the software you want, such as Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or Quilt. Use Category to narrow the list.
3. Pick the Minecraft version and the Build, then click Continue.
4. In the Change Version window, check the Version Details: software, Minecraft version and build.
5. Leave the box that starts Take a checkpoint first ticked. The panel backs the server up and waits for the backup to finish before it touches anything. If the backup fails, nothing changes.
6. Leave both wipe boxes unticked unless you want a clean start (see below).
7. Click Change Version. The server reinstalls and is briefly offline.

To reinstall your current setup as it is, pick the same software and version you already run. If the version you need isn't in the list, click Custom… and type the software and version yourself.

The wipe options

• Wipe Server Data (delete all server files before installing): deletes every file on the server, including your worlds, before the install. This can't be undone.
• Zip and Wipe Data (back everything up to a zip first, then wipe): saves a zip of everything first, then wipes.

Without a wipe, your world and configs are kept. Switching to a different type of software can leave stray files behind, so a wipe gives a cleaner start.

Going back to an older Minecraft version

If you pick an older version than the server runs now and keep your world, the panel warns Downgrading Minecraft while keeping your world. Minecraft refuses to open a world last saved in a newer version and can corrupt it if forced. Back the world up first. Then either tick Zip and Wipe Data, which keeps a zip of the old files and starts a fresh world, or restore a backup from before the world was moved to the newer version.

If the change went wrong

Open Files & Data, then Rollback. Find the version change in the list and click Roll back to before this. This puts the server back the way it was, using the checkpoint backup. See Roll your server back to before a change.

Good to know

• The Reinstall / Change Version button on the Settings page doesn't open the Version Changer. Use Software, then Version Changer.
• The checkpoint backup is locked so it isn't cleaned up automatically. Unlock it on the Backups page when you no longer need it. Backups count toward your plan's disk space.
• If you switch to a different software without wiping, the old mod files stay in the mods folder, and the Mod Installer stops listing them as installed. Remove the ones that don't fit the new setup in the File Manager.
• A suspended server can't change version until it is resumed.
• Only one install or version change can run on a server at a time.