Guides
Guides
Each guide answers one question and cites the data behind it. Where a number can change, the guide links to the page that keeps it current instead of freezing it in text.
For server owners14
Backing up a Minecraft server before an update
World conversion is one way. Once a world opens on a newer version it will not open on the old one again, which makes the backup the only way back.
3 min read
Can you downgrade a Minecraft world to an older version?
Not with the game. Conversion is one way and there is no built-in path back. What actually happens, what the workarounds cost, and the one thing that always works.
3 min read
Fixing Minecraft server lag: what to measure and in what order
TPS and MSPT measure different things and only one of them tells you what is wrong. How to find the actual cause instead of adding RAM and hoping.
4 min read
How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?
Player count matters less than you think, mods matter more, and giving the server every gigabyte you own makes it slower. What to allocate and why.
3 min read
How to verify a Minecraft jar checksum before you run it
A server jar runs with your permissions on your machine. Checking the hash takes ten seconds and is the only way to know the file you got is the file they published.
3 min read
Installing an .mrpack modpack on a server
An mrpack is a manifest, not a bundle of mods. What is inside it, why the server side is a separate job from the client, and how to get both matching.
3 min read
Java 25 and the 2026 Minecraft releases
The calendar releases raised the Java floor. Which runtime to install, why a newer one is usually fine, and what actually breaks when the requirement moves.
3 min read
Letting Bedrock players join a Java server with Geyser
Geyser translates between the two editions so phone and console players can join a Java server. What it does well, what it cannot do, and how to set it up.
3 min read
Letting many Minecraft versions join one server with ViaVersion
One server, clients from 1.8 to the newest release. How the translation layer works, which plugin covers which direction, and what it genuinely cannot do.
3 min read
Setting up a Velocity proxy network
A proxy moves players between servers without disconnecting them. The setup, the one security setting everyone gets wrong, and when you should not use one at all.
3 min read
Upgrading a Minecraft server from 1.21.11 to 26.1
The jump from the last 1.x release to the first calendar release moves Java, world data and plugin APIs at once. A staged plan that gets you across without losing anything.
4 min read
Upgrading a Minecraft server from 26.1 to 26.2
A drop-to-drop upgrade inside the same year. Much smaller than the jump out of the 1.x line, and there are still four things that will catch you.
3 min read
Which Java version does each Minecraft release need?
Java 25 from 26.1, Java 21 for 1.20.5 to 1.21.11, Java 17 from 1.18, Java 8 below that. The full table for every version in our 903 row spine.
4 min read
Which Minecraft server software should you run in 2026?
Vanilla, Paper, Purpur, Folia, Fabric, NeoForge or a proxy. What each one is actually for, what it costs you, and the one question that decides between them.
4 min read
For players9
Bedrock and Java version numbers: why they never match
Two editions, two numbering schemes, two release cadences. Which number means what, and why a matching number does not mean the same features.
3 min read
Every Minecraft April Fools version
Mojang ships a joke version most years, from 15w14a in 2015 to 26w14a. Release dates, what each one did, and the official downloads.
4 min read
Fabric, NeoForge or Quilt: which mod loader should you use?
Three loaders, three ecosystems, and mods that only work on one of them. What each loader is good at, how fast each updates, and how to pick before you install anything.
3 min read
Fixing "Incompatible mod set" and other startup crashes
The loader tells you exactly what is wrong before the game starts. How to read that screen, and the halving method for when it does not name a cause.
3 min read
Fixing "Outdated client" and "Outdated server" in Minecraft
The error names which side is behind, and the protocol number tells you exactly which versions can connect. How to read it, and the three real ways to fix it.
3 min read
How to check whether a mod works on your Minecraft version
The three things that must all match, where to find each one, and why "supports 1.21" on a mod page usually does not mean what you think it means.
3 min read
Is Minecraft 26.1 the same update as 1.22?
Minecraft 1.22 never shipped. See which release took its place, what the 26.1 name means, and how the old and new version numbers line up against each other.
3 min read
Setting up Sodium and Iris for shaders
OptiFine is no longer the default answer. Sodium plus Iris is faster, actively maintained, and runs most shader packs. What to install and in what order.
3 min read
What Minecraft snapshot names mean
26w14a, 26.3-snapshot-5, 26.2-pre1, 26.2-rc1. Four naming schemes, what each one tells you, and how far along a release actually is.
3 min read
For modders6
Forge version numbers for Minecraft 26.1, 26.2 and 1.21
Forge builds like 65.0.9 carry no hint of the Minecraft version they target. The mapping table for the calendar releases and for the 1.x era.
5 min read
NeoForge version numbers: which build for 26.2 or 1.21
NeoForge moved to four part version numbers in the calendar era. How 26.2.0.35-beta maps to Minecraft 26.2, and how the older 21.1.x rule worked.
4 min read
Porting a mod to a new Minecraft version
Mappings, the compile errors that come first, the behaviour changes that come later, and the order that makes a port take days instead of weeks.
3 min read
Reading Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt version numbers
Every loader numbers itself differently, and NeoForge encodes the Minecraft version in its own. How to read each one, and which numbers must match what.
3 min read
Resource pack format numbers and which Minecraft versions they cover
pack_format is the one field that decides whether your pack loads. What it means, why it keeps changing, and how to support several versions from one file.
3 min read
Why a Fabric mod will never run on NeoForge
Not a licensing choice or a rivalry. A mod is compiled against one loader's API and patched into the game by that loader's machinery. What that means in practice.
3 min read
For developers8
How to sort Minecraft versions in code after calendar versioning
Semver parsers put 1.21.11 above 26.2 and break. Why Minecraft version strings cannot be compared numerically, and what to sort on instead in code.
5 min read
Minecraft protocol versions: full list and snapshot quirk
Every Java Edition protocol number in one ordered table, what a matching number does and does not guarantee, and why snapshot numbers set the high bit.
5 min read
Paper API Maven and Gradle coordinates
The repository, the artifact, the version string that trips people up, and why paperweight is a different decision from the plain API dependency.
3 min read
plugin.yml api-version values for Minecraft 26.x servers
Bukkit api-version accepted 1.13 through 1.21, then calendar values arrived. What to declare for 26.1 and 26.2, and why a wrong value blocks loading.
5 min read
Protocol versions and data versions, and what each is for
Two numbers that both identify a Minecraft version and answer completely different questions. Which to use for connections, which for save files, and which never to sort by.
3 min read
What breaks plugins when Minecraft gets a new drop
Why a plugin that worked yesterday fails today, which kinds of breakage are recoverable, and how to write one that survives the next drop.
3 min read
Which Minecraft version is newer, 26.2 or 1.21.11?
Text comparison says 1.21.11 wins. Release order says 26.2 does. Why every naive version sort broke in 2026, and how to order both eras correctly in your own code.
4 min read
Writing pack.mcmeta for a data pack
The format number, the folder layout that changed under it, and how to declare a range so one data pack covers several Minecraft versions.
3 min read