Minecraft server guide

Short answer: Start the server, wait for Done (…)! For help, type "help" in the console, then join from Minecraft Java Edition with your server address. New servers start open: anyone with the address can join. To keep strangers out, turn the whitelist on (see Whitelist below).

Before you begin

• You need: Minecraft Java Edition on the same version as your server. Bedrock Edition (consoles, phones, Windows “Bedrock”) can’t join.
• If you’re new to the panel, read Your first 15 minutes: from order to playing first.

Server facts

Versions we offer	Minecraft (Fabric) (default) · Minecraft (NeoForge) · Minecraft (Forge) · Vanilla Minecraft · Minecraft (Paper)
Backups keep	/server.properties, /*.json, /*.yml, /*.yaml, /*.toml, /*.txt, /config/, /defaultconfigs/, /kubejs/, /plugins/, /datapacks/, /journeymap/, /world/, /world_nether/, /world_the_end/

Minecraft (Fabric)

Ready when the console shows	[13:15:11] [Server thread/INFO]: Done (2.080s)! For help, type "help"
Stop command	stop (sent by Stop)
Extra ports	none
Mods page	Modrinth, CurseForge: installed into the right folder
Game Settings page	Yes: Server properties (21 settings)
Tested in our lab	2026-10-07: installed (0.1 GB), reached its ready message

Settings the panel rewrites at every start

Change these on Startup, not in the file: the panel writes them into the file each time the server starts.

• server.properties: server-ip, enable-query, server-port

Startup settings

Setting	You can change it	Default
Server Jar File	Yes	server.jar
Minecraft Version	Yes	latest
Fabric Version	Yes	latest
Fabric Loader Version	Yes	latest

Minecraft (NeoForge)

Ready when the console shows	[01:31:23] [Server thread/INFO] [minecraft/DedicatedServer]: Done (4.178s)! For help, type "help"
Stop command	stop (sent by Stop)
Extra ports	none
Mods page	Modrinth, CurseForge: installed into the right folder
Game Settings page	Yes: Server properties (21 settings)
Tested in our lab	2026-10-05: installed (0.2 GB), reached its ready message

Settings the panel rewrites at every start

Change these on Startup, not in the file: the panel writes them into the file each time the server starts.

• server.properties: server-ip, server-port, query.port

Startup settings

Setting	You can change it	Default
Minecraft Version	Yes	latest
NeoForge Version	Yes	(empty)

Minecraft (Forge)

Ready when the console shows	[01:30:00] [Server thread/INFO] [minecraft/DedicatedServer]: Done (2.250s)! For help, type "help"
Stop command	stop (sent by Stop)
Extra ports	none
Mods page	Modrinth, CurseForge: installed into the right folder
Game Settings page	Yes: Server properties (21 settings)
Tested in our lab	2026-10-05: installed (0.2 GB), reached its ready message

Settings the panel rewrites at every start

Change these on Startup, not in the file: the panel writes them into the file each time the server starts.

• server.properties: server-ip, server-port, query.port

Startup settings

Setting	You can change it	Default
Server Jar File	Yes	server.jar
Minecraft Version	Yes	latest
Build Type	Yes	recommended
Forge Version	Yes	(empty)

Vanilla Minecraft

Ready when the console shows	[01:27:55] [Server thread/INFO]: Done (2.504s)! For help, type "help"
Stop command	stop (sent by Stop)
Extra ports	none
Mods page	Modrinth: installed into the right folder
Game Settings page	Yes: Server properties (21 settings)
Tested in our lab	2026-10-05: installed (0.1 GB), reached its ready message

Settings the panel rewrites at every start

Change these on Startup, not in the file: the panel writes them into the file each time the server starts.

• server.properties: server-ip, server-port, query.port

Startup settings

Setting	You can change it	Default
Server Jar File	Yes	server.jar
Server Version	Yes	latest

Minecraft (Paper)

Ready when the console shows	[04:00:28 INFO]: Done (7.678s)! For help, type "help"
Stop command	stop (sent by Stop)
Extra ports	none
Mods page	Modrinth: installed into the right folder
Game Settings page	Yes: Server properties (21 settings)
Tested in our lab	2026-10-07: installed (0.2 GB), reached its ready message

Settings the panel rewrites at every start

Change these on Startup, not in the file: the panel writes them into the file each time the server starts.

• server.properties: server-ip, server-port, query.port

Startup settings

Setting	You can change it	Default
Minecraft Version	Yes	latest
Server Jar File	Yes	server.jar
Build Number	Yes	latest

Quick start

1. Select Start on the Console page and wait for the Done line.
2. Make yourself an operator (admin): type op <your Minecraft name> in the console box and press Enter.
3. Optional: to let only your friends in, add each one with whitelist add <their name>, then turn the whitelist on with whitelist on.
4. Copy your address with Copy at the top of the page and share it.
5. In Minecraft: Multiplayer > Add Server, paste the address, then Done and join.

Joining the server

Minecraft joins on one address, with no separate query port. If the address ends in :25565 you can leave the port off, but including it always works.

Whitelist

New servers start with the whitelist off (white-list=false), so anyone with your address can join. Turn it on to allow only players you’ve added; everyone else then sees “You are not white-listed on this server!”.

Servers created before October 2026 may have it on: Minecraft 26.3 and later switch it on by default, and we now switch it off for new servers.

To	Type in the console
Add a player	whitelist add <name>
Remove a player	whitelist remove <name>
See who’s on it	whitelist list
Turn it on	whitelist on (or Whitelist only on Game Settings)
Turn it off	whitelist off (or Whitelist only off on Game Settings)

Admin access (operators)

• op <name> makes a player an operator: they can use commands such as /gamemode, /tp and /ban in game.
• deop <name> removes it.
• Operators are stored in ops.json. Edit that file only while the server is stopped.

Commands typed in the panel console don’t need a /. In game, they do.

Settings

The Game Settings page edits server.properties with menus: player slots, difficulty, game mode, whitelist, view distance and more. Restart after saving.

To edit server.properties by hand, stop the server first, then use Files. The address settings (server-ip, server-port, query.port) are rewritten by the panel at every start, so changes to those are undone: see the facts above.

Worlds

• Your world is the world folder (plus world_nether and world_the_end on Paper). The name comes from World folder (level-name) on Game Settings.
• New world, keep the old one: stop the server, change World folder to a new name such as world2, start. Change it back to return to the old world.
• World seed only applies when a world is first created.
• To bring in a single-player world, upload its folder from .minecraft/saves/ and set World folder to its name. See Uploading an existing world.

Mods and plugins

Version	How
Fabric, Forge, NeoForge	Mods page: browse Modrinth or CurseForge, filtered to your loader and Minecraft version. Players need the same mods: see Players need the same mods: joining a modded server
Paper	Mods page: browse Modrinth for Paper plugins. You can also upload plugin .jar files to the plugins folder with Files or SFTP. Restart afterwards. Players don’t need plugins
Vanilla	No mods or plugins. Datapacks go in world/datapacks

Fabric mods don’t work on Forge or NeoForge, and the other way round. Check the mod page for your loader and version.

Restarts and saving

• save-all saves the world now. Stop sends stop, which also saves.
• For a nightly restart with a warning, see Setting up automatic restarts and backups with schedules. Use say Restarting in 1 minute as the warning command.

Updating

The Minecraft version is set on Startup (“Minecraft Version” or “Server Version”). It’s applied when the server is installed, so change it and then reinstall. Back up first: worlds can’t be moved back to an older version. See Updating your game server.

Performance

The biggest levers are on Game Settings under Performance:

• View distance (chunks): how far players see. Default 10. Lowering it to 6–8 cuts load a lot.
• Simulation distance (chunks): how far the world keeps running. Default 10.

Lots of animals, item farms and heavy mods also add load. If memory is near your plan’s limit, see My server keeps crashing or restarting.

Common errors

Message	Meaning	Fix
“You are not white-listed on this server!”	Whitelist is on and the player isn’t on it	whitelist add <name>
“Outdated server!” / “Outdated client!”	Player and server are on different Minecraft versions	Match the versions (see Updating)
“Failed to verify username!”	The player’s Minecraft account couldn’t be checked	Ask them to restart their game and launcher
“Incompatible mods” / “Mod rejections”	The player’s mods don’t match the server’s	Install the same mods and versions
Done never appears, server goes Offline	A mod or setting error at start-up	Read the console: My server will not start

When to contact support

Contact support if the server won’t reach the Done line after you’ve removed recently added mods, or nobody can join with the whitelist off and versions matching. Include the console lines from the start-up. See How to contact support with useful diagnostic information.

We help with the panel, starting the server, connecting and the Mods page. We can’t fix bugs inside third-party mods or plugins.

Related guides

• Installing mods from the Mods page
• Updating your game server
• How to create and restore a backup

Last reviewed: 2026-10-05 · Applies to: Game Panel (hici 0.4.2, HiCiTools 3.0.2)