Lodehost
How to change the Minecraft version
Take a backup
Minecraft upgrades a world when it opens it in a newer version, and there is no way to convert it back down. A backup from right before the change is your way back. See backups.
Open Settings and find the Minecraft version
The field takes the word latest or an exact release such as 1.21.8 or 26.2. Anything that is not one of those two shapes is refused before it reaches your server.
Save and restart
The new server files are downloaded on the next start, so the first boot takes a little longer. The console shows the download and the version that comes up.
Update plugins or mods
Plugins and mods are built for specific releases. Check that yours have a build for the new version before your players join, or the server may refuse to start them.
Changing the version replaces the server software only. Your world, server.properties, player data, play address and backups stay where they are.
The Java version is chosen for you
Every Minecraft release needs a minimum Java version, and a server started on an older Java stops with a class file error. You never pick Java yourself: the panel reads the Minecraft version and uses the runtime that fits.
| Minecraft version | Java the server runs on |
|---|---|
| 26.1 and newer | Java 25 |
| 1.20.5 up to 1.21.x | Java 21 |
| 1.18 up to 1.20.4 | Java 17 |
| 1.17 | Java 16 |
| 1.16.5 and older | Java 8 |
Where two rules could apply, the newer Java wins, because a runtime newer than the game needs is almost never a problem and an older one always is. The details and the error messages are in the right Java for your Minecraft server.
Six server types, on every plan
| Server type | Loads | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | Plugins | You want plugins and good performance, the usual choice |
| Purpur | Plugins | You want everything Paper does plus many extra gameplay settings |
| Vanilla | Neither | You want the game exactly as Mojang ships it |
| Fabric | Mods | You run performance mods or a lighter, modern modpack |
| Forge | Mods | You run a classic modpack, especially for older versions |
| NeoForge | Mods | You run a newer modpack built on it |
No plan unlocks a type and none costs extra. Comparing them in depth: Paper vs Purpur vs Spigot and Fabric vs Forge vs NeoForge. A server still on legacy Spigot or Bukkit can be moved onto this list but not back.
What happens when you switch server type
You choose a type and press one button. Behind it the panel runs four steps in a fixed order, because each one prevents a specific way of losing work:
- Stop the server and wait until it is really off. Old server software writes its files back on shutdown, straight over the new ones.
- Take a backup, named after the switch you asked for, so you can find it again later.
- Wait until that backup has finished and succeeded, up to twenty minutes for a big world. If it fails, nothing is changed.
- Convert, and give the new type the memory your plan pays for instead of the default a fresh install would get.
Nothing is deleted
Plugin files stay in the plugins folder on a mod loader, and mod files stay in the mods folder on Paper. They are simply not loaded. That is what makes switching back a decision instead of a rebuild. Delete them yourself once you know you are staying.
What you will notice after the switch
| Switch | What changes in game |
|---|---|
| Paper or Purpur to Fabric, Forge or NeoForge | Plugins stop loading, so permissions, homes, shops, land claims and the economy they provided stop too, until you switch back |
| Fabric, Forge or NeoForge to Paper or Purpur | Mods stop loading; blocks and items from mods are still stored in the world but show up as missing |
| One mod loader to another | Mods made for the old loader do not load on the new one, so install the pack or mods for the new loader |
| Paper to Purpur or back | Nothing about your content changes, both run the same plugins |
Your play address, your staff and the rights you gave them all come through a switch untouched. Somebody who had the Plugins right on Paper has the Mods right on Fabric.
Going back to an older version
Moving a server forward is routine. Moving it back is where worlds get damaged, because a world opened in a newer release has already been converted to the newer format and an older server cannot read it cleanly. The safe way back is not the version field alone, but restoring the backup you took before you upgraded and setting the older version together with it.
Players on a different client version than the server can often still join with a compatibility plugin. Letting older and newer clients in explains which one to use.
Written and checked against the panel by the Lodehost team, last reviewed on 17 September 2026.
