Getting started

How to change or update your Minecraft server version

Changing the Minecraft version of your server takes one field in Settings. What needs thought is everything around it: your world, your plugins or mods, and the version your players start the game with.

Before you change the version

Make a backup. A world that has been opened in a newer version cannot safely go back to an older one, so the backup is your way back. See back up and restore your server.
Check your plugins or mods. Each one needs a build for the new version. Their download page lists the versions they support.
Tell your players. Everyone on Java has to start the game with the same version as the server.

The Backups tab with a name typed for a new backup and the Create backup button — Make a backup first and give it a name you will recognise, such as the version you are leaving.

Change the Minecraft version in Settings

Open the control panel of your server and go to Settings.
Under Server software, set Minecraft version to latest for the newest release, or type the exact release you want.
Save the change. The matching Java version is set with it.
Restart the server and watch the Console. The first start on a new version takes a little longer while the world is upgraded.

The Server software card in Settings with the server type and the Minecraft version field — Type `latest` or an exact release. Installed plugins and mods must support the version you choose.

Your world, settings and play address stay as they are. Only the server software changes. Which Java version your server needs explains the Java side, in case you ever set it by hand.

Updating: what happens to your world

When a newer version loads your world for the first time, it converts the saved chunks to the new format. Land you already explored keeps its shape. New biomes, blocks and structures from the update appear in chunks generated after the update, so players have to travel to new land to find them.

Pre-generated land counts as explored. If you pre-generated a large area, new terrain features only appear outside it.

Going back to an older version

Minecraft does not support opening a world in an older version than the one it was last played on. The server may start, but chunks, items and entities can break or disappear.

Set the older version in Settings.
Restore the backup you made before the update, from the Backups tab.
Start the server.

If you have no backup from before the update, a fresh world on the older version is the only clean option.

Plugins and mods after a version change

Paper and Purpur: most plugins keep working across the small releases of one version, but a big update often needs new builds. Update them in the Plugins tab. A plugin that is not ready yet shows errors in the console at startup and stays off.
Fabric, Forge and NeoForge: every mod needs a build for the exact Minecraft version and loader. Most Fabric mods also need the Fabric API for that version.
Modpacks: do not change the Minecraft version by hand. Pick a newer version of the pack instead, as in install a modpack; that sets the right loader and Minecraft version for you.

On the day a big update comes out, vanilla and Fabric are usually ready first. Paper and many plugins need some days or weeks. If your server depends on plugins, wait until each of them lists the new version.

Fix Incompatible client, outdated client and outdated server

What players see	What it means	Fix
Incompatible client! Please use and a version number	The player's game and the server run different versions.	Start the game with the version the message names.
Outdated client, in older versions of the game	The player's game is older than the server.	Update the game in the launcher.
Outdated server, in older versions of the game	The server is older than the player's game.	Update the server, or let the player start the server's version.
The server's version in red in the server list	The same mismatch, seen before joining.	The same fixes.

To play an older version in the Minecraft Launcher, open Installations, click New installation, choose the server's version and click Create. Start the game from that installation.

On Paper and Purpur, the ViaVersion plugin lets players with a newer game join an older server, and ViaBackwards does the reverse. Mods cannot be bridged like that: on a modded server every player needs the server's exact version. Can't connect to your server covers the other reasons a join fails.

Questions

Will updating my Minecraft server delete the world?

No. The world is converted the first time the new version loads it. Make a backup first all the same, because going back to the older version needs that backup.

How do I see which version my server runs?

In Settings under Server software, and in the first lines of the Console when the server starts.

Should I update as soon as a new version comes out?

Only when everything you use is ready. A vanilla server can update on day one. A server with plugins or mods is better off waiting until each of them lists the new version.

Can players on different versions play together?

Not on a plain server. On Paper or Purpur, ViaVersion and ViaBackwards let nearby versions join the same server. On a modded server everyone needs the same version.

Checked against the Settings and Backups tabs of our control panel, September 2026. Written by the Cheapest Minecraft Hosting team, updated 29 September 2026.