6 articles
Minecraft server software
How Paper, Leaf, Purpur and Folia differ, which one fits your game mode and what to do if you need mods.
- The best Minecraft server software: Paper, Leaf, Purpur, Folia and the restFor most servers with plugins the answer is Paper — or its fork Leaf if you want extra performance and are willing to tune it. Below: how the popular server jars differ, which plugins run on them, and what to run for survival, anarchy, minigames or a very large player count.14 min read
- Paper: installing and configuring your serverPaper is Minecraft server software with plugins, optimizations and flexible settings. This guide covers installing it, what's where after the first start, the settings worth knowing and how to update without putting your world at risk.8 min read
- Leaf server software: what it is and how to switch from PaperLeaf is a Paper fork that aims for a balance between performance, vanilla mechanics and stability. Here's what it adds on top of Paper, where its settings live, which options to handle with care and how to move from Paper without risking your world.8 min read
- Purpur server software: what it does and who it's forPurpur is server software built on Paper that lets you change gameplay mechanics from one file: rideable mobs, AFK instead of kicks, elytra, totems, spawners. Here's who needs it, how to switch from Paper and what to watch for if you run an anticheat.7 min read
- Folia: when you need regionised multithreadingFolia, from the PaperMC team, ticks different parts of the world in parallel on different CPU cores. Here's which servers gain from it, what hardware it wants and why most servers are still better off on Paper.6 min read
- Modded servers: Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and hybridsMods and plugins live in separate worlds: mods run on a mod loader — Fabric, NeoForge or Forge — while plugins run on Paper and its forks. Here's how to pick a loader, which mods players need and which only the server does, and whether hybrids are worth the trouble.7 min read
Run the best anticheat for modern Minecraft
DGuard catches all 47 kinds of cheats in our comparison — the closest rival, Intave, has 27. Full protection on every plan, free up to 30 players online.