Minecraft Editions
Minecraft comes in a number of different flavors with each Edition having something unique that it brings to the table. We've collected some information on the Editions and modding environments commonly used at WinterNode that you might find helpful.
Minecraft has different types of servers other than vanilla. Some of them have their own special additions. You can install a different edition of the server in Configuration → Advanced. By selecting the server edition you want and the Minecraft version you need.
| Name | Special | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | The default version of Minecraft with no modifications at all, provided by Mojang. | |
| CraftBukkit | Plugins | CraftBukkit is a lightly modified version of the Vanilla software allowing it to be able to run Bukkit plugins. |
| Spigot | Plugins | Spigot is a modified version of CraftBukkit with improvements and optimizations. |
| Paper | Plugins | Paper is a fork of Spigot that expands its API, improves, and patches bugs. |
| PurPur | Plugins | PurPur is a fork of Paper that expands it’s API even further and increases the configuration options available to server owners. Allowing for more control over the server including enabling a number of the bugs that were hard-patched in paper. |
| BungeeCord | Proxy | BungeeCord is not Minecraft software and cannot run worlds. Instead, it is a proxy that connects other servers into a network by redirecting players from the Bungee server to a backend server. In order to have worlds on your BungeeCord server, or network, you need to purchase a separate server to connect to the BungeeCord server. |
| WaterFall | Proxy | Waterfall is a fork of the BungeeCord software, with improved Forge support and more features. |
| GeyserMC Standalone | Proxy | Geyser is not Minecraft software and instead it is a proxy that allows bridging Bedrock Edition players to Java Editions servers. |
| Forge | Mods | Forge allows running Forge mods that modify Minecraft's code. Users are also required to run Forge Mods to enter the server. |
| Fabric | Mods | Fabric allows running Fabric mods, it's lightweight and faster than Forge, but as well as new, there aren't a lot of mods to pick compared to Forge's mod list. |
| SpongeForge | Plugins | SpongeForge is not a server type but rather a Forge mod that allows running Sponge plugins on a modded server. |
| Cardboard | Plugins + Mods | Cardboard (formerly Bukkit4Fabric) is a Fabric mod that adds support for the Bukkit plugins. Possibly not every plugin is supported, but some more popular, CoreProtect, Multiverse, and WorldGuard. are. |
Checking your Server Version
Using the command /version, found in Spigot based server, gives you info about the what software the server is running, such as it's name and version. This command is not available in the vanilla server.
For Vanilla, Forge, Fabric, and other non-Spigot servers, you can check the first few lines of the latest.log file, located in your server's logs folder, for the line Starting minecraft server version 1.xx.x. You'll find it within the first few lines and it will tell you what vanilla version of Minecraft you're running. You should also see a line mentioning the build of whatever 3rd parts software you're using.
📄️ Forge Wrapper
The Forge Wrapper is a utility that we use to launch Forge versions newer than 1.17 as by default they require a startup script. Both the script that ships with the Forge Installer and the Forge Wrapper itself make use of the Libraries folder to start the server. It’s by modifying it’s contents that our Edition Installer works and by which you’ll be able to install different versions of Forge. However, there are few notable issues that can take place with the Forge Wrapper that we’ll make not of here.
📄️ Installing Fabric
Fabric is a lightweight modloader that is very useful for fast paced modification that keeps up with the vanilla update cycle. Our panel provides two ways to install the Fabric modloader, both of which you’ll find explained in detail below.
📄️ Installing Forge
Forge is a powerful modloader that is used by a large majority of modpacks as of writing and can be installed onto our servers one of two ways.
📄️ Updating Minecraft Bedrock Edition
Bedrock Clients update automatically and can not be reverted to old versions, so you need to be prepared to update your Bedrock Server as soon as new versions release. To that end, we’ll be covering how to easily update your Bedrock Server using the Panel Installer or the official Mojang files for a Vanilla Server.