Startup Parameters
When managing your server there are a group of settings that affect how it functions on startup. You won't need to change these very often, but it's important to understand what they do so that you'll know when you need to change them.
Locating the Startup Configuration tab
You can find your server's startup Configurations under the Configuration tab on your Server Managment screen.
Startup Command/Startup Parameters
If you’d like to edit the startup command, check out the JVM Flags pane, which we have a section about below.
The Startup Command section is dedicated to the command that is executed when your server starts. The bulk of this command contains the parameters that control what Java will do under specific circumstances. By default it contains the amount of memory that the Server will use when running and the jar file that is executed when the server starts.
-Xms128M
The initial ram allocation pool used for the Minecraft Server instance. While Aikar’s recommends setting this value to the same as the Xmx value, we’ve found that starting with a low value, and letting the pool increase as it’s needed, works best on our panel.
XX:MaxRAMPercentage=##
The value passed in by the Max Ram Percentage field. You can modify this by adjusting that slider. For more information, check out the section in this article dedicated to the Max Ram Percentage pane.
server.jar
If you need to change the name of the Jar file then check out the next section on the Server Jar File section. As per our Usage Policy, this jar file should only be a software that is related to the service that your server is setup to support.
As a general rule our Minecraft Servers support the software's listed on our Minecraft Servers - The Basics page.
If you aren't sure if the software you want to use is allowed within our Usage Policy, please reach out to us and ask!
Server Jar File
This is simply the Case Sensitive name of the Jar file you want to execute for your server.
You can either rename the jar file you upload to server.jar or update this value to match the file you upload.
Please ensure that your jar file conforms to our Usage Policy! If you aren't sure if it does, please reach out to us and ask!
Console Timezone
When your console generates a log it has access to a time that can be printed for reference. Not all games/services do this, but if you want your console log to match up to a specific time then you can change the value here.
The value must be in PHP format. To find your time zone in the PHP format go to the PHP supported time zones page and navigate to the area that's included in your desired time zone.
Max Ram Percentage
The Java Virtual Machine, or JVM, requires some amount of “overhead” in order to function properly, and we’ve found that this amount varies depending on the version and flavor of Minecraft your server is running. The Max Ram Percentage value located in the Startup Parameters section of your servers Configuration tab modifies how much ram is given to Minecraft and how much is left “free” for the JVM.
For more details on why Minecraft requires overhead, what overhead is, and why it changes with different version of Minecraft, check out or article about Aikar’s Flags.
JVM Flags
The JVM Flags field allows you to add your own flags to your server, and by extension fine tune it’s behavior using flags that are either inherited from the JVM itself, or have been added by Minecraft or the developers of the flavor of Minecraft you’re using.
One of the most common JVM Flag sets to use is Aikars, which is set up by default on all of our 8gb+ packages but can be set up manually by adding the flags to the JVM Flags field. Another common flag is the -Dpaper.useLegacyPluginLoading=true flag to enable the Legacy Plugin loader for Paper servers.
Regardless of the flags you need or the flavor of Minecraft you’re using, you can add your flags into the JVM Flags field and they’ll be updated in your startup command. Your flags will be added after the existing RAM flags and before the existing timezone flag, but the location of flags doesn’t make a difference on how they’re executed.
Make sure that any startup flags you add or software you use adheres to our Usage Policy. If you’re unsure, feel free to reach out and ask before making any changes!