Install SpongeForge on your Minecraft server

SpongeForge is the Sponge plugin platform packaged as a Forge mod. Once it is in place, your Forge server can load Sponge plugins as well as ordinary Forge mods. On our panel you set the server up on Forge in JAR Manager, then add the SpongeForge file by hand in the File Manager.

Checked against SpongeForge 1.21.10-60.0.1-17.0.0 on Forge 1.21.10, October 2026.

Pick a SpongeForge build

SpongeForge file names carry three parts: the Minecraft version, the Forge version and the Sponge API version, for example 1.21.10-60.0.1-17.0.0. The Forge number is the lowest Forge it works with. Sponge marks its stable builds as recommended, and at the time of writing the newest recommended one is for Minecraft 1.21.10. Builds for 1.21.11 and for 26.1 to 26.3 exist, but they are release candidates and carry no recommended mark. Sponge's SpongeForge downloads page shows which builds are recommended.

For 1.21.10 our installer fetches Forge's recommended build, which was Forge 60.1.18 when we checked. That is newer than the 60.0.1 the SpongeForge build asks for, so it qualifies. Sponge also lists builds for 1.12.2 and 1.16.5, but we have not checked those against the Forge build our installer picks, so use 1.21.10 unless you know you need an old version.

Sponge's own notes say SpongeForge supports vanilla clients, as long as you do not add Forge mods that need a client-side copy.

Put the server on Forge

1. Open JAR Manager, under More in the left rail.
2. Set Server software to Forge and Minecraft version to 1.21.10.
3. Press Apply change, leave Take a backup first ticked and hold Confirm & reinstall. Your world is kept, but configuration files may be reset.
4. When the install ends, open the Console, press Start and accept the Minecraft EULA if asked. Wait for Done, then press Stop.

Add SpongeForge

SpongeForge is not published on Modrinth. Sponge hands it out from its own downloads page.

1. Download the SpongeForge jar for 1.21.10 from the page above.
2. Open the File Manager and go into the mods folder. If it is not there, press New folder and create it.
3. Press Upload and choose the jar.
4. Open the Console and press Start.

Check it loaded by typing sponge version in the Console command box. Sponge's command list says it prints the Sponge and SpongeAPI versions. sponge plugins list shows the Sponge plugins that are installed.

Install Sponge plugins

Sponge plugins come from Ore, Sponge's plugin repository. Sponge's documentation says to put them in the mods folder, or in mods/plugins. A plugin that uses Mixins must sit in mods itself. Download a build made for the same Sponge API version as your server, which is 17 here, because plugins can stop working across major API versions. Upload the jar with Upload, then restart.

Sponge keeps its settings in config/sponge: global.conf for the main options and tracker.conf for the phase tracker. Edit them in the File Manager and restart the server to apply a change.

If the server does not start

• A message that SpongeForge requires Forge. Forge reports a missing or too-old dependency in the log. Check that the server runs Forge for the Minecraft version in the file name. Fix missing mods on a modded server explains the lines.
• A warning about old mixins. The first step in Sponge's compatibility notes is to rename the SpongeForge file so that it loads first, by putting aaa_ at the start of its name. Use Rename in the File Manager.
• A crash that began when you added another mod. Sponge keeps a list of mods that clash with SpongeForge. Disable the newest mod in the Mods tab's Installed view and start again.

If you change your mind, Change your Minecraft version or mod loader shows how to move to another server type.