Set up the Homestead modpack server

Homestead is a cosy Vanilla+ pack by Tokimi for Minecraft 1.20.1 on Fabric. Its pages describe a full questline, custom structures and terrain, and tameable mobs such as Mushlings and Fernlings, with a lot of building and farming to do. The Modpacks tab installs it from Modrinth, so nothing has to pass through your own computer.

Checked against Homestead 1.3.7 (the Modrinth release of 19 May 2026 UTC) on Fabric Loader 0.18.4 and Minecraft 1.20.1, October 2026. We installed and started it on a Netherite 8 GB plan to write this.

What the pack needs

• Minecraft 1.20.1 with Fabric Loader 0.18.4. The pack file names both. The panel runs 1.20.1 on Java 17 and picks that for you.
• Memory. Homestead's own server pack page says to allocate at least 8 to 12 GB of RAM, and more for servers with 3 to 5 or more players. The docs' lower figures, 6 to 8 GB, are for a player's own game, not the server. Your plan sets the RAM, so read how much RAM a Minecraft server needs and check the Minecraft plans before you install.
• Disk space. The pack file's downloads add up to about 570 MB, and it bundles about 137 MB of its own files.
• The same version for players. Players need Homestead 1.3.7 as well. The pack's docs cover installing it through Prism, Modrinth and CurseForge. After the install, the Modpacks tab may show an Update to button for a newer release (it offered 2.0 when we installed). The install picks 1.3.7, so leave the button alone unless you want to move the server, and your players, off the version this guide describes.

Install from Modrinth

1. Open your server and choose Modpacks under Content in the left rail.
2. Keep the Modrinth chip selected in the source chip row at the top of the tab and search for Homestead.
3. If nothing matches, a filter chip may be the reason. On a server that already runs Fabric or Forge, the chips start on your server's own Minecraft version and loader, and this pack is Fabric on 1.20.1 only. Press Clear above the list, or Show every version in the empty message, then search again. A brand-new Paper server shows no chips, and the pack appears straight away.
4. Press Install on Homestead by Tokimi. Several other packs have Homestead in their name, so check the author. A window titled "Install Homestead?" opens.
5. Leave Take a backup first ticked, which is the default. An install clears the old server files, so the backup is your way back.
6. If the window has Keep my world, settings and player lists, leave it unticked for the pack's own fresh world. If it has a version list, leave it on "Newest that fits your server".
7. Tick Start the server when it's ready if you want the server to boot by itself. The panel only does that when the EULA is already accepted, so on a new server it may still be off when the install ends.
8. Hold Install and reinstall until it completes. The installer sets up Fabric, downloads the mods and copies the pack's config. It took about a minute when we ran it.

The pack's authors also publish a separate server pack on their documentation site, which this guide does not use. The Homestead docs are the place for its own questions.

Client-only mods are turned off

Homestead ships mods that only do something on a player's computer, such as Sodium and Iris for graphics. The install turns those off on the server by renaming each jar to end in .disabled, and the console says so. On our install it reported "73 client-only mod(s) turned off" and "1 client-side mod(s) kept on because a server mod requires them" (the kept one was athena, which the Chipped mod needs). You do not need to delete anything by hand.

Open the Mods tab to see them. Each turned-off mod shows a Disabled badge and an Enable button, and the mods that are running show Disable. Leave the client-only ones off. Players keep those mods on their own computers, which is where they run.

First start

If the server is not running after the install, press Start on the Console tab and accept the EULA when the panel asks. The server is up when the console prints a line containing For help, type. On our Netherite 8 GB test server the console showed Fabric Loader 0.18.4 loading 510 mods, then "Dedicated server took 72.493 seconds to load" and the For help, type line, so allow a minute or two. We did not try smaller plans. Your address is in the left rail with a copy button, and Connect to your server for the first time covers adding it in Minecraft.

Open Config Editor to set Player slots for the group you expect. Its help text calls View distance (chunks) the biggest lever on RAM and CPU, so lower it first if the server struggles.

Common problems

• A player cannot join. Check they run Homestead 1.3.7 on Minecraft 1.20.1 with Fabric.
• A player's game runs slowly. Homestead ships with shaders switched on. Its docs suggest turning shaders off and lowering render and simulation distance on weaker computers.
• The install stops part way. The tab shows "The last install didn't finish" with Show install log and Retry install.
• The server lags or runs out of memory. Watch the RAM Usage and Ticks per second cards on the Console tab. Why is my server lagging has more.