Set up an RLCraft server

RLCraft is a Forge modpack for Minecraft 1.12.2 by Shivaxi. Its CurseForge page describes a hardcore, semi-realistic survival challenge with RPG elements and exploration. You install the server from the Modpacks tab, using the pack's own server files from CurseForge, then set four values in server.properties that the pack depends on.

Checked against RLCraft 2.9.3 (the CurseForge file dated 27 June 2023) and its server pack, on Minecraft 1.12.2, October 2026.

What the pack needs

• Minecraft 1.12.2 with Forge. The pack's page says RLCraft 2.9 comes with and requires Forge 14.23.5.2860, and asks for build 2860 or newer. The server pack carries no Forge jar, so the install fetches Forge itself. It uses the build the pack's CurseForge file was made on, which is 14.23.5.2860, the build the page asks for. Check the Forge build in the first lines of the console on your first start. The panel switches Java for you, which is Java 8 for this version.
• Memory. The page recommends 3 to 4 GB for the game on a player's own computer. That is not a server figure. Read how much RAM a Minecraft server needs and check the Minecraft plans before you install. The server pack's mods folder holds 178 jar files.
• Disk space. The server pack is a download of about 334 MB and unpacks to about 368 MB. Both sit on your plan's disk while it unpacks, so allow about 700 MB free. The download is deleted afterwards, and your world grows on top. The Disk Analyser tab shows what is using space.
• The same pack version for players. This guide installs 2.9.3. Players should run that version from the CurseForge app. The page says RLCraft 2.9 needs OptiFine G5 or newer if players use OptiFine, and that the old E3 build crashes.

Install the server files

1. Open your server and choose Modpacks under Content in the left rail.
2. Press the CurseForge chip above the search box, then search for RLCraft.
3. Press Install on RLCraft by Shivaxi. RLCraft Dregora is a separate pack from the same author, and unofficial packs share the name, so check the title.
4. The popup says it reinstalls your server with the pack and names a loader and a Minecraft version. It should read Forge and Minecraft 1.12.2. If it names a different loader, cancel and ask support, because the server pack carries no Forge jar of its own and the install relies on that loader. If it offers a Pack version list, leave it on Newest that fits your server.
5. Leave Take a backup first ticked, because your current world is replaced by the pack's. Tick Start the server when it's ready if you want it to start itself, and tick I agree to the Minecraft EULA if the popup shows it.
6. Leave Keep my world, settings and player lists unticked if the popup shows it. When it is ticked, your old server.properties is put back over the pack's.
7. Hold Install and reinstall until it fills, then wait for the install to finish.

First start

Press Start on the Console tab. If the EULA has not been accepted yet, the panel asks you to accept it first. The server is up when the console prints a line containing For help, type. Your address is in the left rail under Server address. Connect to your server for the first time covers adding it in Minecraft.

Set the four values the pack depends on

The server pack includes a file named FOR SERVERS ONLY - SET THESE IN SERVER.PROPERTIES.txt, and its own server.properties already holds the values. Check them in File Manager by opening server.properties:

• enable-command-block=true. The pack says villagers will not spawn correctly in generated structures without it.
• allow-flight=true. Flying mounts and the fairy ring need it, or the server kicks the player.
• difficulty=3, which is Hard, the difficulty RLCraft is balanced around.
• max-tick-time=-1. Large structures take a while to generate, and this stops Forge from treating a slow tick as a crash.

The pack also says view-distance should stay at 10 for full compatibility, and that you can lower it to 8 or 6 but no further if many players cause lag.

Edit this file in File Manager, not in the Config Editor. Before Minecraft 1.14, difficulty took only numbers, and the Config Editor writes names such as hard.

Pre-generate the world for a big group

The pack's file recommends pre-generating the world if you plan more than 10 players. It points to the ChunkPregenerator mod: put its jar in the mods folder with File Manager or SFTP, then run these in the Console:

/pregen utils setPriority pregenerator
/pregen timepertick 250
/pregen gen startradius square 0 0 b10000

That generates a square with a 10,000 block radius. Restart the server when it finishes.

Common problems

• The install stops while unpacking. The install message says your plan's disk may be too small for the pack. Free space in File Manager, or check plans.
• You added VanillaFix or BetterFPS. The page says neither is compatible with RLCraft, so leave them out.
• A player cannot join. Check they run RLCraft 2.9.3 on Minecraft 1.12.2 with Forge.
• The server lags. Watch the RAM card on the Console tab and the TPS reading in the left rail. Why is my server lagging has more.
• The server crashes at boot. Find and read a crash report shows how to name the mod at fault.