Update mods on your Minecraft server

The Mods tab checks your installed mods for newer builds and updates them one at a time or all together. A new build can break a server, so take a backup first. Players need the same mods as the server, so an update has a player half too.

How the check works

Open your server, choose Mods under Content in the left rail, and switch from Store to Installed at the top of the tab. The tab starts a check as soon as the list loads and shows Checking for updates while it runs. When it finishes, the button beside the search box reads Update all with a count in brackets, or Check for updates if nothing is newer. Press Check for updates to run the check again.

The rules the check follows:

• A mod from Modrinth is matched by its file's hash. The check asks for the newest version for your server's loader and your server's Minecraft version, so an update never moves a mod to a different Minecraft version.
• A mod from another source is checked with that source's own list.
• A build counts as an update only if it is newer and on a channel at least as stable as the one you have. A beta never replaces a release, and a beta update is labelled on its row.
• A jar the panel cannot identify is not checked. If a source does not answer, the tab says which one was not checked, so it never reads as "up to date" by mistake.

There are no automatic updates. Nothing changes until you press a button.

Update one mod

1. Find the mod in the Installed list. A row with a newer build shows an Update button.
2. Hover over Update to read its tooltip, which names the current version and the new one.
3. Press Update. If you have no recent backup, a window titled "No backup yet" offers Go to Backups, or "Update" followed by the mod's name "anyway".
4. The new file lands beside the old one and replaces it only after its hash has checked out. The panel then says "Restart the server to load it."

Update everything

1. Press Update all with its count.
2. Read the window titled "Update all" followed by the number of mods. It says each mod is swapped for its newest build for your server's version.
3. If you have no recent backup, the window warns you and offers Go to Backups. Take one now, or choose the "anyway" button.
4. Confirm. The panel updates the mods one at a time and finishes with a summary such as "3 of 3 updated".
5. Restart the server from the Console.

Check the result

Watch the Console as the server starts. Afterwards, the Installed list shows Needs followed by a mod's name on a mod that now lacks a dependency, and Failed to load on a jar the log named. If a mod broke the server, press Disable on it, or restore your backup from the Backups tab. Fix Minecraft mod and plugin load errors explains the messages.

Mods from a modpack

Update all touches every mod in the folder, including a modpack's. Where our updated Minecraft installer is enabled and the pack is a Modrinth pack, the Modpacks tab shows an Update to button on the installed pack, which moves the whole set together. Prefer it to updating the pack's mods one by one.

Tell your players

Every player needs the same mods as the server. Press Export for players on the Installed list to download a zip of the mods players need, with a text file explaining where to put them. Mods that only run on the server are left out. Join a modded server from your launcher covers the player side.

Moving to a new Minecraft version

A mod update stays on your server's Minecraft version. To change the version itself, use JAR Manager. Its confirm window checks your mods first and says how many have no build for the new version, with an option to disable them, and it notes when some need updating from the Installed list afterwards. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader has the steps.