GuidesMinecraft Server Setup

Minecraft Server Setup

Set up your Minecraft server on Pterodactyl — from choosing a server type to installing plugins and mods.

Our Minecraft servers support Paper, Fabric, Forge, Vanilla, BungeeCord and more. You pick the egg (server type) at checkout.

Choosing a Server Type

Vanilla

Official Mojang server. No mods, no plugins. Best for a pure survival experience.

Paper

High-performance fork of Spigot. Supports Bukkit/Spigot plugins. Best choice for most servers.

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Forge

Mod loader for client+server mods. Required for popular mod packs like RLCraft, ATM9.

Fabric

Lightweight mod loader. Better performance than Forge for many modern mods.

BungeeCord

Proxy server to link multiple Minecraft servers. For multi-server networks.

Purpur

Extends Paper with extra configuration. Great for survival/SMP servers.

First Time Setup

1

Accept the EULA

Minecraft requires you to accept the EULA before the server starts. In the panel, go to File Manager, open eula.txt and change eula=false to eula=true.
Some eggs do this automatically. If your server started already, the EULA is already accepted.
2

Start the server

Click Start in the panel. Watch the console — it will say "Done" when ready (can take 1-3 minutes first time).
3

Connect from Minecraft

Open Minecraft → Multiplayer → Add Server. Enter your server's IP:Port shown in the panel's Network tab.

Essential server.properties Settings

Edit server.properties in the File Manager to configure your server:

server.properties (key settings)
# Server mode
gamemode=survival       # survival, creative, adventure, spectator
difficulty=normal       # peaceful, easy, normal, hard

# World settings
level-name=world        # folder name for your world
level-type=minecraft:default
level-seed=             # leave blank for random seed

# Player limits
max-players=20          # matches your plan limit
white-list=false        # set true to require whitelist

# Performance
view-distance=10        # chunks loaded per player (lower = better perf)
simulation-distance=10

# Online mode (set false ONLY for testing)
online-mode=true

Installing Plugins (Paper / Spigot)

Plugins only work on Paper, Spigot, Purpur and similar. They don't work on Vanilla or Forge.
1

Download a plugin

Get plugin JAR files from Hangar, BukkitDev, or SpigotMC.
2

Upload to plugins folder

In the File Manager, navigate to the plugins/ folder and upload the JAR file.
3

Restart the server

Click Restart. The plugin will load and create its config folder.

Essential Plugins to Consider

EssentialsXCore commands: /home, /warp, /tpa, /spawn, economy basics
LuckPermsPermission management — give players different ranks and abilities
WorldEditBuild and edit large areas quickly in creative mode
VaultEconomy API — required by most economy plugins
CoreProtectBlock logging — see who broke/placed every block (griefing protection)
DiscordSRVLink your Minecraft chat to a Discord channel

Installing Mods (Fabric / Forge)

Mods must match your server's mod loader version AND Minecraft version. A Fabric 1.21 mod won't work on Forge 1.20.
1

Download mods

Get mods from Modrinth or CurseForge. Ensure they are the server-side version.
2

Upload to mods folder

Upload JAR files to the mods/ folder via File Manager.
3

Restart

Restart the server. Check the console for any dependency errors.

Whitelist & Operator Commands

Server console commands
# Add a player to whitelist
whitelist add PlayerName

# Enable whitelist
whitelist on

# Give a player operator (admin) status
op PlayerName

# Check online players
list

# Change gamemode for a player
gamemode creative PlayerName

# Teleport a player
tp PlayerName X Y Z

Performance Tips

→Allocate at least 2GB RAM for a server with 10+ players and plugins
→Lower view-distance to 8-10 and simulation-distance to 6-8 for better performance
→Use Paper instead of Spigot — it has significantly better performance
→Install Spark (performance profiler) to find lag sources
→Schedule regular restarts (e.g. every 12h) to clear memory — use the Schedules tab in the panel
→Limit entities and mob caps in paper.yml for large servers

Scheduled Restarts

Set up an automatic restart in the panel's Schedules tab:

1

Create a schedule

Go to Schedules → Create Schedule. Name it "Daily Restart".
2

Add a task

Click Add Task → Select "Send command" → type say Server restarting in 1 minute!
3

Add restart task

Add another task with Offset: 60 seconds → Select "Restart server".
4

Set cron

Use 0 4 * * * for 4am daily restart (UTC time).
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