Convert a Forge Modpack into a Server

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This guide is for intermediate to advanced users. Before using this guide, we suggest looking through our current list of installable modpacks in Command Center. If you don't find the modpack you want to play in the list, you should also look on CurseForge on the modpack's files page to see if there is a server download available. In that case, you will want to follow our guide for installing a custom modpack.

This guide will help you take nearly any Minecraft modpack and turn it into a server. You can follow this guide for any modpack for Minecraft 1.7.10 and newer.

Find the Modpack Files

Finding the files may depend on the launcher that you are using. For this guide, we will use the CurseForge Launcher as an example.

1. Open the CurseForge Launcher window and navigate to the modpack profile that you are using.
2. In the upper right of the window, click on the three dot menu button and select open folder.

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If you aren't already using a modpack, you will need to install one. The above steps will work from that point.

This will open a window inside your system's file browser that contains all of the files for the modpack. Not all of the files or folders are necessary for the server. Every modpack has a core set of files that must be present. This includes the config and mods folders. Some mods also require an extra folder of content. For example, modpacks made with Craft Tweaker will have an extra folder named scripts, and questing mods may have their own folder for questing data. Refer to this list for the most commonly required folders:

• config
• kubejs
• llibrary
• local
• mods
• resources
• scripts

Server Pack Setup

Now that you know where your files are, you have to setup the server environment.

1. Create a new folder somewhere easy to access.
2. Copy the above files from your modpack into this new folder.
3. Install the Forge server files for your modpack's version of Minecraft.

Final Setup

You're almost done. From here, you will be able to follow some of our other guides to get your server up and running.

1. Create a new Custom Minecraft server inside Command Center.
2. Upload your server files via SFTP to the custom server.
3. Set the custom jar.
4. Start your server.

Remove Client Side Mods

Some mods only work on the client and will cause the server to crash. Those mods will need to be removed manually before you will be able to play. Newer versions of MinecraftForge (1.12.2+) have addressed this issue.

1. Start your server in Command Center.
2. If the server crashes, go to the Files tab and open the newest crash report.
3. If the cause of the crash is from a client side mod, you will see an error saying that a client class was missing. You can also look further down in the crash report to find the list of loaded mods to find any that are marked 'E'.
4. Remove these mods from the mods folder using SFTP.

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Explanation

The server will crash because the mod requires bits of code that are only present on the client version of the game while the server version is trimmed down to only have the most important core bits. This can include mods for altering graphics or sound, custom main menus, minimaps, or keybindings. However, some of the mods that alter these things are written to work on the server too; for instance: JourneyMap Universal.

Many client side mods are marked as such on CurseForge. But in the case where you don't know if a mod will work on a server, the best solution is to run the server and see if it crashes!

For a bit more information on the subject, one of our partners made a video explaining some of the uploading of mods and some world saving: