Software
Now that you have hosting sorted, let's move on to running the Minecraft server. After deciding what version you want to run, we need a server software to actually start making the server and generate all the required files. There are many available, and you may select from a variety of options depending on your needs.
Plugins and mods
Plugins and mods are very different things, but they both serve as 'addons' to the base game.
Plugins are 'addons' that generally allow players to join a server without having the addon installed on their Minecraft client. They are vanilla-friendly and do not add any new items or features. Most public servers are plugin-servers. On the other hand, mods are 'addons' that usually change things about the game and add new blocks, items, etc. They need to be installed on the Minecraft client in order for the player to be able to join the server.
There are different server softwares for mods and plugins, so decide on what you need. Arclight is a good server software that can run both plugins and mods, and is still maintained on the latest version.
What softwares to avoid
You should avoid these versions as they are less compatible and generally more laggy.
- Vanilla
- CraftBukkit
- Spigot
- Mohist (may contain malware)
Recommended softwares
These versions are less laggy and provides more versions and support for plugins/mods.
Paper alternatives
Although Paper is an amazing software, there are alternatives or forks to Paper that add extra configuration and performance. These may be used instead of Paper in some cases.
- Purpur (for configuration)
- Pufferfish (for performance)
- Folia (for performance if you have a lot of CPU cores to handle it)
These forks are generally more trusted than others, so it's better if you select from the above as others may be unreliable.
After choosing your server, download your preferred version from the specified links and proceed to Installation.