Help Center

Short answers for running your HandCraftForge Minecraft server. Still stuck? Use the support contact shown in your dashboard.

How to join your server

Find your server's join address in your dashboard (also emailed to you when the server first came online) - it looks like play.yourname-abc123.handcraftforge.com.
Open Minecraft: Java Edition and go to Multiplayer.
Click Add Server, paste the join address into Server Address, and save.
Select the server in the list and click Join Server.

Your Minecraft client version needs to match (or be compatible with) your server's version and loader (Vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, etc.) - check your dashboard for which one your server runs.

Waking a sleeping server

If your plan is a "sleeps when idle" plan, the server automatically shuts down after a period with no players to save resources - this is normal, not a problem.

Just try to join normally, using the same join address as always.
The first connection attempt wakes the server up. It usually takes under a minute to come online.
If your client times out on the first try, wait about 15-20 seconds and try joining again - the server should be online by then.

You can also see and start your server manually from your dashboard if you'd rather not wait for the automatic wake.

Uploading a world

On your computer, make sure your world folder is zipped as a single .zip file (the zip should contain level.dat directly, or one folder containing it).
From your dashboard, open your server's file browser and use Upload.
Select your world zip and upload it. Large worlds can take a few minutes depending on your connection.
Once uploaded, extract/replace the existing world folder (your dashboard will guide you) and restart the server for it to take effect.

Uploading a new world overwrites the current one - your dashboard takes a backup first automatically, so you can always roll back if something goes wrong.

Installing mods and modpacks

Single mods

Make sure your server is running a moddable loader (Forge, NeoForge, Fabric or Quilt) - check your dashboard.
Download the mod's .jar file, matching your server's Minecraft version and loader.
Upload it into your server's mods folder using the file browser.
Restart your server from your dashboard for the mod to load.

Full modpacks

For a full modpack (multiple mods + configs bundled together), use the modpack install option in your dashboard when creating or reconfiguring a server, rather than uploading mods one at a time.

Restoring a backup

Open your server's Backups section in your dashboard.
Pick the backup you want to restore from the list (each is timestamped).
Click Restore and confirm - your server needs to be stopped for this, and your dashboard will prompt you if it isn't already.
Wait for the restore to finish, then start your server again.

Restoring replaces your current world/files with the backup's contents. If you want to keep what you have now too, create a fresh backup first.

Changing server settings

Common settings (MOTD, difficulty, game mode, max players, whitelist, PvP) can be changed from your dashboard's server settings page - no file editing needed.

Open your server, go to Settings.
Change the value you want.
Save - your dashboard will tell you if the change needs a restart to take effect, and offer to restart for you.

For anything not listed there, your dashboard's file browser lets you edit server.properties and other config files directly.

Common errors

Problem	What to check
Can't connect / "Connection timed out"	Double check the join address is typed exactly as shown in your dashboard. If your plan sleeps when idle, try joining twice - the first attempt wakes it. Confirm your server shows as online in your dashboard.
"Outdated client" or "Outdated server"	Your Minecraft version doesn't match the server's. Check your server's version in your dashboard and switch your launcher's profile to match.
Server crashes with an out-of-memory error	Heavy modpacks or large worlds can outgrow your plan's RAM. Try removing resource-heavy mods, or move to a plan with more RAM from your dashboard.
"Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?" in the console	Usually means the server is under heavy CPU load (lots of redstone, entities, or chunk generation). This is a performance warning, not a crash - it typically resolves on its own once the load drops.