Download and Set Up Your Minecraft Server JAR File

Before you can add a server to ServerPilot, you need a Minecraft server JAR file and a dedicated folder for it to live in. This page covers how to choose the right server software, download it, create your server folder, perform the first-run file generation, and accept the Minecraft End User License Agreement.

Supported Server Types

ServerPilot works with any server software that runs with the standard java -jar <file>.jar nogui command. The four most common types are:

Type	Best for	Plugin support	Mod support
Paper	Most servers	✅ Bukkit/Spigot/Paper plugins	❌
Fabric	Modded servers	❌	✅ Fabric mods
Forge	Modded servers	❌	✅ Forge mods
Vanilla	Pure, unmodified experience	❌	❌

When you browse to your server folder in ServerPilot, the server:detect IPC handler automatically scans for JAR files and identifies the server type based on the filename — Paper, Fabric, Forge, or Vanilla (any unrecognised JAR). If no JAR file is found in the folder at all, the type is set to Unknown. The detected type is shown in the Server Modal as Server type and on the Dashboard — no manual configuration needed.

Downloading Your Server JAR

Paper (Recommended)
Fabric
Vanilla

Paper is the recommended choice for most servers. It is fast, actively maintained, and supports the entire ecosystem of Bukkit, Spigot, and Paper plugins.

Go to the Paper downloads page

Visit https://papermc.io/downloads/paper.

Select your Minecraft version

Choose the version you want to host from the version selector at the top of the page.

Download the latest build

Click the download button for the most recent build number. The file will be named something like paper-1.21.x-xxx.jar.

Fabric is a lightweight modding platform. Use it if you want to run Fabric mods (e.g., performance mods like Lithium and Starlight, or content mods).

Go to the Fabric installer page

Visit https://fabricmc.net/use/server/.

Download the server launcher

Click Download server jar for your target Minecraft version. This downloads fabric-server-launch.jar along with a small server.jar that it depends on.

Note the launch JAR name

The main launch file is fabric-server-launch.jar. Use this exact name in ServerPilot’s Server JAR field, or rename it to fabric.jar for consistency.

The official Mojang server JAR. No plugins, no mods — just a pure Minecraft experience.

Go to the Minecraft server downloads page

Visit https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server.

Download the server JAR

Click the minecraft_server.x.x.x.jar link to download the official server file.

Rename the file

Rename the downloaded file to something simple like server.jar or vanilla.jar to make it easier to reference in ServerPilot.

Creating Your Server Folder

Create a dedicated folder for each Minecraft server you want to run. Keep them separate — do not put two servers in the same folder. A clean, easy-to-find location works best. For example:

D:\MineCraft\MyServer\

Move (or save) your downloaded JAR into this folder, then rename it to something short and descriptive:

Server type	Recommended JAR name
Paper	`paper.jar`
Fabric	`fabric.jar`
Forge	`forge.jar`
Vanilla	`server.jar`

Short names make the ServerPilot Server JAR field easier to fill in and reduce the chance of typos.

First Run: Generating Server Files

Minecraft server software generates its configuration files (server.properties, eula.txt, world data, etc.) on the very first launch. You need to run the server once before ServerPilot can fully manage it. Open Command Prompt, navigate to your server folder, and run:

cd D:\MineCraft\MyServer
java -Xmx2G -Xms2G -jar paper.jar nogui

The server will start, generate its files, then stop automatically (because you haven’t accepted the EULA yet). That is expected behavior.

The Minecraft EULA must be accepted before the server will start. After the first run, open eula.txt in your server folder and change:

eula=false

to:

eula=true

Save the file. The server will refuse to start until this change is made — ServerPilot cannot bypass this requirement.

You can also accept the EULA using ServerPilot’s built-in File Manager (Files tab → select eula.txt → edit in the Monaco editor) without ever leaving the app.

Expected Folder Layout

After the first run and EULA acceptance, your server folder should look like this:

D:\MineCraft\MyServer\
  paper.jar
  eula.txt
  server.properties
  world/
  logs/
  plugins/      ← Paper/Spigot only
  config/       ← Paper only

This folder is now ready to be added to ServerPilot. When you browse to it in the Add Server dialog, ServerPilot’s auto-detection will find paper.jar and set the Server type to Paper automatically.

Get Started

Setup Guide

Features

Configuration

Reference

Download and Set Up Your Minecraft Server JAR File

Supported Server Types

Downloading Your Server JAR

Creating Your Server Folder

First Run: Generating Server Files

Expected Folder Layout

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Setup Guide

Features

Configuration

Reference

Documentation Index

​Supported Server Types

​Downloading Your Server JAR

​Creating Your Server Folder

​First Run: Generating Server Files

​Expected Folder Layout

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Supported Server Types

Downloading Your Server JAR

Creating Your Server Folder

First Run: Generating Server Files

Expected Folder Layout