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by Most guides to Minecraft updates list what is new. This one answers the question a server owner actually has: should I update, and when?
The short answer is that you update when your plugins and mods are ready, not when Mojang ships. A server is not a single-player client, and the version number is the least important part of the decision.
The rule that saves evenings
Never update a live server the week a version drops.
Vanilla is ready on day one. Paper, Spigot, Forge, Fabric and every plugin and mod you depend on are not, and they update on their own schedules. A server updated ahead of its ecosystem is a server with broken plugins and a rollback in its future.
The order that works:
- Check your plugins and mods first. The slowest one sets your date.
- Back up. Ours run automatically, and this is the case they exist for.
- Test on a copy of the world. Not on the world people play in.
- Then update, at a time your group is not playing.
What "a new version" actually costs you
- Plugin breakage is the common one, and it ranges from a warning in the log to a server that will not start.
- World format changes are rare and one-way. Once a world has been opened by a newer version, going back is not a supported operation.
- Mod packs move as a unit. A modpack updates when the pack updates, not when Minecraft does, and updating Minecraft underneath it is not a shortcut.
When you should update promptly
Updating is not always something to defer:
- Security fixes. Update, and do not wait for a convenient evening.
- A fresh world with no plugins. Nothing to break, so nothing to wait for.
- Your players are on the new version and cannot connect. Client and server versions must match, and this is the case that forces your hand.
That last one is the most common reason people update in a hurry. If your group plays casually and everybody auto-updated their launcher, the decision was made for you.
When you should wait
- Mid-project on a stable server. New blocks will still exist in a month.
- Heavy plugin or mod dependency. Wait for the slowest one.
- A world you would be upset to lose, until you have tested a copy.
The most recent significant release, the Copper Age, is a good example of a drop that is entirely worth having and not remotely worth rushing. What it contains is in our Copper Age guide.
Updating does not change your sizing
New versions add items, mobs and occasionally generation, but they do not usually move a server between plan tiers. If you are trying to work out what your server needs, that is a separate question and the answer is in how much RAM a Minecraft server needs. If your server is already slow before the update, updating will not fix it, and the performance guide is the place to start.
Our Minecraft server hosting lets you switch versions and restore backups from the panel, which is what makes testing on a copy a five-minute job rather than a project.
The honest position
There is no prize for running the newest version. A stable server your friends can actually join beats a current one that does not start. Update deliberately, after the things you depend on are ready, and keep the backup you took beforehand until you are sure.
