When your Minecraft Java server stops by itself or fails to start, open its Overview or Console page. If the panel recognises the cause, a box called Why your server stopped names it in one sentence, quotes the line it read, and offers a button: a one-click fix, or the page where you fix it.
Where it shows
- On Overview, as a card titled Why your server stopped.
- On Console, as a warning box above the console.
It shows only while the server is stopped (Offline), and only for a problem from the last 24 hours. Start the server and it goes away. If the server stops again, the panel reads its files again.
What it reads
The panel looks at what the server left behind when it stopped:
- the newest crash report in the
crash-reportsfolder, - the newest Java error file (
hs_err_pidand a number, ending in.log) in the main folder, - what the console printed since the server last finished starting (its last
Doneline), so a start that failed after that is included. If the panel has no console history for the server, it readslogs/latest.logthe same way.
A crash report written before the server last started fine is ignored, because that crash is over. Lines that players typed in chat are left out, so nobody can fake a cause from the game.
Read a cause
Each cause has three parts:
- A title that says what went wrong, for example
The Minecraft EULA has not been accepted. - What to do, in one or two sentences.
- Where it came from:
From the console:orFromand the file name, then the line the panel matched. Look that line up in Files or the Console if you want more detail.
If several things went wrong, the box lists each one. Fix the first one first: it is often the cause of the others.
The buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Turn this mod off | Renames the mod's file in mods so it ends in .disabled. Nothing is deleted. |
| Switch to Java and a number | Changes the Java version your server starts with. |
| Find and a name | Opens Modding. Open the Mods or Plugins tab and search that name there to install it or another version of it. |
| Open in Files | Opens the file or folder named in the cause. |
| Open startup parameters | Opens Settings, Startup Parameters. |
| Open launch details | Opens Settings, Launch Details, where the Java version is chosen. |
| Open backups | Opens Backups, to restore a world from before the crash. |
| Open network | Opens Ports & Network. |
After Turn this mod off, the box says is turned off. Start the server again. To turn it back on, remove .disabled from its name in Files. After Switch to Java, it says The server now uses Java and the number, Start it again. Start the server yourself with Start at the top of the page.
The two one-click buttons appear only when the cause was read from a crash report or a Java error file, which only the game and Java write. When the cause came from the console or the log, the panel opens the page instead (Open in Files on the mods folder, or Open launch details), so you see what you change before anything changes. Switch to Java also appears only when your server type offers that Java and your server software, on your Minecraft version, can run on it. If it cannot, the text says what to do instead: install a version of the plugin or mod that works on the Java you have, or contact support.
The causes it knows
Each has its own guide:
The Minecraft EULA has not been accepted.: Your Minecraft server stops because the EULA is not accepted- A plugin, a mod or Minecraft itself needs a newer Java: A Minecraft plugin or mod needs a newer Java
is made for a different Minecraft version.orfailed to start.: A mod is made for a different Minecraft version- A mod needs another mod: A Minecraft mod needs another mod that is not installed
- A plugin needs another plugin: A Minecraft plugin needs another plugin that is not installed
only runs in the game, not on a server.: A client-only mod stops your Minecraft serverTwo copies ofa modare installed.: Two copies of a mod are installed on your Minecraft serverThe server ran out of memory.: Your Minecraft server ran out of memoryJava asked for more memory than this plan has.: Java asked for more memory than your Minecraft plan hasThe server could not open its port.: Your Minecraft server could not open its portThis world was saved by a newer version of Minecraft.: Your Minecraft world cannot go back to an older version- A mob, an item or a block
crashed the server.: A block or mob in the world crashes your Minecraft server The server froze, and Minecraft stopped it.: Your Minecraft server froze and Minecraft stopped itThe server ran out of disk space.: Your Minecraft server ran out of disk spaceThe server crashed.withThe crash report says:and the report's own description: the panel did not recognise the cause, but quotes the crash report. Read it with How to read your Minecraft server log and crash reports.
If no box appears
- The server is running or starting. The box shows only while it is stopped.
- The problem is older than a day.
- The problem was printed while the server was starting, and the server then finished starting, for example a plugin that did not load. The box only reads what came after the last finished start. Look for it in the Console.
- The panel did not recognise the cause. Read the last lines of the Console, or the newest file in
crash-reports: How to read your Minecraft server log and crash reports. - Your role cannot read file contents. The box needs that permission, because it reads the server's files. Ask the server owner, see How to let a friend help run your Minecraft server.
- The server is a Bedrock server. The box reads Java servers only.
Good to know
- The box never changes anything by itself. Every fix waits for your click, and you start the server yourself.
- A mod you turned off is still in
mods, ending in.disabled. Rename it back in Files to turn it on again. - Every common problem, with or without this box: Minecraft server problems and fixes.
