How To Add Mods to Your Minecraft Server

Adding mods to a Minecraft server is a great way to customize your server with new items, biomes, quality-of-life features, and more. 

📝 This article will show you how how to add mods to your Minecraft server hosted on SimpleGameHosting using two methods: SFTP and the File Manager.

Preparing Your Server for Mods

Not all Minecraft servers can have mods added to them. Forge and Fabric and the most popular types of servers that will you use with mods. Here is how to install them on your SimpleGameHosting server in order add mods. 

🌟 Installing Forge

1. Login to the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel.
2. Select the server you want to add Forge to. 
3. Navigate to the “Modpacks” section in the menu bar. 
4. Find the "Version Manager" sub tab.
5. Click the "Version Selector" drop-down and select "Forge".
6. Locate the Minecraft version you want to install Forge for and click the "Install" button under it.
7. A box will appear warning you that some files will be deleted when you install Forge. Consider backing up your server before adding Forge if you don't want to lose data. 
8. Click the "Install" button to install Forge on your Minecraft server. You will get a "Version changed successfully" message once it is complete. 
9. Navigate back to the console and start or restart your server to activate Forge on your server and generate the files and folders needed to install mods. 

⚠️Important: Installing game versions on your server will delete all worlds, maps, and files on it. 

🌟 Installing Fabric

1. Login to the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel.
2. Select the server you want to add Fabric to. 
3. Navigate to the “Modpacks” section in the menu bar. 
4. Find the "Version Manager" sub tab.
5. Click the "Version Selector" drop-down and select
6. Locate the Minecraft version you want to install Fabric for and click the "Install" button under it.
7. A box will appear warning you that some files will be deleted when you install Fabric. Consider backing up your server before adding Fabric if you don't want to lose data. 
8. Click the "Install" button to install Fabric on your Minecraft server. You will get a "Version changed successfully" message once it is complete. 
9. Navigate back to the console and start or restart your server to activate Fabric on your server and generate the files and folders needed to install mods. 

⚠️Important: Installing game versions on your server will delete all worlds, maps, and files on it. 

Downloading Your Mods

Once you have your server running Forge or Fabric, you will need to download your Minecraft mods. We recommend downloading mods from CurseForge or Modrinth. Both have a wide selection of mods, and they try as hard as possible to ensure they are all safe to download.

📜 Some things to note when downloading mods:

• All mods must be for the same Minecraft version as your server. 1.20 mods will only work on 1.20 servers. They will not work on any versions before or after 1.20. 
• The mods you downloaded need to be for Forge or Fabric. This depends on the server type you choose. Forge mods will only work on Forge servers, and Fabric mods will only work on Fabric servers. 
• Keep note of the mods you add to your server as anyone who joins the server will need to download and install them in their local mods folder as well. 

Adding Mods via File Manager

The File Manager doesn’t require you to download anything except the mods you want to install making it the simplest way to add mods to your Minecraft server. 

Step 1: Accessing The File Manager

To get started, you will need access the SimpleGameHosting Contol Panel. Then, login to your account.

🤔Need help logging in? If you haven't accessed the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel before, be sure to check out our guide on accessing it for the first time. 

Then, navigate to the “File Manager” tab in the menu. 

Step 2: Locating the Mods Folder

In the File Manager, there will be a folder with the name “mods”. If not, you need to restart your server with the Forge or Fabric server software installed. 

Open your mods folder once you have found it by clicking on it. 

💡Tip: If you don't have the mods folder, make sure you start your server after installing Forge or Fabric. Otherwise, the mods folder will not generate.

Step 3: Uploading Your Mods to The Server

To upload mods to the server, click the "Upload" button in the top right of the File Manager.

Select the mods you want to add. You can select multiple mods by clicking and dragging. Then, start uploading them by click the button in the bottom right of the dialogue box you selected the files in. The mods will start uploading. 

Step 4: Restarting & Joining Your Server

Once all your mods are added via to the mods folder, you can go to the “Console” section of the Control Panel and start or restart your server. This will activate the mods. 

🛑Important: Everyone joining your server must install the exact same mods on their local Minecraft client. Additionally, make sure you're all launching the game using the same version of Forge or Fabric that the server is running. If the mods or modloader versions don’t match, connection issues will occur.

Installing Mods via SFTP

SFTP requires you download an FTP client like FileZilla. From there, you can connect your server via SFTP and install mods that way. 

Step 1: Getting Your SFTP Login Details

Before you can connect using your FTP client, you'll need to retrieve your SFTP login information from the control panel.

1. Log into your server control panel.

2. Go to the Console tab and press the Stop button to take the server offline.

3. Next, click the SFTP tab in the top menu.

Here, you’ll find your SFTP details, including the server address and username. You can click on each field to copy them. Keep this page open or save the details, you’ll need them shortly.

Step 2: Accessing Your Server via SFTP

The easiest way to connect is by using the Quickconnect feature in FileZilla.

1. Open FileZilla and enter the following using your SFTP details:

• Host: (your server address from Step 2)
• Username:
• Password: (same as your control panel password)

💡Note: Leave the port section blank, it'll auto fill once you connect. 

2. Confirm the information you entered is correct and then press the Quickconnect button to the right to connect. 

• If a popup appears mentioning an "Unknown host key," that's normal and just click OK to continue.

3. Once you're connect to your server, you should see your server files show up in the right hand windows of the FilzeZilla app. 

❓Need more help? You can check out our complete guide for using SFTP on your Minecraft server if need help connecting.

Step 3: Finding Your Mods Folder

Once you have connected to the server, locate your mods folder within your server directory and click on it to open. This is going to be in the main directory. 

If you don’t have a mods folder, you either don’t have a Forge or Fabric server, or you haven’t started your server with Forge or Fabric installed on it. 

Step 4: Installing Mods on Your Server

In order to install the mods on your server, just drag and drop the mods you downloaded from your computer into the "mods" folder on your server. It’s that easy.

Step 5: Activating Mods & Access the Server

Now, you can navigate back to the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel and select "Console" in the menu bar.

Click the Start button to turn the server online. 

🛑Important: Everyone joining your server must install the exact same mods on their local Minecraft client. Additionally, make sure you're all launching the game using the same version of Forge or Fabric that the server is running. If the mods or modloader versions don’t match, connection issues will occur.

Playing on Your Server with Mods

In order to join the server, players will also need to install the mods locally in the "mods" folder within their .minecraft folder. Additionally, players must launch Minecraft using the same Forge or Fabric version as the server, depending on the modded server type. See our guide below on how to Download and Install Mods Locally. 

If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team by submitting a Support Ticket or contacting us directly via LiveChat!