// loader hub

NeoForge server hosting & setup

How to install a NeoForge server by hand, which Java each version needs, whether Forge and Fabric mods will run on it, and every NeoForge modpack we've checked, with the NeoForge version each Modrinth pack is built on.

Updated October 2026  ·  NeoForge 21.1 (Minecraft 1.21.1) and 26.x  ·  Java Edition

What NeoForge is

NeoForge is a mod loader for Minecraft: Java Edition. It started in July 2023 as a fork of Minecraft Forge, when almost all of Forge's team moved to the new project. For Minecraft 1.20.1 it stayed compatible with Forge. From 1.20.2 on it's a loader in its own right: its code moved to new package names, so mods have to be built for NeoForge specifically.

It's now where most big 1.21.1 modpacks live. Of the 1.21.1 packs on our site (checked October 5, 2026), 21 run on NeoForge, 18 on Fabric and none on Forge, and every 1.21.1 pack with 300 or more mods is a NeoForge pack: Craftoria, All the Mods 10, ATM10 Aeronautics, FTB Skies 2, All the Mons, FTB StoneBlock 4, ATM10: To the Sky and Enigmatica 10.

Install a NeoForge server

These are NeoForge's own steps, for a server you run yourself. On a DSN server the panel does all of this for you; see the end of this section. For the whole job, from picking a pack to getting friends connected, see how to make a modded Minecraft server.

1. Install the right Java (table below): 21 for Minecraft 1.21.1, 25 for 26.1 and newer. java -version shows which one your system runs.
2. Download the installer from neoforged.net or straight from NeoForge's Maven. The newest 1.21.1 build on October 12, 2026 was 21.1.259:

   curl -LO https://maven.neoforged.net/releases/net/neoforged/neoforge/21.1.259/neoforge-21.1.259-installer.jar

3. Run it in an empty folder with the --installServer flag:

   java -jar neoforge-21.1.259-installer.jar --installServer

   It fills in a libraries folder and writes run.sh, run.bat and user_jvm_args.txt.
4. Set the RAM in user_jvm_args.txt. Every line in it starts commented out, and NeoForge's own comment there suggests 4 GB as a default for a modded server. Add a line of your own, for example:

   -Xmx6G

   Keep it 10–15% under the memory you actually have, so Java has room for its own overhead. How much RAM a modded server needs.
5. Start it with ./run.sh on Linux or macOS, or run.bat on Windows. Add nogui to skip the server window (./run.sh nogui). The first start stops so you can accept Mojang's EULA: set eula=true in eula.txt, then start it again.

Updating NeoForge later: run the newer installer the same way in the same folder, and it replaces the old version where needed. Back up the world first. Updating a whole modpack takes more care: see how to update a modpack server.

Version numbers

NeoForge numbers follow Minecraft's. 21.1.x is for Minecraft 1.21.1 and 21.4.x for 1.21.4. From 26.1 the whole Minecraft version is kept, with a 0 where there's no hotfix number: 26.1.0.x is for Minecraft 26.1 and 26.1.2.x for 26.1.2. Minecraft 1.20.1 is the odd one out: NeoForge's builds for it are named forge-1.20.1-47.1.x, and the last one, 47.1.106, dates from May 2024.

Installing a modpack instead

For a modpack, install the NeoForge version the pack was built with, not just the newest. A Modrinth .mrpack names it in its modrinth.index.json; the official Cobblemon NeoForge pack, for example, asks for "neoforge": "21.1.250". The table further down lists the version each pack uses.

On a DSN server you don't need to do any of this by hand. The Pelican panel has a one-click NeoForge installer and CurseForge and Modrinth modpack installers, you pick Java in the Startup tab, and on the first start you accept the EULA yourself in the console.

Which Java version NeoForge needs

With too old a Java the server stops straight away with an UnsupportedClassVersionError; our wrong Java version guide has the fix, and the Java version chart covers every Minecraft version and loader. A few mods are stricter than Minecraft: Cobblemon 1.7.3 and 1.8.x accept Java 21 only, so a 1.21.1 Cobblemon server won't load it on Java 25.

Do Forge mods work on NeoForge?

Only on Minecraft 1.20.1, and even there Forge is usually the better choice.

On 1.20.1, NeoForge started from Forge 47.1, and it still tells mods it's forge (that's its mod ID), so most Forge 1.20.1 mods load on it. Wither Storm Enhanced, in our list, ships on NeoForge 47.1.79 for 1.20.1. But in its look back at 2023, NeoForge's team wrote that it had neglected 1.20.1 since 1.20.2 came out and that 1.20.1 work is better spent on Forge, and its 1.20.1 builds stopped at 47.1.106. Forge kept going: its newest 1.20.1 build on October 5, 2026 was 47.4.26. A mod that asks for a Forge 1.20.1 build newer than 47.1 won't load on NeoForge. So for 1.20.1, use the loader your pack ships with, which is nearly always Forge: 32 of the 33 Forge-family 1.20.1 packs on our site use it.

On 1.20.2 and newer, no. NeoForge's code moved to new package names, so a Forge mod for 1.20.2 or later can't run on NeoForge, and a NeoForge mod can't run on Forge. NeoForge for 1.21 and newer skips a Forge jar with a warning instead of loading it; our wrong mod loader guide shows the messages. Many popular mods publish separate Forge and NeoForge files, so look for the NeoForge one.

Fabric mods on NeoForge: Sinytra Connector

Sinytra Connector is a mod that lets Fabric mods run on NeoForge. It needs Forgified Fabric API, a port of Fabric API to NeoForge, and its authors recommend Connector Extras for better compatibility with some third-party APIs. Connector has builds for Forge 1.20.1, NeoForge 1.21.1 and NeoForge 26.1.2, and all of them are still marked beta (October 2026).

Six of the Modrinth NeoForge packs on our site ship it: Better MC [NeoForge] BMC5, Lost World: The Broken Script, Create+, The Broken Script Enhanced, Create: OneBlock and Cobblemon Official Modpack [NeoForge].

Is Connector server-side? It has to be wherever the Fabric mods it loads are: on the server for mods that run there, and on each player's client for client-side ones. If your pack includes Connector, keep it and Forgified Fabric API on the server along with the Fabric mods. If one Fabric mod misbehaves under Connector, check whether it has a native NeoForge build before anything else. Our client-or-server-side checker has more on Connector and on which mods a server needs.

Forge, NeoForge or Fabric for a server?

If you're running a modpack, the pack decides: use the loader and version it ships with. If you're putting your own mod list together, pick the loader your must-have mods are built for. Here's how the 1.21.1 and 1.20.1 packs on our site split (October 5, 2026):

The short of it: on 1.20.1, Forge. On 1.21.1 and newer, NeoForge if the mods you want are NeoForge mods, Fabric if they're Fabric mods. Connector can carry a few Fabric mods into a NeoForge server, but it's a bridge, not a reason to pick NeoForge.

NeoForge modpacks we've checked

Every pack with a server guide on this site whose current version runs on NeoForge. Each name links to that pack's setup steps and common crashes.

• NeoForge is the version each Modrinth pack names in its modrinth.index.json, read on October 5, 2026. The ten CurseForge and FTB packs aren't Modrinth packs and we didn't read theirs; use the version their server files or pack listing give.
• Mods on the server is the count that loads on the server, out of the total where some are client-only. * For the CurseForge packs marked with a star, the figure is every mod CurseForge lists, client-side ones included.
• Our pick is the plan each pack's guide recommends for a small group. Bigger groups, or players spread across the map: go one plan up.

Common NeoForge server crashes

Paste the log into our free crash log analyzer, or go straight to the guide:

• Wrong Java version: 1.21.1 on Java 17, or 26.1 on Java 21.
• Wrong mod loader: a Forge or Fabric jar in a NeoForge server's mods folder.
• Missing dependency: for example Connector without Forgified Fabric API, or Cobblemon without Kotlin for Forge.
• Client-only mod on the server: invalid dist DEDICATED_SERVER.
• Mixin error: two mods patching the same code, often after adding or updating one mod by hand.
• Out of memory: -Xmx too low for the pack, or a plan that's too small.
• EULA not accepted and port already in use.

Choosing a plan

We’re moving DSN Servers to new hardware, and ordering is closed until then. These are the plans we plan to relaunch with, billed monthly in USD, and the NeoForge packs from the table above that fit each one. Join the launch list and we’ll email you when servers open.

We don’t offer an uptime SLA; the details are in our terms. Not sure which plan your pack needs? Email us the pack and your player count, or read how much RAM a modded server needs.