Server Setup / Performance
How to Install Paper on a Minecraft Server
Vanilla servers stutter the moment a few players or a big farm load in. The fix is one file swap: replace server.jar with paper-*.jar. Same world, same gameplay, but a much faster and steadier 20 TPS plus full plugin support. Here is the exact swap, start command, and boot log to expect.
The jar-swap method
- 1Stop the server firstType stop in the console (or hit Stop on your panel) and wait for it to fully shut down. Swapping the jar while the server is live corrupts the world save, so let it write everything to disk first.
- 2Download the matching Paper buildGo to papermc.io/downloads, pick the EXACT same version as your world (e.g. 1.21.4), and grab the latest build. You get a file named paper-1.21.4-<build>.jar. A mismatched version will fail to load chunks.
- 3Drop the jar into the server folderUpload paper-1.21.4-*.jar next to your existing server.jar. Delete the old vanilla jar or rename it server.old.jar so nothing launches the wrong file by accident. Keep your world, ops.json and server.properties untouched.
- 4Point the start command at PaperEdit your start script (start.sh / run.bat) to run the new jar: java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar paper-1.21.4.jar nogui. On a host panel, just set the jar file dropdown to the Paper jar.
- 5Boot it and accept the EULAStart the server. Paper generates a few new config files (paper-world.cfg, bukkit.yml, spigot.yml) on first run. Confirm the console says "This server is running Paper" and watch TPS hold at 20.
What you need
paper-1.21.4.jar
Java 21 runtime
Steady 20 TPS
Your existing world
Quick answers
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What is Paper and why use it over vanilla?
Paper is a high-performance fork of the vanilla server that fixes lag sources, patches dupe exploits, and adds plugin support via Bukkit/Spigot. The same world runs at a much higher, steadier TPS, which is why almost every multiplayer server uses it.
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Will switching to Paper break my existing world?
No. Paper reads the same world, player data, ops and whitelist files as vanilla. As long as the Paper version matches your world version, you can swap the jar and keep playing exactly where you left off. Always back up the world first anyway.
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Do I need a specific Java version for Paper?
Match Java to the Minecraft version. Modern builds (1.20.5+) require Java 21, while older ones run on Java 17. If the console throws an UnsupportedClassVersionError on boot, your Java is too old, so update it.
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What is the correct start command for Paper?
java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar paper-1.21.4.jar nogui. Set -Xms and -Xmx to your allocated RAM, name the jar to match your downloaded build, and keep nogui so it runs headless. Wrap it in a start.sh or start.bat so a crash auto-restarts.
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Can I still use vanilla saves and add plugins?
Yes to both. Paper keeps full vanilla survival behavior and also loads any Bukkit/Spigot/Paper plugin you drop into the plugins folder, like EssentialsX, LuckPerms or WorldEdit. That combo of vanilla feel plus plugins is the main reason to install it.
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How do I roll back if something goes wrong?
Stop the server, point the start command back at your saved server.old.jar (or re-download the vanilla jar), and start again. Paper does not rewrite the world in an incompatible way, so a downgrade to the same version loads cleanly from your backup.