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How to Disable Online Mode on a Minecraft Server (Allow Cracked Clients to Join)
Online mode is a server setting that determines if players need to authenticate through Mojang’s servers before connecting. This process confirms their login and allows access to profile skins. Certain server types, like BungeeCord child servers, don't function with online mode enabled, and players with cracked clients can't join. To use BungeeCord or allow cracked clients, you will need to disable online mode on your server. ::ProseNote{title="Warning" description="Disabling online mode means that players will not be authenticated by Mojang’s servers before they connect to your server. This means that anyone could log in to your server using any username they choose, and your server wouldn't verify they are who they say they are." appearance="error"} :: Important Notes As previously mentioned in the warning message, offline servers are insecure and could become a security nightmare if you are not careful. However, there are some options to help remedy this. If you are using a BungeeCord server, a plugin such as IPWhitelist will help mitigate risks. For Minecraft servers, a plugin like FastLogin would help, while modded servers could use a mod such as Simple Login. In addition to offline servers being insecure, your players will not have their profile skins visible, either, and everyone will appear as a default Minecraft skin. Again, this is because your server is not contacting Mojang’s authentication servers. You can use a plugin like SkinsRestorer to restore profile skins in your server if desired. --- Disabling Online Mode Please ensure you read the warnings above before following these steps! 1. Access your server's Control Panel and navigate to the Config tab. 2. Select . 3. Locate the field near the bottom of the configuration and tick to disable it. 4. Save the file, then restart your server. That's it! You have successfully disabled online mode for your server. Please keep in mind that disabling online mode makes your server vulnerable to attacks, as usernames are no longer verified.
How to Change the Server Icon on a Minecraft Server
A server icon is an image that appears on the left side of the server name on the Multiplayer list of your Minecraft client. Although servers do not have a set server icon by default, all Shockbyte servers come with a pre-made icon. You can change this server icon to your liking. --- Preparing the Image File Before you can change your server icon, you must make sure that the image file meets the following requirements: The image size/dimension must be exactly 64 pixels by 64 pixels The image file type must be .PNG The name of the file must be server-icon Once you have finished preparing your server icon for use, you're ready to upload it to your server. --- Changing your Server Icon 1. Access your server's Control Panel and navigate to the Files tab. 2. Upload your new file. If you already have a file, uploading a new one will ask you if you would like to overwrite it, which you should accept. 3. Start or Restart your server if it is already running. That's it! Once your server boots up, your new server icon will show up in the server list. If it does not appear, please ensure that the image is precisely named and meets all requirements mentioned above.
How to Change the Difficulty of Your Minecraft Server
Minecraft servers have 4 levels of difficulty you can choose from, which are: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, and Hard. Here’s a brief summary of each difficulty level and the differences between them: Peaceful: Hostile mobs can not spawn naturally, except for a select few that do not deal damage to a player. Hostile mobs that try to spawn are removed from the game instantly. When switching to this difficulty level from any other level, all hostile mobs despawn. Player health is also restored much more rapidly at this level. Easy: Hostile mobs will spawn at this level, but they’ll do less damage than they would at the Normal level. Player health will not decrease if they are starved. Normal: Everything is standard at this level. Hostile mobs deal the standard damage, players’ health will deplete to 1 heart when they are starving, and villagers have a 1 in 2 chance of becoming a zombie when they are killed by one. Hard: Hostile mobs cause more damage than they would at the Normal level, players can starve to death, and villagers will become zombies when they are killed by one. In addition, zombies can break through wooden doors and spawn more zombies when attacked by players. ::ProseNote{title="Hardcore" description="If you're looking to change your server to hardcore, the steps will differ. See our guide on this here: How to enable hardcore on your server" appearance="default"} :: You can adjust your server's difficulty based on what you prefer. Below are the ways to do this. --- Using Commands The recommended method of changing your server's difficulty is by using commands, as this updates the world's difficulty in real time. Console Command This can be done in the Console tab of our control panel. - View the current difficulty set for the world. - Change the difficulty of the server. In-Game Chat Command The difficulty command can be used in-game as well. Do note that you must be a server operator to use the command in-game. - View the current difficulty set for the world in-game. - Change the difficulty of the server from in-game.
How to Allow Players to Join Your Minecraft Server from Any Version
Sometimes, you or your players may want the ability to connect to your server from different versions of Minecraft. This is possible to do with a plugin called ViaVersion, which allows players to use different versions to connect to a server. ViaVersion: This is the core plugin and is required for all other extensions to work. This plugin allows clients on newer versions to connect to an older server version, meaning players on 1.16 could connect to a 1.12 server. Please note, ViaVersion only works on 1.8 - 1.17 servers. ViaBackwards: ViaVersion only allows backward compatibility between the client and the server. ViaBackwards expands upon this by allowing players using older client versions to connect to a newer server version, meaning players on 1.12 could connect to a 1.16 server. Please note, ViaBackwards requires ViaVersion to be installed. ViaRewind: ViaBackwards is limited to only allowing clients using MC version 1.9 + to connect. ViaRewind extends the capability to allow clients running 1.8 or 1.7 to connect to newer server versions, meaning a 1.7 client could connect all the way up to a 1.17 server. Please note, ViaRewind requires both ViaVersion and ViaBackwards to be installed. --- Which Plugins Do You Need? Depending on the server and client versions you wish to support, you may need to install one, two, or all three Via Plugins. The chart below shows version compatibility if ViaVersion is installed. Installing ViaVersion, ViaBackwards or ViaRewind When installing ViaVersion, make sure you are using one of the following server types: Spigot, PaperMC, or Bukkit. You can also install it on a BungeeCord server, but it is recommended that you install it on your game servers rather than your proxy server. You can find download links for each of the ViaVersion plugins here: ViaVersion ViaBackwards ViaRewind You can follow this article, which explains how to correctly install and set up plugins on your Minecraft server. Make sure you install all of the required plugins above.
How to Allocate More Memory to your Minecraft Client
When your server is running a large number of plugins or mods, there are instances where your client may face memory limitations when trying to keep up with everything. This becomes especially apparent when introducing mods into the equation, as the default allocation of 2GB RAM is insufficient. Fortunately, you have the flexibility to adjust the allocated memory for your client; this often results in performance improvements and becomes essential when managing a big pack of mods or plugins. ::ProseNote{title="Please Note" description="Following this guide will only adjust the RAM allocated to your local game client, NOT your server." appearance="danger"} :: What does Increasing Memory Allocation do? Boosting your launcher's memory gives Minecraft the power to manage more demanding tasks efficiently. To put it simply, this enables smoother operations when downloading mods and interacting with servers and worlds loaded with numerous plugins, mods, or other custom features. --- Locating Available Computer RAM Increasing your game memory means dedicating more of your computer's hardware resources specifically to Minecraft. It's very important to verify that your computer has enough available memory before making any adjustments, as it could result in game or even computer crashes. 1. Press Win + R to open a Windows Run window 2. Enter 'dxdiag' to open a DirectX Diagnostic tool window 3. Locate and take note of your available memory Your system will most likely show you your available memory in MB or Megabytes. One GB (Gigabyte) is 1024MB, so you may need to use a calculator or use a website like this to calculate how many GB you have available. --- How Much Memory Should I Allocate? Ideally, you want to leave some RAM for your operating system and other potential background processes. Allocating all of your RAM to Minecraft may lead to instability, crashes, or even corruption. Finding the right balance for your specific setup may require some experimentation; however, feel free to reference the chart below for some rough examples. | Available Memory | Best Amount | Maximum Amount | | ----- | ----- | ----- | | 4GB | 2GB | 3GB | | 6GB | 3GB | 5GB | | 8GB | 4GB | 7GB | | 12GB | 6GB | 11GB | | 16GB | 8GB | 15GB | | 32GB | 16GB | 31GB | | 64GB | 32GB | 63GB | Increasing RAM - Vanilla Launcher 1. Open your Minecraft Launcher 2. Navigate to Installations and create and press New 3. Press More Options and locate the JVM Arguments box 4. Modify the -Xmx flag to reflect your desired RAM Locate the -Xmx2G flag, and replace the '2G' with your desired amount of RAM. For example, if you would like to allocate 12 GB of RAM, you should set the flag to -Xmx12GB. 5. Name the installation to your liking, then click Create 6. Find your new installation, then click Play After clicking play, your client will boot up with the new amount of RAM you have allocated towards it. If your client crashes, you will want to keep increasing the amount.
How to Allocate More Memory to your Minecraft Client (Forge)
When your server is running a large amount of plugins or mods, there are instances where your client may face memory limitations when trying to keep up with everything. This becomes especially apparent when introducing mods into the equation, as the default allocation of 2GB RAM is insufficient. Fortunately, you have the flexibility to adjust the allocated memory for your client, this often results in performance improvements and becomes essential when managing a big pack of mods or plugins. ::ProseNote{title="Please Note" description="Following this guide will only adjust the RAM allocated to your local game client, NOT your server." appearance="danger"} :: What does Increasing Memory Allocation do? Boosting your launcher's memory gives Minecraft the power to manage more demanding tasks efficiently. To put it simply, this enables smoother operations when downloading mods and interacting with servers and worlds loaded with numerous plugins, mods, or other custom features. --- Locating Available Computer RAM Increasing your game memory means dedicating more of your computer's hardware resources specifically to Minecraft. It's very important to verify that your computer has enough available memory before making any adjustments as it could result in game or even computer crashes. 1. Press Win + R to open a Windows Run window 2. Enter 'dxdiag' to open a DirectX Diagnostic tool window 3. Locate and take note of your available memory Your system will most likely show you your available memory in MB or Megabytes. One GB (Gigabyte) is 1024MB, so you may need to use a calculator or use a website like this to calculate how much GB you have available. --- How Much Memory Should I Allocate? Ideally, you want to leave some RAM for your operating system and other potential background processes. Allocating all of your RAM to Minecraft may lead to instability, crashes, or even corruption. Finding the right balance for your specific setup may require some experimentation, however, feel free to reference the chart below for some rough examples. | Available Memory | Best Amount | Maximum Amount | | ----- | ----- | ----- | | 4GB | 2GB | 3GB | | 6GB | 3GB | 5GB | | 8GB | 4GB | 7GB | | 12GB | 6GB | 11GB | | 16GB | 8GB | 15GB | | 32GB | 16GB | 31GB | | 64GB | 32GB | 63GB | Increasing RAM - Vanilla Launcher 1. Open your Minecraft Launcher 2. Navigate to Installations and create and press New 3. Press More Options and locate the JVM Arguments box 4. Modify the -Xmx flag to reflect your desired RAM Locate the -Xmx2G flag, and replace the '2G' with your desired amount of RAM. For example, if you would like to allocate 12 GB of RAM, you should set the flag to -Xmx12GB. 5. Name the installation to your liking, then click Create 6. Find your new installation, then click Play After clicking play, your client will boot up with the new amount of RAM you have allocated towards it. If your client crashes, you will want to keep increasing the amount.
Changing View and Simulation Distances on a Minecraft Server
View Distance and Simulation Distance are important configuration options for Minecraft servers. The server View Distance sets the number of chunks that are visible in all directions around a player. The Simulation Distance sets the number of chunks that will run in-game processes, even if they're not visible, like loading entities, growing crops, or processing redstone contraptions. Although players can customize their client's render distance, the view distance and the simulation distance options on your server force a limit to the amount of world data that the server sends to every single computer/player connected to a Minecraft server. As a result, lowering your server's render distances can be a quick and effective way to reduce lag on your server. --- How to Change your View/Simulation Distance To change your View and Simulation Distance, you will need to find and locate your file. 1. Open your server's Control Panel and navigate to the Files tab 2. Find the file, and click its name to edit it 3. Modify the field to your liking. Find the field, and set the number after the to your desired view distance. Valid options are any number between 1 - 32. You should refrain from putting this much higher than 10 - 12, though, as higher view distances will drastically hinder server performance. 4. Modify the field to your liking. Find the field, and set the number after the to your desired simulation distance. Valid options are any number between 1 - 32. 5. Save the file, then Restart your server. That's it! You have now learned how to change the view and simulation distance on your server.