Minecraft PaperMC Server Setup Guide✔️

Minecraft is a world-famous sandbox game that allows players to build, explore, and survive together.
If you want to enjoy multiplayer adventures with friends or a community, the best way is to set up your own Minecraft server.
This guide will walk you through installing and optimizing PaperMC, a high-performance and customizable Minecraft server software.

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What Is PaperMC and Why Should You Use It? 🤔

PaperMC is an open-source, high-performance Minecraft server software built on Spigot.
It offers improved performance, stability, and customization compared to the original Vanilla server.

Key Advantages:

• High performance and optimization
• Improved TPS (Ticks Per Second)
• Advanced configuration files (paper.yml, spigot.yml)
• Plugin compatibility and active community
• Frequent updates and strong developer support

In short, PaperMC takes all the best features of Spigot and enhances them with better performance tuning.

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System Requirements 💻

Component	Minimum	Recommended
Operating System	Windows / Linux / macOS	Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
RAM	2 GB	4 GB+
CPU	Dual-Core 2.0 GHz	Quad-Core 3.0 GHz+
Storage	5 GB SSD	20 GB SSD+
Java Version	Java 17+	Java 17+
Internet Connection	5 Mbps	20 Mbps+

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Step-by-Step PaperMC Installation 🧩

1. Install Java 📥

Minecraft 1.18 and above requires Java 17 or newer.

For Windows:

1. Go to Adoptium.net
2. Download Java 17 (LTS)
3. Run the installer and complete setup

For Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk
java -version

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2. Download the PaperMC Server File 📂

1. Visit PaperMC’s Official Download Page
2. Choose your desired Minecraft version
3. Download the latest build (.jar)
4. Move it into a dedicated folder, e.g., /home/minecraft/server/

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3. Create a Startup Script 📝

For Windows (start.bat)

@echo off
java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar paper.jar nogui
pause

For Linux (start.sh)

#!/bin/bash
java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar paper.jar nogui

Make it executable:

chmod +x start.sh

Tip: The -Xms and -Xmx flags set the minimum and maximum RAM. Adjust based on your system’s memory.

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4. First Server Launch ▶️

1. Run your startup script
2. The server will start and stop automatically
3. A file named eula.txt will appear in your folder
4. Open it and change eula=false to eula=true
5. Save and close the file

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5. Restart the Server 🔄

./start.sh

This will generate all necessary files and folders (e.g., plugins, logs, server.properties).

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Server Configuration ⚙️

server.properties 📋

This file controls your server’s basic settings.

Setting	Description	Recommended
server-port	Server port	25565
gamemode	Default game mode	survival
difficulty	Game difficulty	normal
max-players	Max player limit	Based on RAM
view-distance	Render distance	8–12
online-mode	Premium account check	true

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spigot.yml 🔧

Controls Spigot’s advanced settings:

• entity-activation-range: Entity render distance
• tick-limits: TPS protection and optimization
• save-user-cache-on-stop-only: Saves cache on shutdown

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paper.yml 📄

Contains PaperMC’s advanced performance tweaks:

• chunk-loading: Chunk generation optimization
• use-faster-eigencraft-redstone: Faster redstone logic
• prevent-moving-into-unloaded-chunks: Prevents chunk errors

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Port Forwarding & External Access 🌐

To make your Minecraft server accessible to others:

1. Open your router settings (192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1)
2. Find the Port Forwarding section
3. Forward TCP port 25565 to your computer’s local IP
4. Save and reboot your router

Alternatively, use Hamachi or ZeroTier if you prefer a VPN-based setup without manual port forwarding.

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Server Security & Backup 🔒

Security Tips

• Always keep your server up to date
• Use trusted plugins only
• Limit operator (op) privileges
• Install security plugins like AuthMe, LuckPerms, and CoreProtect

Automatic Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
SERVER_DIR="/home/minecraft/server"
BACKUP_DIR="/home/minecraft/backups"
DATE=$(date +%F_%H-%M)

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/server_$DATE.tar.gz $SERVER_DIR
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

Use crontab to schedule automatic backups.

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Performance Optimization 🚀

Aikar’s JVM Flags

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions \
-XX:+DisableExplicitGC -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 \
-XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M \
-XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 \
-XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 -jar paper.jar nogui

These flags are Aikar’s optimized JVM parameters designed to reduce lag and improve garbage collection performance.

Recommended View & Simulation Distance

Player Count	view-distance	simulation-distance
1–5	10	6
5–15	8	5
15–30	6	4
30+	4–5	3

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Recommended Plugins 🧩

Essential Plugins

Plugin	Description
EssentialsX	Core server commands and utilities
LuckPerms	Advanced permissions manager
WorldEdit	In-game world editing
CoreProtect	Block logging and rollback
Vault	Economy API
WorldGuard	Region protection

Performance Plugins

• ClearLagg – Removes unused entities
• Chunky – Pre-generates chunks for faster loading
• FastChunkPregenerator – Speeds up world generation

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Troubleshooting 🔍

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Server won’t start	Wrong Java version	Install Java 17+
Connection error	Port not forwarded	Check router settings
TPS drops	Too many entities	Use ClearLagg plugin
Out of Memory	Not enough RAM	Increase -Xmx value
Plugin conflicts	Incompatible versions	Update or remove plugins

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Community & Support 👥

• PaperMC Discord
• PaperMC Documentation
• Spigot Forums
• r/admincraft Subreddit

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Final Thoughts 🧠

PaperMC is one of the best-performing and most customizable Minecraft server platforms available today.
With proper setup, optimized Java flags, and regular backups, you can maintain a smooth, lag-free multiplayer experience for all your players.

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