# How to Change Your Minecraft Server's Version

> Update your server to a new Minecraft version, or pick an older one, from the Package Manager.

Source: https://www.beaconhosting.org/knowledgebase/how-to-change-your-minecraft-server-version
Category: Minecraft
Last updated: 2026-11-05

You choose your server's Minecraft version in **Package Manager**, the same place you choose its software.

## Change the version

1. Go to **Backups** and create a backup. A world opened on a newer version can't safely go back.
2. Go to **Package Manager** and click **Browse packages**.
3. Open the software your server runs (**Paper**, **Fabric**, **Forge**, **NeoForge** or **Vanilla**).
4. Pick the Minecraft version you want and click **Install**.
5. The panel lists what changes. It may **swap the Java runtime**, since newer versions need newer Java, and it warns if **packages will stop working** on that version. Confirm.
6. Package changes are queued and applied the next time the server starts, so restart it from **Console** when you're done.

## Before updating

- **Check your plugins or mods.** Each must have a build for the new version. Update them in **Package Manager** at the same time.
- **Players need the same version** in their launcher, unless you run ViaVersion: see [How to Let Players Join From Any Version](/knowledgebase/how-to-allow-players-to-connect-from-any-version-on-a-minecraft-server).
- **New blocks and biomes** only generate in chunks nobody has visited yet.

## Going back

Downgrading a world isn't supported by Minecraft. To go back, install the older version **and** restore the backup you made before updating.

> [!TIP]
> To try a new version safely, change `level-name` in `server.properties` to a new name first. The server makes a fresh world and your old one stays untouched.