Forge is one of the first and most popular mod loaders for Minecraft, allowing players to add new content to their servers. Also, it is usually the preferred one by mod creators as it has been in use for a long time and is stable. There's a huge library of mods for Forge for all versions of the game.

Here you can find more information about Forge on their official page.

This guide will show you how to set up a custom Forge version on your GGServer Minecraft hosting.

The installation process will be different depending on which version of Forge you want to set up. For versions newer than 1.17, the process is different.

⚠ NOTE ⚠: We suggest you generate a new world with the Forge version change. Here is our guide for generating a new world.

🔨 Installing a Forge Version Older Than 1.17 on Your Server 🔨

To install a Forge version older than 1.17 on your server, you will have to download it first, then proceed to upload the files to your server. Just follow the next steps:

Go to the official Forge website here and find the game version you want.



Click on Show all Versions, then download the Installer for the wanted Forge version.





After you download the Forge Installer, you need to add it to an empty folder and then run it by double-clicking.



Select the option Install Server, then select the new folder you created in the last step as the path for the installation.



Start the installation by clicking OK.

Forge will generate some files, but the most important ones are the two files and one folder:

The Forge jar file.
The minecraft_server.jar file.
The folder called libraries.



Rename the Forge jar file that was generated to one of the following, according to the Java version you want to use:

custom-java8.jar - For game versions lower than 1.13 (1.12, 1.11, etc.)
custom-java11.jar - For game versions between 1.13 and 1.16



Log in to your Multicraft panel here and stop your server.



Use FileZilla to connect to your server.

Here is our guide explaining how to use FileZilla.

Delete the content of your jar folder.



Upload the following to your server's jar folder, which is now empty:

The Forge jar, which is now renamed as custom-javaX.jar depending on the Java version you want to use.
The minecraft_server.jar
The libraries folder in your server's jar folder, which is empty now.



⚠ NOTE ⚠: It may be possible that FileZilla will fail to upload some of the files. You can go to the Failed Transfers section and right-click to find Reset and requeue all which will add all files that failed to upload to the queue again. Then you can go to the Queued files section and right-click to find the Process Queue option, which will re-upload all files.




Log in to your Multicraft panel here and set your Server Type to be named after the Forge jar you uploaded to your server on the last step.



Start your server.

🔩 Installing Forge Versions Newer Than 1.17 on Your Server 🔩

To install a Forge version newer than 1.17 on your server, you will have to download it first, then proceed to upload the files to your server. Just follow the next steps:

Go to the official Forge website here and find the game version you want.



Click on Show all Versions, then download the Installer for the wanted Forge version.





After you download the Forge Installer, you need to add it to an empty folder and then run it by double-clicking.



Select the option Install Server, then select the new folder you created in the last step as the path for the installation.



Start the installation by clicking OK.

Forge will generate some files, but the one that we need is the folder called libraries.



Log in to your Multicraft panel here and set your Server Type to the Custom Java 17 option.



If needed, here is our guide for changing your server type.

Use FileZilla to connect to your server.

Here is our guide explaining how to use FileZilla.

Inside the jar folder, delete the libraries folder, if there is one.

If there is no jar  folder on your server, just create it by right-clicking on the server side of the FileZilla window and selecting the Create directory option.





Upload the custom libraries folder you generated to your server's jar folder.



⚠ NOTE ⚠: It may be possible that FileZilla will fail to upload some of the files. You can go to the Failed Transfers section and right-click to find Reset and requeue all which will add all files that failed to upload to the queue again. Then you can go to the Queued files section and right-click to find the Process Queue option, which will re-upload all files.




Start your server.



If you find any issues setting up a custom Forge version on your server, please contact us on live chat or via the ticket system.

❕ Useful Links ❕

- Changing your server version and type
- How To: Reset your world
- How to install Mods on your server

Updated on: 06/08/2023