Fabric is a lightweight mod loader for Minecraft servers. Like Forge, it lets you run mods on your server. The big difference is that Fabric is faster and doesn’t mess with vanilla mechanics as much. That makes it perfect if you want performance mods without changing how the game plays.
Why Choose Fabric for Your Server?
Fabric lets you install tons of mods focused on performance. Paper, Spigot, and Purpur all modify vanilla behavior to improve performance, but Fabric gets you that speed boost without changing game mechanics. You get the best of both worlds: a vanilla experience with better performance.
Installing Fabric Server (1.21, 1.20.1)
Step 1: Set Up a Fabric Client First
Before touching your server, create a Fabric client instance on your main computer. Download all the mods you want on the server and test them here. This saves you from crashing your server with a bad mod. Once you’ve got everything working in single-player, you’re ready to move to the server.
Step 2: Install Java
You need Java to run the server. Download Java from Oracle or Java Runtime Environment if you don’t have it already.
Step 3: Download and Run the Fabric Installer
Download the Fabric Installer from the links below. You can use the .exe file on Windows or the .jar file on any system.
Run the installer and click the Server tab. Pick your Minecraft version and the loader version you want. In the install location field, type the folder name where you want your server to live (the installer will create it if it doesn’t exist). Click Install.
When the install finishes, you’ll see buttons to download the server jar and generate start scripts. Click Download server jar to grab the vanilla server.jar file. Click Generate to create start.bat (Windows) and start.sh (Linux/Mac) files. These batch files make starting your server super easy. You can close the installer now.
Step 4: Create the EULA File
Open a command window in your server folder and type:
echo eula=true>eula.txt
This creates the EULA agreement file that Minecraft requires.
Step 5: Start Your Server
In the command window, type:
java -jar fabric-server-launch.jar nogui
Your server will start. You should see log messages showing it’s running. If you get a Windows Security Alert, click Allow access.
Stop the server by typing stop in the command window.
Step 6: Set Up Auto-Start (Optional)
The installer now generates start scripts automatically, but if you want to set RAM limits, create your own batch file. Type:
echo java -Xms1024m -Xmx2048m -jar fabric-server-launch.jar nogui>start.bat
Change the 1024m and 2048m values to whatever RAM you want. Then type:
echo pause>>start.bat
Now you can start your server by double-clicking start.bat.
Step 7: Add Your Mods
Copy the mods from your client instance’s mods folder into your server’s mods folder. Open the Mod Menu mod on your client and look for mods marked as CLIENT. Don’t copy those to the server or they’ll crash it.
If OptiFine or OptiFabric is in your client, skip them. OptiFine is client-only and will break your server.
You can also copy your config folder files from the client to the server if needed.
Restart your server by double-clicking start.bat and you’re done.
Troubleshooting: Server Crashes
If your server crashes after adding mods, a client-only mod is probably the culprit. Remove mods half at a time until you find the bad one. Once you find it, just delete it from the mods folder and restart.
For Hosted Servers
If your host only accepts server.jar, rename your files like this:
Rename server.jar to vanilla.jar
Rename fabric-server-launch.jar to server.jar
Then edit fabric-server-launcher.properties and set serverJar=vanilla.jar. This might work if the host only checks the filename. If it doesn’t, ask your host to add Fabric support.
Fabric Server Downloads
Current Versions
Minecraft 1.21
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.21-Snapshot-24w21b.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 164.5 KB
Minecraft 1.20.5
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.20.5.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 164.5 KB
Minecraft 1.20.1, 1.20
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.20.1.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.20.2
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.20.2.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.19.4
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.19.4.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.19.3
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.19.3.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.19.2
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.19.2.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.19.1
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.19.1.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.19
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.19.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.18.2
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.18.2.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.18.1
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.18.1.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.17.1
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.17.1.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.16.5
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.16.5.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.15.2
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.15.2.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB
Minecraft 1.14.4
Fabric:
Fabric-Minecraft-Server-Launcher-1.14.4.jarThis file is part of How to Install Fabric Minecraft Server (1.21, 1.20.1). Visit the main page for features, installation guide, screenshots, and more download options.
Size: 170.5 KB