Getting Started
Requirements
Paper requires at least Java 17 to run. We recommend using Java 21, which is easy to download and install.
| Paper Version | Recommended Java Version |
|---|---|
| 1.8 to 1.11 | Java 8 |
| 1.12 to 1.16.4 | Java 11 |
| 1.16.5 | Java 16 |
| 1.17.1-1.18.1+ | Java 21 |
Downloading Paper
Paper provides runnable server JARs directly from our website's downloads page.
Click on the build number to download a file.
Running the server
To run the server you will need to either create a startup script or run a command in your terminal.
You can generate a startup script using our Startup Script Generator. You can also obtain the optimized terminal command to run the server there.
If you're just looking for a short command:
java -Xmx4G -Xms4G -jar paper.jar --nogui
Ensure you navigated your terminal to the directory of your server
and that you have replaced paper.jar with the name of the JAR you have downloaded.
The amount of RAM can be set by changing the numbers in the Xmx and Xms arguments.
--nogui disables Vanilla's GUI, so you don't get double interfaces when using the command line.
To configure your server, see the Global Configuration and Per World Configuration pages.
Updating the server
Updating Paper is simple! See our Update Tutorial for more information.
Migrating to Paper
From Vanilla
Migrating from Vanilla is easy, but there are some differences, namely in world saves. Paper (and CraftBukkit and Spigot) separate out each dimension of a world (nether, the end, etc.) into separate world folders.
Paper will handle this conversion for you automatically. No additional consideration is required.
From CraftBukkit or Spigot
Paper is a drop in replacement for both CraftBukkit and Spigot, you don't need to make any changes.
Next steps
Take a look at our Next Steps guide to get your server up and running with the best performance and features.