Keeping your Minecraft server updated to the latest version is crucial for accessing new features, improvements, and ensuring compatibility with the latest Minecraft clients. If you’re running an older server version, players might face connection issues and miss out on the newest gameplay experiences. This guide will walk you through the process of updating your Minecraft server to a newer version, ensuring a smooth transition and keeping your community happy.
To update your Minecraft server, you’ll first need to locate the official download link for the latest server software. Mojang, the developers of Minecraft, provide these files on their official website.
Step 1: Find the Latest Minecraft Server Download
Navigate to the official Minecraft server download page: https://www.minecraft.net/download/server/. This page always hosts the most recent stable versions of the Minecraft server software. Locate the download link for the server.jar file. This is the core file you’ll need to update your server.
Once you have the download URL, the next important step is to verify the integrity of the downloaded file. This is done using a SHA-256 checksum, which ensures that the file is complete and hasn’t been corrupted during download.
Step 2: Get the SHA-256 Checksum
You can obtain the SHA-256 checksum using command-line tools. If you are using NixOS, you can conveniently use the nix-prefetch-url command followed by the download URL you obtained in the previous step.
nix-prefetch-url https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/d0d0fe2b1dc6ab4c65554cb734270872b72dadd6/server.jarThis command will download the server.jar file (or just fetch its metadata if it’s already in the nix store) and output the SHA-256 checksum. Alternatively, if you’ve already downloaded the server.jar file using a browser or other means, you can use the sha256sum command followed by the filename:
sha256sum server.jarThis command will calculate and display the SHA-256 checksum of your downloaded server.jar file. Make sure to note down this checksum, as you’ll need it for the next step, especially if you are using a configuration management system like NixOS.
Step 3: Configure Your Server with the New Version (NixOS Example)
For users on NixOS, you can update your Minecraft server version by overriding the package definition in your server configuration. This involves specifying the new version’s download URL and its SHA-256 checksum within your NixOS configuration. Here’s an example of how you might configure your services.minecraft-server in your configuration.nix file:
services.minecraft-server = {
enable = true;
eula = true; #required
package = let
version = "1.14.3"; # Replace with your desired version
url = "https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/d0d0fe2b1dc6ab4c65554cb734270872b72dadd6/server.jar"; # Replace with the latest server.jar URL
sha256 = "942256f0bfec40f2331b1b0c55d7a683b86ee40e51fa500a2aa76cf1f1041b38"; # Replace with the SHA-256 checksum you obtained
in (pkgs.minecraft-server_1_14.overrideAttrs (old: rec {
name = "minecraft-server-${version}";
inherit version;
src = pkgs.fetchurl {
inherit url sha256;
};
}));
};Remember to replace the version, url, and sha256 values with the actual version number you intend to use, the download URL of the server.jar for that version, and its corresponding SHA-256 checksum. After updating your configuration and rebuilding your NixOS system, your Minecraft server will be running the newer version.
By following these steps, you can successfully update your Minecraft server to the latest version, ensuring your players have access to the newest features and a seamless Minecraft experience. Happy mining and crafting on your updated server!
