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Games servers 6 min read Easy 25.7k

Migrate a Minecraft server to VeryCloud

Published on May 16, 2026

Move a Minecraft server (Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Forge, Fabric or modpack) from another host to a VeryCloud VPS or Wisp panel without losing progress. Worlds, plugins, configs and permissions included.

Category: Games servers
Level: Easy
Reading time: 6 min
Published: May 16, 2026

Introduction

Migrating a Minecraft server is simpler than migrating a FiveM server: everything is in one folder, and almost all configurations are text files (.yml, .properties, .json). This guide covers the following cases:

Migration from another host via FTP/SFTP
Migration from a self-hosted VPS
Migration to the VeryCloud Wisp panel (panel.verycloud.fr)
Migration to an independent Linux VPS

Prerequisites

SFTP access to source server
Access to destination server (Wisp panel or VPS root SSH)
Java 17+ installed on destination (for Minecraft 1.18+) or Java 21 (for 1.21+)
Knowledge of the exact Minecraft version of source server

Step 1: Identify version and specifics

On the source server, note:

Server type: Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Bukkit, Forge, Fabric, Velocity, BungeeCord
Minecraft version: 1.20.4, 1.21.1, etc.
Installed plugins/mods: full list
Folder size: du -sh . (the world is usually 70% of the total)

This info determines the Java version and .jar to use on the destination.

Step 2: Prepare the destination server

Option A: On Wisp (VeryCloud panel)

On https://panel.verycloud.fr, order or use an existing Minecraft server. Wisp pre-configures Paper / Forge / Fabric based on your needs.

Option B: On a Linux VPS

# Install Java 21
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y openjdk-21-jre-headless screen

# Check
java -version

# Create the minecraft user
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash minecraft
sudo passwd minecraft
sudo su - minecraft

# Prepare the folder
mkdir -p ~/server && cd ~/server

Download the right .jar:

# Paper 1.21
wget -O server.jar "https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/1.21.1/builds/132/downloads/paper-1.21.1-132.jar"

Launch once to generate files:

java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar server.jar nogui

Accept the EULA:

echo "eula=true" > eula.txt

Step 3: Stop the source server

Crucial: completely stop the source server before transferring the world. Otherwise, the level.dat file is locked and the backup will be corrupted.

# In the source server console
stop

Step 4: Transfer files

Method 1: Direct SCP (if VPS → VPS)

From your local machine or directly between servers:

# On source server
cd /path/to/server
tar -czf minecraft-backup.tar.gz \
  --exclude='logs' \
  --exclude='cache' \
  --exclude='crash-reports' \
  world/ world_nether/ world_the_end/ \
  plugins/ config/ \
  server.properties bukkit.yml spigot.yml paper-global.yml \
  ops.json banned-players.json banned-ips.json whitelist.json

Transfer:

scp minecraft-backup.tar.gz root@DEST_IP:/tmp/

Method 2: SFTP (most universal)

Use FileZilla or WinSCP:

Source: connect to the old host's SFTP
Destination: connect to Wisp SFTP (panel.verycloud.fr → Server → SFTP Details) or to VPS

Download everything locally, then re-upload. Slower but works everywhere.

Method 3: rsync (fastest for large volumes)

rsync -avz --progress \
  --exclude='logs' --exclude='cache' \
  root@SOURCE_SERVER:/path/server/ \
  /home/minecraft/server/

Step 5: Extract and restore

On destination:

cd ~/server
tar -xzf /tmp/minecraft-backup.tar.gz
chown -R minecraft:minecraft .

Step 6: Adapt the configuration

server.properties

nano ~/server/server.properties

Check:

server-ip=
server-port=25565
max-players=20
view-distance=10
motd=Welcome to \u00a7b\u00a76VeryCloud

Leave server-ip= empty (the VPS IP will be used).

LuckPerms permissions (or other)

If you use LuckPerms, your data is in MySQL or SQLite. If SQLite, the file luckperms-h2-v2.mv.db should have been transferred. If MySQL, export the database and import it:

# On source
mysqldump -u user -p luckperms_db > luckperms.sql

# On destination
mysql -u user -p luckperms_db < luckperms.sql

Then adapt the connection string in plugins/LuckPerms/config.yml.

EssentialsX, EconomyAPI, etc.

Most plugins store their data in plugins/PluginName/. Verify these folders have been copied.

Step 7: Adapt the launch script

Create a startup script with the right JVM options:

nano ~/server/start.sh

#!/bin/bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"
java -Xms4G -Xmx8G \
  -XX:+UseG1GC \
  -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
  -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
  -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions \
  -XX:+DisableExplicitGC \
  -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch \
  -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 \
  -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 \
  -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=8M \
  -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 \
  -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 \
  -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 \
  -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 \
  -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 \
  -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 \
  -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 \
  -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem \
  -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 \
  -Dusing.aikars.flags=https://mcflags.emc.gs \
  -Daikars.new.flags=true \
  -jar server.jar nogui

These JVM flags ("Aikar's flags") are known to drastically optimize Minecraft servers.

chmod +x start.sh

Step 8: First startup

cd ~/server
./start.sh

Watch the console: all plugins should start with Enabled. Worlds should load without errors.

Connect with your Minecraft client: DEST_IP:25565.

Check:

Your character finds its position, inventory, hotbar
Filled chests are intact
Admin / OP permissions work
Plugins respond (/help, /plot info, /money, etc.)

Step 9: Configure systemd service (on VPS)

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service

[Unit]
Description=Minecraft Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=minecraft
WorkingDirectory=/home/minecraft/server
ExecStart=/usr/bin/screen -dmS minecraft /home/minecraft/server/start.sh
ExecStop=/usr/bin/screen -S minecraft -X stuff "say Stopping in 10 seconds...^Mstop^M"
TimeoutStopSec=30
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now minecraft

Access the live console:

sudo -u minecraft screen -r minecraft

Step 10: Update DNS

If you have a domain like play.your-server.com, update the record:

A     play.your-server.com    →   VERYCLOUD_VPS_IP

To use a non-standard port without forcing it on players, create an SRV record:

SRV   _minecraft._tcp.play.your-server.com  →  0 5 25565 play.your-server.com

Troubleshooting

"Outdated server"

The .jar version doesn't match your client. Download the exact version of your source server.

Plugins don't start

[ERROR] Could not load 'plugins/PluginX.jar'

Classic cause: plugin version not compatible with Paper/Spigot 1.21. Download the latest version on SpigotMC / Modrinth.

Corrupted worlds

If you transferred the world while server was running, it may be corrupted. Backup and use MCAselector to repair damaged chunks.

Significant lag

Check allocated RAM (-Xmx). Modern Minecraft likes at least 4 GB. For 20 players: 6-8 GB.

Inspect ticks:

# In console
/tps

20.0 = optimal. Below 18 = noticeable lag.

Useful commands

# Live console (VPS)
sudo -u minecraft screen -r minecraft

# Exit without killing: Ctrl+A then D

# Live logs
tail -f ~/server/logs/latest.log

# Quick backup
tar -czf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ~/server/world ~/server/world_nether ~/server/world_the_end

# Disk space used
du -sh ~/server/*

# List plugins
ls ~/server/plugins/*.jar

Conclusion

Your Minecraft server is migrated without loss. Going further:

Configure daily automatic backups (cron + tar)
Install an anti-cheat (Vulcan, Matrix) if the server is public
If you manage multiple servers (lobby, survival, creative), switch to a Velocity/BungeeCord proxy

VeryCloud offers a free migration service on Minecraft Wisp and Gaming VPS plans: open a ticket and we'll handle it.

Resources

Aikar's flags explained: https://docs.papermc.io/paper/aikars-flags
PaperMC: https://papermc.io
Wisp Panel: https://panel.verycloud.fr
World validation tool: https://github.com/Querz/mcaselector