Craftoria Server Setup: RAM, Server Files and Crash Fixes

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Set up a Craftoria 1.37.0 server on NeoForge 21.1.249 and Java 21: how much RAM to give it, where the server files are, the first start and common crash fixes.

A first-person Minecraft view of a jungle with tall trees, vines and an empty hotbar

You downloaded the Craftoria server files, an 8 KB zip, and found no mods inside: a README, two start scripts, a YAML file and an icon. That is by design: the server files are an installer that fetches NeoForge and the mods on the first start. Here is what that first start does, how much RAM to give the server and how to fix the errors that stop it, checked against the pack's own files for Craftoria 1.37.0 on 1 November 2026. If you want to host it with us, the smallest Craftoria server hosting plan we suggest is 8 GB, sized from the heap in these server files.

Quick answer: Craftoria 1.37.0 (13 September 2026) runs on Minecraft 1.21.1 with NeoForge 21.1.249 and needs Java 21 or 25. The Craftoria server files are Craftoria-Server-1.37.0.zip, under Additional Files for that version on CurseForge. Unzip it, set maxRam in server-setup-config.yaml and run startserver.sh (or startserver.bat on Windows). ServerStarter installs 499 mods and NeoForge, asks the EULA question (type true) and starts the server. The files set a 5 GB Java heap, so give the server at least 8 GB of RAM with a heap of about 6500M, or 12 GB with 10G. The crash fixes below cover the wrong Java version, a heap that does not fit the server, failed mod downloads and players on another pack version.

Craftoria Server Requirements

Craftoria 1.37.0
Released13 September 2026
Minecraft1.21.1
LoaderNeoForge 21.1.249
Java21 or 25
Server filesCraftoria-Server-1.37.0.zip, 7,806 bytes
Mods on the server499
Heap in the server filesmaxRam: 5G, minRam: 3G

Mojang lists Java 21 for Minecraft 1.21.1, and the README in the server files says "Java 21 or Java 25 is required". Craftoria shipped nine releases between 24 August and 13 September 2026 and none since, so check the Files tab before you set up: every player needs the server's exact version.

How Much RAM a Craftoria Server Needs

Craftoria publishes no RAM figure and no player counts. The only number is in the server files: maxRam: 5G and minRam: 3G, which become -Xmx5G and -Xms3G. They match the template in ServerStarter's own repository, so treat them as a starting value, not as sizing advice from the pack team.

That value is the Java heap, and Java needs memory outside it. PaperMC advises a heap 1000 to 1500 MB below what the host gives you: "Do you have 8GB of memory? Use 6500MB for safety." If you start through startserver, ServerStarter also keeps running as a second Java process next to the server. With about 500 mods, these are the sizes we suggest:

Server RAMHeap to setGood for
6 GB5G, as shippedToo tight: no room for the world to grow
8 GBabout 6500MA fresh world or a small group
12 GB10GA grown world with big automation
16 GB13G to 14GA bigger group with many bases

A heap bigger than the server's memory gets the process killed, often with exit code 137. A heap that is too small fills up and throws an OutOfMemoryError. More players also means more loaded chunks: with FTB Chunks every team can force-load 25 of them, and a base full of AE2, Mekanism or Create machines in those chunks keeps the server busy.

Where the Craftoria Server Files Are

On the Craftoria CurseForge page, open the Files tab, click 1.37.0 and scroll to Additional Files, where the server files are Craftoria-Server-1.37.0.zip. The zip holds five files:

  • README.md with the install steps
  • server-setup-config.yaml, the settings for ServerStarter: NeoForge 21.1.249, the link to the 1.37.0 pack, 27 client-side projects to skip (Iris Shaders, Sodium, FancyMenu and others) and the heap
  • startserver.sh and startserver.bat, which download ServerStarter 2.4.1 from GitHub and run it
  • server-icon.png

Do not copy the instance folder from your CurseForge app to a server instead: it holds the client-side mods that the server files skip.

How to Set Up a Craftoria Server

On a Linux VPS or machine with Ubuntu 24.04 and the zip in your home folder:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jre-headless unzip curl
java -version
mkdir ~/craftoria && cd ~/craftoria
unzip ~/Craftoria-Server-1.37.0.zip
sed -i 's/maxRam: 5G/maxRam: 10G/' server-setup-config.yaml
bash startserver.sh

java -version should report 21. The sed line sets a 10 GB heap for a 12 GB server; use 6500M on 8 GB. Run the script with bash: the zip stores no file permissions, so it is not executable after unzipping, and it uses bash syntax.

The first start needs internet access and takes a while. ServerStarter downloads the 1.37.0 pack from CurseForge's CDN, copies its configs, KubeJS scripts and CC: Tweaked into the folder, downloads the other mods into mods/ while skipping the client-side projects, and runs the NeoForge 21.1.249 installer. Then it asks:

You have not accepted the eula yet.
By typing TRUE you are indicating your agreement to the EULA of Mojang.

Type true and press Enter. ServerStarter then starts the server with this command, here with maxRam: 10G:

java -XX:+UseG1GC -Xmx10G -Xms3G @libraries/net/neoforged/neoforge/21.1.249/unix_args.txt nogui

It records the install in serverstarter.lock, so later starts skip the downloads and log Server is already installed to correct version, to force install delete the serverstarter.lock File. The pack sets autoRestart: false, so the script ends when the server stops. Type stop to shut it down, and run the script inside tmux or screen so it keeps running after you log out. ServerStarter only asks about the EULA during the install: if you typed anything else, set eula=true in eula.txt and start again.

Running Craftoria on a Game Panel

If your host's modpack installer lists Craftoria 1.37.0, use it; the README itself mentions hosts that install the pack for you. Otherwise run the setup above on your own computer (on Windows with startserver.bat), let the server start once, type stop, and upload the whole folder over SFTP: libraries, mods, config, defaultconfigs, kubejs, emotes and the files next to them. Then start it with Java 21 and the command ServerStarter uses, shown above.

ServerStarter deletes NeoForge's run.sh, run.bat and user_jvm_args.txt after installing it. A startup that reads @user_jvm_args.txt then stops with the error below, so create that file in the server folder with a single line such as -Xmx10G:

Error: could not open `user_jvm_args.txt'

On our Craftoria plans you pick Java 21 in the Startup tab and give voice chat one of the three included port allocations in the Network tab.

Settings to Change Before Players Join

Backups. Simple Backups is switched on in the pack: a full backup every 120 minutes while players are online, one more after the last player leaves, the newest 5 kept in the simplebackups folder, up to maxDiskSize = "25 GB". If your disk is small, lower maxDiskSize or backupsToKeep in config/simplebackups-common.toml.

Voice chat. The pack ships no server config for Simple Voice Chat 2.6.23, so it uses its default: UDP port 24454, separate from the game port. On a VPS with UFW, open both:

sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp
sudo ufw allow 24454/udp

On a host that gives you a different extra port, set port= in config/voicechat/voicechat-server.properties to it and restart. Our voice chat port guide has the details.

Machines while players are offline. FTB Chunks lets each team claim 500 chunks and force-load 25. The pack keeps force_load_mode: "default": force-loaded chunks keep running offline only for a team with a member who has the FTB Ranks permission ftbchunks.chunk_load_offline, and no rank has it. To give it to every player, run this in the console:

ftbranks node add member ftbchunks.chunk_load_offline true

FTB Chunks reads the permission when a player logs in, so it applies after each player's next login. Or copy config/ftbchunks-world.snbt to world/serverconfig/ftbchunks-world.snbt, set force_load_mode: "always" in the copy and restart; the file's header says that copy survives pack updates.

Craftoria Server Crash Fixes

Wrong Java version. On Java 17 the launch fails with:

Error occurred during initialization of boot layer
java.lang.module.FindException: Error reading module: libraries/cpw/mods/bootstraplauncher/2.0.2/bootstraplauncher-2.0.2.jar
Caused by: java.lang.module.InvalidModuleDescriptorException: Unsupported major.minor version 65.0

Version 65 is the class file version of Java 21. Install Java 21 or 25 and check that java -version shows it.

Killed without a crash report, or exit code 137. The heap plus Java's own memory is more than the server has. Lower maxRam, or -Xmx if you start NeoForge directly, to the sizes in the table above.

java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space. The heap itself is full, and the shipped 5G is small for a grown world. Raise it, within the server's memory.

Mods failed to download. If the first start logs Failed to download (a) mod(s): followed by links, ServerStarter goes on and starts the server without those mods. ServerStarter still marks the pack as installed, so delete serverstarter.lock and run startserver again to repeat the install.

Client-side mods on the server. If you built the server from a CurseForge instance or the client pack, remove the client-side projects listed under ignoreProject in server-setup-config.yaml. Two of them have stopped Craftoria servers before: Particle Effects Reforged with Cannot get config value before config is loaded., and Perception, which left the server stuck at startup. Both times the team's fix was removing the mod from the server. More in our client-side mods guide.

Mods need a newer NeoForge. Lines such as Mod placebo requires neoforge 21.1.187 or above and Currently, neoforge is 21.1.176 (from a 1.23.0 report) mean the mods are newer than the loader. Use the server-setup-config.yaml of the version you run: ServerStarter installs the NeoForge it names.

Players cannot join. When a player's Craftoria version differs from the server's, their log shows lines like This channel is missing on the server side, but required on the client. Better Compatibility Checker, which is in the pack, shows a tick or an X in the server list. Install the same version on both sides; see our mod mismatch guide.

The same crash after a while, at one block. The crash report often names the block and its position. In one Craftoria report a contributor pointed to those lines, and the owner teleported there and removed the block.

No space left on device. The disk is full, and Simple Backups alone may use 25 GB. Lower maxDiskSize and delete old backups.

Updating to a New Craftoria Version

  1. Back up the world. The 1.35.0 notes warn that the update overhauled a big part of the mod list and ask you to back up worlds first.
  2. Copy server-setup-config.yaml from the new version's server files over yours and set maxRam again, because the new file brings back the pack's own value (5G in 1.37.0).
  3. Run startserver. ServerStarter sees the new pack link, moves the old mods folder to OLD_TO_DELETE/mods, copies the new pack's configs over the old ones, downloads the new mods and runs the NeoForge installer again. The world stays where it is.

Edits you made to config files the pack ships, such as simplebackups-common.toml, are overwritten, and mods you added yourself move to OLD_TO_DELETE with the rest, so put them back. Settings in world/serverconfig/ and the voice chat config are not in the pack and stay. Our guide to updating a modpack without losing your world covers the general steps.

FAQ

What are the Craftoria RAM requirements for a server? The pack publishes none. Its server files set a 5 GB heap and Java needs memory on top of that, so 8 GB is the smallest server we suggest, with a heap of about 6500M. For a grown world with big automation we suggest 12 GB with a 10G heap. The other system requirements are Java 21 or 25, Minecraft 1.21.1 and NeoForge 21.1.249.

Does Craftoria run on Minecraft 1.21.1? Yes. All 73 Craftoria files on CurseForge are for Minecraft 1.21.1 with NeoForge, and 1.37.0 uses NeoForge 21.1.249.

How do I fix Craftoria lag on a server? Measure first. spark ships with the pack: run spark profiler start --timeout 300 in the console while the lag happens, and the report shows where the server thread spends its time. Observable, also included, profiles entities and block entities and shows where they are; its profiler opens with R by default. Then check force-loaded chunks and simulation-distance in server.properties (10 by default). Our spark guide explains the report.

Why do machines stop when nobody is online? FTB Chunks only keeps force-loaded chunks running for a team with an online member, unless someone in the team has ftbchunks.chunk_load_offline. Grant it with the ftbranks command above or set force_load_mode: "always".

Do players need the same Craftoria version as the server? Yes, the exact same version: 1.37.0 on both sides, for example installed in the CurseForge app. Better Compatibility Checker shows a tick in the server list when the versions match.

Sources

All opened on 1 November 2026: