How to Make a Minecraft Experimental Server
Last modified on Feb 18, 2025 in General
With the new game drops for Minecraft, updates will become more frequent throughout the year. However, as like any other versions – snapshots are required to ensure no bugs exist and so players provide feedback. Anyone wanting to try out new features will have to use them, but there’s another way too! Experimental settings in Minecraft are designed so you can use the latest version of the game with the newest changes. It’s essentially combining a snapshot with an official update, which can be done in multiplayer and singleplayer.
If you’re curious about hosting your own experimental Minecraft server to play with new features, then you are in the right place! In this Apex Hosting guide, we’ll show you how to achieve that. Keep in mind that the configuration will change depending on the later updates and features. This means the guide will be generalized to fit any experimental option you want. Let’s begin!
Experimental Features
Before getting started, you need to first locate the experimental options. These are found in snapshot announcements (if applicable), singleplayer level.dat files, or elsewhere online. We strongly recommend enabling them in your world – then viewing the previously mentioned file and looking at the “enabled_features” section. This gives you the experimental settings needed for toggling them in your Minecraft server. Viewing level.dat files is easy, as online tools are available to help you.
Settings Example
If it helps, you can think of these as datapacks with upcoming features for future versions. Here’s the list of them for Minecraft 1.21.4, which was found using the level.dat file method:
vanilla, redstone_experiments, winter_drop, trade_rebalance, minecart_improvements
When you do search for them, they might have “minecraft:” as a prefix to each setting. Setting up an experimental server doesn’t require that, so make sure to remove them as you configure the options.
With all that in mind, you’re ready to create an experimental server for Minecraft!
Experimental Minecraft Server Hosting
- Head towards your Apex server panel and click
Stopat the top. - Afterward, press the
Config Filesoption on the far left corner of your screen.
- On the next page, proceed to select
Server Settingsfrom the list. - While viewing this area, scroll down and locate the
initial-enabled-packsoption. - Add your desired experimental settings and click the
Savebutton. - When you’re finished, confirm this by pressing
Restart Nowin the prompt.
There you have it! You can now play with friends while using experimental features on a Minecraft server. In the event that your world gets corrupted, your server panel should be making several backups. With experimental settings, some problems might arise – so it’s important to always have backups. If you have any issues, contact our Support Team for assistance.
FAQ – Experimental Minecraft Servers
If you want a complete list of the “initial-enabled-packs” option for your Minecraft server, then create a singleplayer world with all of them enabled. Afterwards, you can view the “enabled_features” section in the level.dat file. We strongly recommend using online tools to view that information, unless you have an installed program for that.
There are two causes for this to happen: an invalid configuration or corruption. Make sure to not use any spaces or “minecraft:” prefixes when setting up the initial-enabled-packs option. Additionally, separate each one with a comma! In the event that your world was corrupted from using experimental settings, restore the files with our backup system. Otherwise, contact our support team for further assistance.
Make sure everything is configured properly and that you have server operator permissions. If you see new items in creative mode or newer commands, then the server is using experimental settings. However, you might need to generate a new world for everything to work. For instance, if an upcoming Minecraft update changes how the world generates or spawns new buildings, then this would be required.
Useful Links
How to Restore From a Backup
How to Generate a New World
Apex Hosting Support
