Setup and Play a Folia Server in Minecraft

Last modified on Aug 21, 2023 in Modpacks

By Nathan Young

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Overview

Customizing your Vanilla Minecraft server can take many forms, with Spigot or Paper being popular choices. Using either of these allows for plugin support, meaning new or reworked features are introduced in-game. Unfortunately, some players may experience performance issues while hosting a large server with multiple addons installed. This can lead them to search for alternatives like Purpur for better optimization. Although, few owners aren’t completely satisfied with anything available on the market for their setup. Luckily, there’s a new server type that introduces a wide variety of improvements to make everyone’s gameplay experience better. This is known as Folia, a fork of Paper that is slowly becoming the go-to for hosting plugin servers. Whether you’re wanting quicker startup time or chunk rendering, this can certainly help solve your performance issues. Setting it up is easily done on our panel, as it comes preinstalled for your convenience. However, some newcomers may not be familiar with our system. Due to this, we’ll show you how to install and use Folia on your Minecraft server in this Apex Hosting guide.

Folia Explained

There’s many questions from server owners regarding this new server type, such as its differences and benefits compared to alternative choices. We’ll start off by saying Folia implements multithreading for dedicated servers, allowing you and others to enjoy extremely faster loading times, among other aspects. For example, using this will create spread out regions in the world and tick them simultaneously to provide the best possible experience.

This means servers with a substantial amount of players can enjoy the benefits of enhanced gameplay. Although, Folia will help out any community due to its multithreading capabilities. If you’re curious about the specifics of Folia, then review their official page for more information.

At the time of writing this, Folia is currently in experimental mode. This means that some builds can be unstable or have unforeseen problems that developers will resolve later on. Additionally, the vast majority of plugins will not work since they’re not suitable for Folia’s design. Keep this in mind when reviewing the rest of our tutorial, as only a dozen or so addons will function normally. Another note worth mentioning is to backup your world(s) or server files to be completely safe.

Server Installation

There’s no technical work required to install Folia on your Minecraft server. Remember, our panel gives you the ability to easily activate it from the system to begin loading the needed files. The instructions below guides you through this process to get started.

1. Head towards your Apex server panel, then locate the Game File section down below.
2. Upon finding it, click on the currently selected option to reveal its drop down menu.
   
3. Proceed to type “Folia” in the text box, then press on it once found.
   
4. Continue to click Create New World, and Restart Now in the following prompts.
   

   Note: Due to Folia being experimental, press Understood after selecting it in the panel.

5. When everything is finished loading, join the server to confirm it works.

Getting Started

After joining the Minecraft server, you may immediately notice the difference between Spigot or Paper. This is primarily due to the fast loading time and world tick changes, but may go unnoticed depending on the amount of players in-game. Remember, Folia is mainly for larger servers with tons of users that eat up lots of memory/resources. Regardless of this, Minecraft itself is now completely optimized for any type of gameplay. However, some players may not easily see the differences and benefits, so we’ll go through them all down below. Additionally, we’ll give you more information on possible issues, installing compatible plugins, among its configuration.

Increased Performance

As hinted throughout the above sections, Folia implements multithreading for dedicated Minecraft servers. This is extremely useful, as now regions have their own main thread for ticks in-game that happens for every chunk. In other words, you and other players will likely retain a perfect 20 TPS in most cases. Additionally, Folia introduces a quicker restart and startup response time due to these changes.

If you have a large world with countless players, then you may have noticed it’ll take a long time for everything to get running. Fortunately, this problem is swiftly solved by Folia’s design and implementation of its groundbreaking features.

Possible Limitations

On the other hand, Folia does come with limitations. This is mainly noticed by the lack of plugins for it, as the design is incompatible with the majority of addons. However, there are plans for some to be cross compatible between server types. Sadly, another problem is the lack of a specific config file for Folia, meaning you’ll only be able to tweak Spigot, Bukkit, and Paper documents in the FTP panel.

This may change as Folia is developed and updated, but for the time being you are limited. Essentially, any plugins and settings must be designed properly for the new multithreading compatibility. Otherwise, it’ll act as a standalone API system like Forge or Fabric that doesn’t allow for general Bukkit-based addons.

Gameplay Experience

As for the gameplay itself, it’ll feel just like any other Minecraft server. Whether you’re wanting some plugins or none at all, everything will feel a lot smoother. The amount of response time for both the server and in-game aspects is extremely noticeable. This is amplified if you’re comparing breaking blocks with Folia and Paper, as it’s almost instantaneously with multithreading. Going forward, many server owners expect this feature to become the new normal since the gameplay is outperforming anything else on the market. Once enough time and development has passed, expect all the popular plugins to be compatible with Folia to provide the best in-game experience.

Plugin Compatibility

If you’re curious about what plugins are available for Folia, then review the table below. Simply click on the addon’s name to open its download page, which may vary. Keep in mind that these plugins have been fully tested and ready to go on your Folia server. However, others might be compatible depending on their design. We recommend checking out our Finding Plugins tutorial if you want more options. Once you’ve found one or multiple to install, then review our guide to begin this process. Besides this, there are other popular plugins working to offer Folia support. These include EssentialsX, LuckPerms, SkinsRestorer, and many more.

Configuration

Briefly mentioned above, Folia doesn’t offer any specific configuration file to tweak. However, there are plenty of other ones to edit. These include Spigot, Paper, and Bukkit documents containing useful options to personalize your gameplay experience. Whether you’re wanting to change the timeout time or tick behavior, you’re given the opportunity to do that and more. If you’re wanting to further increase your server’s performance, then consider reviewing our optimization guide. Remember, some of the details in this resource will not apply to Folia due to its design. Alternatively, you can run the /jfr [start/stop] command with operator privileges to receive backend information to help you resolve in-game problems.

1. Navigate to the FTP File Access area from the top left corner in the main panel.
   
2. Proceed to type your Password in the text box, then click the Login button.
   
3. Locate your desired file in the list and press Edit to the far right, revealing the editor.
   

   Note: The “config” directory contains Paper options for you to tweak.

4. Continue to make your changes, then click the Save button at the top.
   
5. Return to the main panel and Restart the server to apply the edits.

Common Issues

In some cases, players may be unable to join the server. This is primarily caused by entering an incorrect IP Address:Port or Subdomain when making the connection. Make sure to verify this information in the main panel before proceeding. Another common problem is using an invalid Minecraft version when joining, as Folia only supports 1.19.4 at the moment. Ensure everyone connecting is using the correct one to successfully join. If the situation persists, then this could mean an underlying issue is present.

Occasionally, the server will not boot up properly due to numerous reasons. One of these is failing to use a valid world for Folia, as it needs a compatible 1.19.4 map. This means if you’re using a higher version then what’s being offered on this new server type, a new world is required. Otherwise, it could be a problem with your previously installed plugins since some can cause a crash. Remember, most addons aren’t fully supported yet and should be removed if you continue using Folia.

Sometimes, plugins may suggest they have support for Folia yet fail to function properly after installing them. This happens when prior configuration is needed, which should be a relatively quick fix. Make sure to view the plugin’s documentation and files to correct the situation. Alternatively, removing the addon from your server is another option to resolve the problem. Otherwise, contact the developer(s) to see if they can offer any support for your server’s issue.

Useful Links

Official GitHub for Folia
Becoming a Minecraft Server Operator
How to Find Minecraft Plugins
Adding Plugins on a Minecraft Server