How to Host an RLCraft Server in 2026
RLCraft is one of the most demanding Minecraft modpacks to host — 300+ mods, constant mob spawning and large biomes push servers hard. This guide covers the full setup from RAM choice to first login.
Choose your RAM
Minimum 8 GB; 10–12 GB recommended. RLCraft's mob AI and progression systems chew through memory faster than most packs — Lycanites Mobs alone keeps hundreds of entities active at all times. Undersizing RAM is the single most common RLCraft hosting mistake.
Download the RLCraft server pack from CurseForge
RLCraft is a Forge 1.12.2 pack. On CurseForge, find RLCraft and download the server pack (not the client pack) — it includes the correct Forge version and all mods pre-assembled. Extract the archive to your server directory before running anything.
Run the Forge installer
Inside the extracted server pack you'll find the Forge installer jar. Run `java -jar forge-installer.jar --installServer` to install Forge into the directory. This sets up the correct libraries and creates the server launch script. Don't skip this step — the server won't start without it.
Set Java 8 as the runtime
RLCraft runs on Minecraft 1.12.2, which requires Java 8. This is the most commonly missed step — many systems have Java 11 or Java 21 as the default, and the server will fail or behave unpredictably on newer Java versions. Verify with `java -version` and point your start script explicitly to the Java 8 JRE if needed.
Edit server.properties
Set `difficulty=hard` — RLCraft is designed for Hard mode and the balance breaks on lower settings. Set `view-distance` to 6–8 (higher values cause severe performance issues with RLCraft's mob density). Set `max-players` to match your expected group size so the server doesn't over-allocate spawn overhead.
Leave the Lycanites Mobs configs alone
RLCraft's custom mobs come from the modpack configuration, not vanilla spawner settings. The temptation to reduce spawns is understandable, but the Lycanites Mobs configs are interconnected — changing them without knowing what you're doing will either break spawning entirely or make the pack feel wrong. Leave them at defaults unless you have specific modpack experience.
First boot and connecting players
First boot takes 4–8 minutes as Forge loads all 300+ mods. Once the console shows 'Done', you're ready. Players must install the RLCraft client from CurseForge — not a manual install. The client and server mod versions must match exactly. Share your server IP on the default port 25565.
FAQ
What Java version does RLCraft need?+
Can players use different launchers?+
Why is RLCraft so hard to host?+
What difficulty should an RLCraft server run on?+
Does RLCraft work on Java 21?+
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