Knowledge base

Head to Deploy a server, pick your game and server type, then slide RAM and storage to the size you want. Each game shows a recommended size; it's a good place to start and you can change it later.

1. Pick your game and version (for Minecraft: Paper for plugins, Fabric or Forge for mods, Vanilla for pure Minecraft).
2. Choose RAM and storage. CPU is set automatically from your RAM.
3. Log in or create an account, then pay with your card or account credit.
4. Your server installs itself and appears in the panel within a minute or two.

Open your server in the panel. The address and port are shown at the top of the page, for example play.ns5hosting.com:25565. Copy it and paste it into your game's multiplayer or direct connect screen.

For Steam games such as Rust, ARK or Valheim, use the in-game console or server browser with the same address and port. Some games list a separate query port in the Startup tab.

Start smaller and upgrade from the panel if you see high memory use in the Metrics tab. Upgrades keep all your files. For Minecraft, try the RAM calculator or read how much RAM a Minecraft server needs.

Every server includes encrypted SFTP access. You'll find the exact details in your server's Settings tab.

In FileZilla, choose File → Site Manager → New site, set the protocol to SFTP, and enter the details above.

Open the Files tab and click any text file (like server.properties) to open the built-in editor. Save, then restart the server for most changes to take effect.

You can upload by dragging files into the browser, create folders, and compress or extract .zip archives without leaving the panel.

Open the Plugins tab of your Minecraft server and search. We look up Modrinth and only show versions that match your server's game version and loader. Click install and any required dependencies are added too.

Prefer to upload your own? Drop the .jar into /plugins (Paper, Purpur) or /mods (Fabric, Forge) using the file manager or SFTP, then restart. More detail: adding plugins and making a modded server.

Copy the modpack's link from modrinth.com, open your server's Plugins tab and paste it into the modpack box. We'll install the matching Fabric or Forge version, every server-side mod and the pack's configs.

In the Backups tab you can create a backup at any time, lock backups you never want rotated out, download them, or restore one in a click. Turn on a schedule to take them automatically every few hours.

Each server has a backup limit; the oldest unlocked automatic backup is replaced when you reach it.

Open Users on your server and invite someone by email or username. Tick the permissions they should have: console, power, files, backups, players, startup, settings and more. You can change or remove access at any time.

Open Settings and choose a new game or server type. The server is reinstalled with the new game in a few minutes, keeping your plan and price. To change only the version (for example Minecraft 1.20 to 1.21), use the Startup tab.

• Out of memory: look for OutOfMemoryError or the server being killed in the console. Remove some mods or upgrade RAM.
• Wrong Java version: newer Minecraft needs Java 21. Change the Docker image in the Startup tab.
• Disk full: check usage at the top of the server page. Delete old logs or backups, or add storage.
• Bad plugin or mod: move recently added files out of /plugins or /mods and try again.
• EULA: Minecraft needs eula=true in eula.txt.

Still stuck? Open a ticket with the last 50 lines of your console and we'll take a look.

Go to Orders in the panel and choose Resize. Slide to the new size and you'll see exactly what changes. Upgrades charge the difference for the rest of the month; downgrades credit the unused part to your account. Your files stay where they are.

We take all major cards through Stripe; we never see or store your card number. You can also pay from account credit, which you earn from affiliate commissions or downgrades. Manage your card and invoices from the Orders page.

New customers can run one server free for 48 hours, no card needed. When it ends the server is paused, not deleted. Pay at any point from the panel and it carries on with your world and files intact.

• Use a long, unique password for your NS5 account.
• Give friends sub-user access instead of sharing your password.
• Remove sub-users who no longer need access.
• For Minecraft, keep online-mode=true unless you use a proxy that handles authentication.