ViaVersion

ViaVersion is a Minecraft Java server plugin that translates the network protocol between client and server, so a player on a newer game version can join a server still running an older one, and the other way around. Server owners install it to avoid forcing every player onto the same client build, which matters most right after a new release when player clients update faster than a server's plugin stack can follow.

Which client versions ViaVersion bridges

The current build, 5.12.0, translates protocol from Minecraft 1.8.9 all the way through the latest 26.2 drop, covering every year.drop release since ViaVersion's original 1.9 protocol work. A server pinned to an older version accepts newer clients through this translation layer, and a server that has already updated stays reachable by clients that have not. ViaVersion works at the packet level, not the game-logic level, so a client still sees content added after its own version as fallback blocks or items unless a companion plugin restores it (see the ViaBackwards and ViaRewind section below).

• Legacy tail: 1.8.9 through 1.16.5, the protocol range most affected by combat and networking rewrites.
• Modern tail: 1.18.2 through 1.21.11, the last releases before year.drop versioning replaced the 1.21.x scheme.
• Current tail: 26.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2, and 26.2, the quarterly drops ViaVersion 5.12.0 tracks as of its August 2026 build.

Platform support for Paper, Velocity, and BungeeCord

Modrinth ships ViaVersion for Paper and Folia on the Bukkit-family side, and for Velocity, BungeeCord, and Sponge on the proxy and alternate-server side. Paper is API-compatible with Spigot, so the Paper build is what a Spigot server owner installs too, ViaVersion just doesn't publish a separate Spigot-labeled artifact. Running it on a proxy like Velocity or BungeeCord translates protocol for an entire network at the front door, so every backend server behind the proxy stays reachable without installing the plugin on each one individually. Installing it directly on a single Paper or Folia server instead scopes the translation to just that server.

ViaBackwards and ViaRewind, the sibling plugins

ViaVersion only handles the protocol handshake: it lets a mismatched client connect at all. It does not restore content a client's version predates. ViaBackwards is a separate Modrinth project, built by the same team, that fills that gap by re-adding blocks, items, and mechanics an older client would otherwise see as fallback placeholders when it joins a newer server. ViaRewind is a second separate project that extends the same idea further back, covering pre-1.9 combat and protocol quirks that ViaBackwards alone does not reach. Both are optional dependencies of ViaVersion on Modrinth, not features bundled into it, so a server that wants old clients to see full content installs ViaBackwards or ViaRewind alongside ViaVersion rather than expecting ViaVersion to cover it on its own.

Installing ViaVersion on a server

1. 1.Download the build that matches your server software or proxy (Paper, Folia, Sponge, Velocity, or BungeeCord).
2. 2.Drop the jar into the plugins folder of that server or proxy, following the same steps as any other plugin (see our plugin installation guide).
3. 3.Restart the server or proxy. The startup log reports the protocol range ViaVersion now supports.
4. 4.Add ViaBackwards or ViaRewind alongside it if older clients need restored content rather than just a working connection.