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Minecraft

Minecraft Snapshot Server Download

Mojang publishes a development build of Minecraft most weeks. A snapshot server JAR is that build: vanilla only, unfinished, and not something to point a world you care about at.

Latest snapshot

26.3-pre-2

Snapshot for Minecraft 26.3

Released
Sep 4, 2026
File size
59 MB
Java required
Java 25
Download JAR

SHA-1 checksum

1dcf227881b28b21cc1d03ba830273f0d2d26319

⚡ Not for a production server

Back up your world before you run a snapshot. Snapshots can convert a world to a newer data format that older releases refuse to load, plugins and mods do not work on them, and anything in one can change or disappear in the next.

What is a Minecraft snapshot server?

A snapshot is Mojang's development build of Minecraft, published most weeks while a version is being worked on. It carries the features Mojang is testing right now, and it is vanilla only: Paper, Fabric, Forge and NeoForge all build against finished releases, so there is no modded or plugin snapshot to download. Treat one as a test server. It can crash, a block or a recipe can change overnight, and the next snapshot can undo it again. Copy any world you care about before you open it in a snapshot, and keep the server people actually play on a release.

Snapshot or release?

If you want to try what is coming next, take the snapshot. If other people are playing on the server, take the release.

Snapshot

Weekly development build. New features first, no plugin or mod support, breaking changes between builds, and world upgrades that only go one way.

Release

The finished version. Stable, supported by every loader, and what mods, plugins and hosts build against.

Download the vanilla release server

How to run a snapshot server

Exactly like any vanilla server. Put the JAR in an empty folder on its own, run it once, accept the EULA, then start it again. Keep it in a separate folder from your release server so the two never share a world.

Start script (Linux/macOS)

java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar server.jar nogui

The first launch stops immediately and writes an eula.txt file. Open it, set eula=true, and start the server again. That line is your agreement to Mojang's EULA and is required to run any Minecraft server.

2 GB boots a snapshot for a couple of players. For a real player count, size it with the Minecraft RAM calculator

Every Minecraft snapshot

Newest first, read from Mojang's own version manifest. Open any snapshot for its release date, file size, checksum and download link.

53 snapshots across 4 releases

SnapshotReleased
Building towards 26.312 builds, Jun 2026 to Sep 2026
26.3-pre-2Pre-releaseSep 4, 2026
26.3-pre-1Pre-releaseSep 1, 2026
26.3-snapshot-10SnapshotAug 25, 2026
26.3-snapshot-9SnapshotAug 17, 2026
26.3-snapshot-8SnapshotAug 12, 2026
26.3-snapshot-7SnapshotAug 4, 2026
26.3-snapshot-6SnapshotJul 28, 2026
26.3-snapshot-5SnapshotJul 21, 2026
26.3-snapshot-4SnapshotJul 16, 2026
26.3-snapshot-3SnapshotJul 7, 2026
26.3-snapshot-2SnapshotJun 30, 2026
26.3-snapshot-1SnapshotJun 23, 2026

Want it hosted for you?

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Frequently asked questions

← All server types