Power buttons, and a server stuck starting

What do Start, Restart, Stop and Kill do, and what if it never finishes starting?

Start boots the server, Restart stops then starts it, Stop saves and shuts down cleanly, and Kill ends it instantly without saving; a stuck start almost always has the reason in the console.

Before you start: The panel open on the Console tab.

Step by step

1. Use Stop (not Kill) for normal shutdowns so the world is saved.
2. Use Kill only if Stop has not worked after a minute or two; unsaved progress since the last save is lost.
3. If a start hangs, scroll up in the console and look for the last lines before it stopped, especially ERROR, Exception or "Caused by".
4. Common causes: a plugin or mod failing (remove the last one you added), a modpack still downloading libraries (wait longer), or a world upgrading to a new version (can take minutes).
5. If the console shows nothing at all, check Startup and Versions: the server jar may be missing; reinstall the version in Versions.
6. After fixing, press Start again and wait for "Done".

Check it worked: The console shows "Done" and the status is Running.

Why it happens: A start can hang on a broken plugin or mod, a missing file, too little memory, or a world being converted.

If it hangs with no error at all and the same happens after a reinstall, send support the last 50 console lines.

More guides on Control panel and server setup:

• Start your server for the first time
• Change the server software or Minecraft version
• Change the MOTD, max players, difficulty, gamemode or PvP
• Generate a new world or set a seed
• Edit server.properties and other configs
• Startup settings, Java flags and memory