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How to add a resource pack to a Minecraft server

To add a resource pack to a Minecraft server, upload the pack as a zip file to a place with a direct download link, put that link after resource-pack= in server.properties together with the pack's SHA-1 hash, and restart the server. Here is each step, how to make the pack required, why a server pack fails to download and how Bedrock servers do it.

Prices checked on 10 October 2026 on the hosts' own order pages. All prices include VAT.

A Minecraft server with a RAM stick, a grass block and a map

The short answer

Upload the zip to a host that gives a direct download link, set resource-pack and resource-pack-sha1 in server.properties and restart. Add require-resource-pack=true to disconnect players who decline it. A pack fails to load when the link opens a web page instead of the file, when the zip is over 250 MiB or when the hash is out of date.

Compare Minecraft server hosting for a public server

Compare Minecraft server hosting for a public server with its own resource pack and 25 to 50 plugins: by our rule, 30 players with that many plugins need about 19 GB, so the best match at each host is a 24 GB plan. The best plan at each host for 21 to 30 players with 25 to 50 plugins on Java in Poland (Warsaw), with the finder's pick first.

The best Minecraft server plan at each host for 21 to 30 players on Java in Poland (Warsaw)
ProviderMemoryCPU & storageMonthly priceOrder page
Lodehost Premium, performance line24 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 4 reserved vCPU, 120 GB Enterprise NVMe€18.78 /mo First 3 months, then €46.95/mo, €41.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Lodehost Premium (opens Lodehost)
Astroworld Hosting Premium Performance24 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 4 reserved vCPU, 120 GB Enterprise NVMe€18.78 /mo First 3 months, then €46.95/mo, €41.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Astroworld Premium Performance (opens Astroworld Hosting)
Cheapest Minecraft Hosting Crew, budget line24 GBRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 3 shared vCPU, 120 GB NVMe€19.20 /mo Same price on every termView plan CheapestMinecraftHosting Crew (opens Cheapest Minecraft Hosting)

On the Performance lines the large price is what a new customer pays a month at the start: for the first 3 months at both Astroworld Hosting and Lodehost, when you pay monthly. The regular monthly price comes after it, and the last price in each row is the monthly price on the host's longest term.

Compare the same billing term and location before you order.

Every price is taken from the host's own order page. How we compare

What does a server resource pack need?

A server resource pack needs 3 things before players see it, and the first one causes most problems:

  • A direct download link

    A link that downloads the zip file itself, not a page with a download button on it.

  • A matching SHA-1 hash

    The hash of the exact file at that link, so the game can check what it downloaded.

  • Players who accept it

    Each player accepts the pack once, unless you make it required or they set it to Enabled.

Every time you change the pack, upload the new zip and put its new SHA-1 hash in server.properties, or players get the old pack or none at all.

How to add a resource pack to a Minecraft server

To add a resource pack to a Minecraft server running Java Edition, take these 5 steps:

  1. Zip the pack so that pack.mcmeta and the assets folder sit at the top of the zip.
  2. Upload the zip to a place that gives a direct download link, a link that starts the download of the file itself. The file can be up to 250 MiB.
  3. Work out its SHA-1 hash: certutil -hashfile pack.zip SHA1 on Windows, shasum -a 1 pack.zip on a Mac and sha1sum pack.zip on Linux.
  4. Fill in server.properties: the link after resource-pack= and the hash, in lowercase, after resource-pack-sha1=.
  5. Restart the server. Players get the question to download the pack the next time they join.

A Dropbox link works once you change dl=0 at the end to dl=1, which makes Dropbox send the file instead of its preview page. A Google Drive share link opens a page, so the game cannot use it. The optional resource-pack-id, added in 1.20.3, gives the pack a UUID of its own so clients can tell it apart from other packs.

How to make a resource pack required on a Minecraft server

To make a resource pack required on a Minecraft server, set require-resource-pack=true in server.properties: a player who declines the pack is disconnected with This server requires a custom resource pack. Write your own text for the question in resource-pack-prompt, for example why the pack matters on your server. That field takes chat component text, so a plain sentence goes between quotes, such as "Our custom items need this pack".

A required pack is the right choice when the server cannot work without it: custom items, menus drawn with the pack or a map with its own textures. For a pack that only looks nicer, leave it optional, because a player on a slow connection may rather skip a large download.

Server Resource Packs: Prompt, Enabled or Disabled

Server Resource Packs is a setting with 3 values in each server's entry in the multiplayer list, under Edit: Prompt asks every time the server sends a pack, Enabled accepts the pack without asking and Disabled refuses it. A player who set it to Disabled is disconnected from a server that requires its pack, so switching it back to Prompt or Enabled is the first fix when a pack never appears.

Why is my server resource pack not loading?

A server resource pack is not loading when the game cannot download it or rejects what it downloaded, and 1 of these 5 causes is nearly always behind it:

  1. The link opens a page. The game needs the file itself, so a share link with a preview page fails.
  2. The hash does not match. You updated the zip but not resource-pack-sha1, and the game checks the download against that hash.
  3. The zip has an extra folder, with pack.mcmeta one level down, so the game does not see a pack in it.
  4. The file is too big. Packs over 250 MiB are not accepted.
  5. The player's entry is set to Disabled under Server Resource Packs.

The game downloads server packs on the player's computer, so the server's console stays quiet when a download fails. Ask a player for their latest.log in .minecraft/logs, which records the download and its error.

Where does Minecraft save server resource packs?

Minecraft saves server resource packs in the downloads folder inside .minecraft since 1.20.3, and in server-resource-packs before that. The game keeps up to 20 server packs there and gives each a UUID, so a pack with the same hash does not download a second time. Deleting the folder forces a fresh download on the next join.

How to add multiple resource packs to a Minecraft server

To add multiple resource packs to a Minecraft server, merge them into one zip, because server.properties holds a single link. Since 1.20.3 the game itself can stack several server packs at once, so a plugin that sends more than one pack is the other way. When you merge by hand, the pack you copy in last wins every file the packs share, so put the most important one in last.

Which pack format does a server resource pack need?

A server resource pack needs the pack format of the Minecraft version your server runs: /version in the game, or F3 + V, shows the number. Since 1.21.9, pack.mcmeta lists a min_format and a max_format instead of a single pack_format, so one pack can cover a range of versions. A pack made for another version can still load, but textures that were renamed since then, or did not exist yet, can look wrong.

How to add a resource pack to a Minecraft Bedrock server

To add a resource pack to a Minecraft Bedrock server, put the pack in the world's resource_packs folder, list its UUID and version from manifest.json in world_resource_packs.json, and set texturepack-required=true in server.properties to make players use it. Bedrock players then download it from the server as they join, with no link to host. Our guide to Bedrock server hosting covers add-ons with behavior packs as well.

Before you add a resource pack to your server

Before you add a resource pack to your server, check 3 things on your own computer first:

  1. Test the pack in singleplayer

    Load it as a normal resource pack in the same Minecraft version, and check that nothing shows up purple and black.

  2. Check the zip's layout

    pack.mcmeta has to sit at the top of the zip, not inside a folder in it.

  3. Open the link in a private window

    If it downloads the zip at once, the server can use it. If it shows a page, it cannot.

Questions about server resource packs

Can a server force a resource pack on players?

Yes, on Java with require-resource-pack=true in server.properties: players who decline are disconnected. On Bedrock, texturepack-required=true makes players use the world's packs. Players still choose whether to join at all.

How big can a server resource pack be?

Up to 250 MiB on Java. Keep it far smaller if you can, because every new player downloads the whole file before the pack works, and a slow connection makes the first join long.

Do I need the SHA-1 hash?

It is optional, but recommended. With the hash the game checks that the download is the file you meant, and it can tell a new version of the pack from the one it already has.

Can I host the resource pack on my server?

Only with a web server or a plugin that serves the file over http, because Minecraft downloads the pack from a link, not from the game connection. Most owners put the zip on a file host or in cloud storage with a direct link.

Can players turn off a server resource pack?

Yes, when the pack is optional: they decline it when asked, or set Server Resource Packs to Disabled in the server's entry. On a server with require-resource-pack=true, declining means they cannot play there.

What is the difference between a resource pack and a data pack?

A resource pack changes how the game looks and sounds, and every player downloads it. A data pack changes how the game works, such as recipes and loot, and runs on the server only, in the world's datapacks folder.

Still unsure? Use the Minecraft server finder