Settings, Templates, And Versions¶
Swarm Hosts separates game configuration from CPU, memory, placement, files, world data, and live Server Actions. Under Settings, choose the game's named settings view, such as Minecraft Java Settings, for the values that control how the game starts. Use Settings → Version Management for offered managed profiles, requested game versions, and Swarm server image updates.
Review Game Settings Before Saving¶
After initial setup, game configuration files are the source of truth. The settings page reads file-backed values from the assigned host on every visit. It shows an unavailable state if the files cannot be read; it does not display old saved UI values as current settings. Options with no native file counterpart, such as a runtime selector or a startup flag, remain launch options.
Saving updates only the fields you changed and checks the file revision before publishing an edit. Other settings and custom configuration remain intact. Ordinary starts, restarts, image refreshes, and restores do not replay old UI values over existing game files. Stop a game before manually editing files it actively rewrites, and keep a recent backup.
- Open the Swarm Server and choose Settings → the game's settings view.
- Select Update [game name] settings and edit the supported fields.
- Select Review changes.
- Check each displayed difference and the stated restart or backup consequence.
- Select Update [game name] settings to save the reviewed draft.
The review is a preview. It does not save the settings or queue work by itself. Changing any field after the review clears the displayed plan; review the new draft before saving. Saving rechecks the current server settings. If the server changed in another tab or session, Swarm Hosts refuses the stale form; reload the page and review the current settings again.
Password values and other secrets are not included in the change summary. Settings availability and validation come from the current game catalog.
Saving Minecraft settings redeploys the server and disconnects connected players. Saving them on a stopped server starts it. Plan a maintenance window and keep a recent backup before saving.
Review Minecraft Settings, Version, And Content Together¶
An eligible Minecraft Swarm Server can show Combined change review under Settings → Minecraft Java Settings. Use it to compare a game-settings draft, a managed-version target, and the attached content revision in one view.
The combined review appears only when managed content is enabled, an attached revision matches the current Minecraft version and loader, managed version choices are available, and the server is running or stopped.
- Open Server Tools → Mods & Content and attach or select the desired revision.
- Open Settings → Minecraft Java Settings, select Update Minecraft Java settings, change the supported settings, and choose the managed-version target.
- Select Review together.
- Read the numbered plan in order and resolve every displayed conflict. Reviewing does not queue work.
- To change only settings and version, leave the content option clear and select Apply reviewed settings and version.
- To include the attached content draft, select After settings and version deploy successfully, also apply this exact content draft with a separate safety backup, confirm the review, and select Apply settings, version, and content.
Acceptance means the work was admitted; it does not mean every stage completed. The review order has these consequences:
| Stage | What happens | If it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Before deployment | Swarm Hosts creates the primary safety backup for the settings and version change. | No settings, version, or content work starts. |
| Settings and version | Swarm Hosts applies those targets and deploys the server. | Content does not start. Check the deployment status and logs. |
| Content | Swarm Hosts rechecks the exact content revision and current server state, prepares the content, creates a linked content backup, then applies and verifies the files. | A conflict is cancelled before files changed. A later failure uses the content stage's recovery flow. |
The stages are ordered, but they are not one atomic change. A content conflict can leave the settings and version deployment completed while content is cancelled before files changed. A later content failure does not automatically roll back the earlier settings and version deployment. Follow the combined status in Activity & Logs and use Content history for the content stage and its recovery status.
If the browser shows Outcome unknown, do not change the drafts. Select Retry this exact request to recover the same receipt. The retry is manual and does not authorize changed fields. If saved-request recovery is unavailable, reload the Swarm Server and use backup, operation, and content history to establish what was admitted before starting a new review.
The first backup protects the settings and version deployment. The linked content backup belongs to the later content stage. A backup marked Available confirms that an archive exists; it does not prove a successful restore, game startup, or recoverability.
Save Settings For A Later Launch¶
On a Swarm Server's named game-settings view, enter a name under Save these non-secret settings as a template, then select Save template. Template names are trimmed, use 1–80 printable ASCII characters, and may contain plain letters, numbers, spaces, and supported punctuation. Saving the same name with different capitalization replaces that template. A template captures the server's saved settings, so save any reviewed settings changes before creating one; unsaved form edits are not included.
Templates belong to your account and the selected game. You can keep up to 50 per game. Delete obsolete templates from that game's launch page to make room for new ones.
To reuse one:
- Open Launch a server and choose the same game.
- Choose a Saved settings template and select Use template.
- Review the filled game settings and finish the ordinary launch choices.
- Launch only after checking the full form.
A settings template includes only the non-secret game-setting fields that were present when it was saved. It excludes passwords, files, world data, Mods & Content selections, placement, CPU and memory, and the game version. Swarm Hosts checks the saved values against the current game catalog when you select the template. New catalog fields keep their current defaults. Server name, resources, host or zone, and version remain choices for the new launch.
For a one-time launch without saving a named template, use Use settings for a new server on the existing Swarm Server. The same non-secret and current catalog limits apply.
Review A Version Change¶
When a game offers a managed version profile or requested game version:
- Open Settings → Version Management.
- Choose one of the offered targets and any available safety-backup option.
- Select Review version change.
- Check the current and target versions, expected downtime, backup behavior, restart and readiness steps, and the displayed rollback guidance.
- Check the confirmation and select Confirm and queue version change.
Changing the target clears the review and confirmation. Review the new draft before queueing it. If the Swarm Server settings changed after the form opened, Swarm Hosts refuses the stale request so you can reload and review the current state.
Version options depend on the game. A game without a version target continues to use its current managed image. A separate Swarm server update may be offered when that image has a newer approved revision. A reviewed plan describes the expected work; check Activity & Logs, readiness, and a real player connection after the queued operation finishes.
Minecraft version or loader changes require a temporary safety backup before the update. If that required backup cannot be captured and verified, the version change does not start. A readiness or version check can still fail after Swarm Hosts recreates the server on the selected image and runtime; the failure is reported rather than rolled back automatically. Return to Version Management and use the retained rollback action only while its displayed recovery point remains available and eligible. See Changing Versions Safely for the detailed validation and rollback flow.