Supported game versions
Which versions a client can connect with, and why the list ends where it does.
Set this on the client, as Game version.
The list
auto · 1.8.9 · 1.12.2 · 1.16.5 · 1.17.1 · 1.18.2 · 1.19.4 · 1.20.1 · 1.20.2 ·
1.20.4 · 1.20.6 · 1.21.1 · 1.21.3 · 1.21.4 · 1.21.5 · 1.21.6 · 1.21.8 · 1.21.9 ·
1.21.10 · 1.21.11 · 26.1
auto
auto pings the server and uses whatever it reports. This is the right default: you do not have to
know or track what the server runs.
The negotiated version is still checked against the list above. A server answering with something unsupported fails the start cleanly, with the version named, rather than crash-looping.
Pin a version when
- The server's ping reports something different from what it actually speaks. Some server networks and version-spoofing plugins do this.
- You want the client to behave identically after a server upgrade.
Why the newer releases are listed individually
Everything from 1.20.4 up is listed release by release, because a 1.21.x server accepts only its own
protocol number. A client pinned to the nearest older entry is rejected during the handshake, so
1.21.9 really does mean 1.21.9.
Older releases are coarser. Those protocols are frozen and the popular servers on them are covered by the entries shown.
Why it stops at 26.1
This is about data, not caution. A client needs a protocol definition for the version it speaks, and none has been published above 26.1 yet. A version appearing in a version catalogue is not the same as its data existing.
So 26.2 cannot be offered until that data ships. Choosing an unsupported version fails the start with a clear message instead of a client that crash-loops, which is the behaviour you want when a server upgrades ahead of us.
If a server has moved past 26.1, the client cannot connect until support lands.