Anvil-MC 1.9.2 reworks how mods and plugins are managed on a Minecraft server you host on Android. You can switch any add-on off without deleting it, update it with one tap, and move a modded server to a new Minecraft version without checking every mod by hand. The same release adds a Gameplay tab for game rules, SkinsRestorer for offline-mode servers and Bedrock players on the whitelist.
Turn a mod or plugin off without deleting it
Tap any installed mod or plugin to open its actions. The first one is an on/off switch. A switched-off add-on is not loaded the next time the server starts, but it stays installed and keeps its config folder. Flip it back on and it picks up with the settings you left it with.
That makes the classic debugging move a lot less painful. When a server crashes on start or a plugin misbehaves, the usual advice is to remove add-ons one at a time until the problem goes away. On a phone that used to mean deleting jars and losing their configs along the way. Now it is a few taps, and nothing is lost.
- Crash after adding something new: switch the newest add-on off and start again.
- Lag you cannot place: switch off the heavy hitters (world generation, minimaps, big content mods) one at a time and compare.
- Seasonal or event plugins: leave them installed and switch them on when you need them.
One-tap mod and plugin updates
Installed mods and plugins now show when an update is available. Tap it and the new version replaces the old one. No hunting for the right file, no downloading on the phone and moving it into the mods or plugins folder yourself.
Stop the server before a big round of updates. Updates take effect on the next start anyway, and updating a handful of add-ons at once is easier to reason about if something goes wrong. If one update causes trouble, switch that add-on off and the rest of the server keeps running.
Update your Minecraft version, mods included
Moving a modded or plugin server to a new Minecraft version has always been the painful part. A new server jar is easy. Finding out which of your twenty mods have a build for the new version, and replacing each one, is not.
In 1.9.2, when you update your server software to a new Minecraft version, Anvil-MC checks every installed mod and plugin first. Everything that has a build for the new version is queued and updated along with the server. Anything that does not is listed before you confirm, so you can decide whether to go ahead without it, switch it off, or wait until its author catches up.
Back up the world first. Opening a world in a newer Minecraft version upgrades it, and there is no going back to the old version with that save. Download a copy from the file browser before a version jump, especially on a world your group has spent months on.
New Gameplay tab
Game rules used to be spread between server.properties and console commands. The new Gameplay tab puts them in one place:
- Keep inventory, mob griefing and fire spread
- Daylight cycle and weather cycle
- Instant respawn, PvP and flight
- Command blocks and spawn protection
- Idle timeout and server resource packs
Three presets, Default, Relaxed and Builder, set a group of rules in one tap, which is the quick way to turn a survival world into something friendlier for casual players or a creative build server.
Real skins on offline-mode servers
On an offline-mode server, Minecraft does not fetch player skins, so everyone shows up as Steve or Alex. Offline-mode servers can now install SkinsRestorer straight from the setup wizard, and players keep the skins they actually use.
Bedrock players on the whitelist
If your Java server lets Bedrock players in through Geyser and Floodgate, the whitelist used to be a problem: it expected Java usernames. The whitelist now accepts Bedrock players too and looks up their Xbox account, so a whitelisted server can still welcome friends on phones, consoles and Windows.
Available now. All of this ships in Anvil-MC 1.9.2 on Google Play and as a direct APK from anvil-mc.com. New to mods and plugins on Android? Start with Custom JAR servers, and find the full release notes in the changelog.
