# The server runs an older Minecraft version than the latest release

Paper's update check at startup reports that newer Minecraft releases exist than the one the server runs.

- Code: `server_version_outdated`
- Severity: warning
- Category: Startup
- Server types: Paper
- Page: https://failures.perland.online/failures/server_version_outdated/

## Example log

```text
[21:47:03 WARN]: *************************************************************************************
[21:47:03 WARN]: You are running the latest build for your Minecraft version (26.1.2)
[21:47:03 WARN]: However, you are 1 release(s) behind the latest stable release (26.2)!
[21:47:03 WARN]: It is recommended that you update as soon as possible
[21:47:03 WARN]: https://papermc.io/downloads/paper
[21:47:03 WARN]: *************************************************************************************
```

## Parameters

| Parameter | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `latest` | The latest stable Minecraft release Paper knows of, such as 26.2. |
| `releasesBehind` | How many releases the server's Minecraft version is behind that one. |

## Log lines this page covers

- `However, you are ... release(s) behind the latest stable release (...)!`

## What it means

When it starts, Paper checks for updates and prints a banner when the server's Minecraft version is not the newest stable release. The banner says how many releases behind the server is and which release is the latest. The server runs normally: this is a notice, not a failure.

The rest of the banner (its frame, the build notice, the advice and the download link) is not shown as an issue of its own.

## Why it happens

- **A new Minecraft version came out** since the server was set up.
- **The version is pinned on purpose**, to keep plugins or mods that do not support the newer release yet, or to match the clients players use.

## How to fix

You do not have to do anything. Staying on an older version is fine while it suits your players and plugins. To update:

1. Check that your plugins support the newer version (their pages list the versions they work with).
2. Make a backup of the world. Updating converts the world to the new version, and an older version cannot load it afterwards.
3. Change the server's Minecraft version and start it. Players then need a client of the new version.

## In Perland

The issue appears in the server's Diagnosis tab as a warning. The Minecraft version is set in the server's Settings, and Perland asks you to confirm a version change because of what it does to the world.

## References

- [Paper downloads](https://papermc.io/downloads/paper)
- [Minecraft Wiki: Java Edition version history](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Java_Edition_version_history)