Cobblemon Server Setup: Pokemon in Minecraft on 4-8 GB

Cobblemon is a free, open source Minecraft mod that brings Pokemon into the game, and with over 25.5 million downloads on CurseForge it has largely replaced Pixelmon as the standard way of doing that. A Cobblemon server for a group of friends often runs perfectly well on 4 to 8 GB of RAM, whereas old Pixelmon servers usually needed 10 to 12 GB. Versions exist for both Fabric and NeoForge, and that choice then determines which add-ons and optimisation mods you can use.

What makes Cobblemon different from Pixelmon?

At heart, Cobblemon is a single mod with a blocky style that fits Minecraft itself: the models look as though they came out of the game rather than being pasted on top. The mod is free and open source, and that last part explains the growth. Anyone can build extensions for it, and people do so on a large scale.

That does not make Pixelmon dead, or worse. It remains the stronger option if you want HD models and the most complete, mainline-faithful experience in a single mod, without hunting down add-ons yourself. With Cobblemon you assemble that completeness yourself, and that costs time and upkeep. You see the difference on the hosting bill too: Cobblemon generally asks a good deal less RAM than an old Pixelmon server.

Fabric or NeoForge: which loader do you pick?

Cobblemon comes in versions for Fabric and for NeoForge. You make that choice once: it decides which add-ons and optimisation mods you can run and what all of your players install.

Important: these are mods, not plugins. Plugins (Bukkit, Spigot, Paper, Purpur) run purely server-side on vanilla mechanics and players install nothing. Mods are loaded by a mod loader, add genuinely new mobs, blocks, items and dimensions, and have to sit on both server and client at exactly the same version. One player on a different version simply will not get in. Our article on what a Minecraft modpack is and how to install one goes deeper into that distinction.

Fabric is lightweight, keeps pace with new Minecraft versions quickly and is the home of Sodium and Lithium. NeoForge is the modernised Forge fork that leads on 1.20.2 and newer, and where most of the big content packs live. In practice: first check which add-ons you want to run and which loader they exist for, because add-ons are almost always loader-specific.

How do spawns and biomes work in Cobblemon?

Cobblemon makes Pokemon appear through spawn files that set out, per species, where and when that happens. Those files work with biome tags rather than individual biomes, with a rarity category running from fairly common to ultra-rare, and with conditions such as time of day, weather, light level and altitude. Water species and cave species have conditions of their own.

That has two consequences for you as the administrator. First, spawns are server data: if you want to make a species rarer, keep an area empty or build an event, you do that with a datapack on the server, not separately on every player's machine. Test it on a copy of your world: a mistake in a spawn file only becomes obvious once nothing has appeared for days.

Second, new biomes need tags. Since 2026, Minecraft Java has used year-based version numbers: after the 1.21.x series came 26.1 "Tiny Takeover" in March 2026, then 26.2 "Chaos Cubed" in June 2026, and 26.3 is in snapshots with, among other things, a new "dappled forest" biome. When a pack moves to a version like that, it usually takes a while before the spawn tables cover the new biomes, and they feel noticeably empty in the meantime. That is not a broken server but a spawn table playing catch-up, and it is one of the reasons many Dutch servers happily stay on 1.21 "Tricky Trials", still the most-played version.

Do not crank spawn rates up because things feel empty. More Pokemon means more entities, and entities are exactly what eats your TPS, the number of server ticks per second. Start with view-distance and simulation-distance instead; our guide to optimising your Minecraft server walks through that order step by step.

How much RAM does a Cobblemon server need?

For a group of friends, 4 GB is a realistic starting point and 8 GB is generous. With a big stack of add-ons, a large explored world and more players online at once, you sit at the upper end.

ATM10 shows where the gap lies: that pack demands at least 10 GB, 12 GB for a small group and 14 to 16 GB with five or more players or heavy automation. Cobblemon sits comfortably below that.

Storage counts as well: with ATM10, an SSD cuts start-up time from over 10 minutes on an HDD to 2 to 3 minutes. On a lighter pack the gain is smaller, but you still notice it during chunk generation. Every package for Minecraft hosting at MC-Node runs on NVMe SSD storage, with automatic backups and DDoS protection included.

How do you set up a Cobblemon server for your friends?

This order works on any panel, including the Pterodactyl panel we use. Pin down the versions first, install afterwards.

1. Pick the pack or mod version and note the matching Minecraft version and loader (Fabric or NeoForge). That is what everyone will need to share.
2. Create a server with enough RAM: 4 GB if you are starting small, 8 GB if you already know add-ons are coming.
3. Install the correct server base at exactly that version and choose a Java version to match. Modern packs are strict about this; ATM10 on 1.21.1, for example, requires Java 21 and will not start on Java 17.
4. Put the mods in the mods folder, or let the panel install the pack if it can.
5. Start the server once, accept the EULA and stop it again. Only then edit server.properties: view-distance and simulation-distance first.
6. Turn the whitelist on before you share the IP. A world that has been looted is hard to repair after the fact.
7. Add add-ons one at a time and restart after each one; if it crashes, you know which one did it.
8. Share a client installation with exactly the same mods and versions. Check for each add-on whether it belongs on the client too or runs server-side only.

Take a backup before you update anything. Automatic backups are on by default with us, but a manual copy right before an update remains the cheapest insurance there is.

Which add-ons are popular, and where does it go wrong?

For many people the add-on ecosystem is the whole reason to pick Cobblemon. The extensions fall roughly into four groups:

• Extra species and generations. Standalone packs that expand the number of available Pokemon, often by generation.
• Quest systems and progression. Goals, rewards and a storyline, so a server is more than wandering about freely.
• Mechanics from the games. Breeding, trading, riding your Pokemon and battle extensions that move closer to the original titles.
• Quality of life. Overviews of what spawns where, search functions and small interface improvements.

Where it goes wrong is predictable: every add-on has its own update rhythm. A single straggler pins your whole server to an older Minecraft version, because the base mod and all extensions have to speak the same version. So pick a handful of add-ons you genuinely use, note the exact version of each, and check at every update whether the rest can come along.

Why is this cheaper to host than a kitchen-sink pack?

A kitchen-sink pack such as All the Mods 10 switches on 400 to 500 mods at once: world generation from dozens of sources, hundreds of block entities and machines that keep ticking when nobody is watching. Hence that floor of 10 GB. Optimisation mods on NeoForge such as FerriteCore (30 to 40 percent less RAM), Canary and ModernFix soften that, but they do not change the order of magnitude.

Cobblemon is fundamentally one mod plus a handful of add-ons. The load has a different shape: mainly entities and chunk generation from players exploring, not farms running day and night. That makes the RAM requirement both lower and more predictable.

When do you pick something else? If you want HD models and the most complete mainline-faithful experience in a single mod, Pixelmon is still the better choice, even though it costs more RAM. If friends need to join without installing anything, including from phone or console, mods are not the answer at all: you want a Paper server with plugins, or a Bedrock server.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does a Cobblemon server need? Cobblemon packs often run perfectly well on 4 to 8 GB of RAM. For a small group of friends, 4 GB is a good starting point; with lots of add-ons or more players you move towards 8 GB. At MC-Node 4 GB costs EUR 4.40 and 8 GB EUR 8.80 per month, so scaling up is a small step.

Does Cobblemon run on Fabric or on NeoForge? Versions exist for both. Pick the loader your add-ons run on, because they are almost always loader-specific. Fabric is lightweight and follows new Minecraft versions quickly; NeoForge is the modernised Forge fork that leads on 1.20.2 and newer.

Is Cobblemon better than Pixelmon? With 25.5+ million downloads, Cobblemon has largely replaced Pixelmon and is free, open source and cheaper to host. Pixelmon remains stronger if you want HD models and the most complete, mainline-faithful experience in one single mod, without assembling add-ons yourself.

Can Bedrock players join a Cobblemon server? No. Geyser with Floodgate lets Bedrock players onto a Java server, but only on vanilla mechanics. Cobblemon is a mod and has to be loaded at the same version on both server and client, and a Bedrock client cannot do that.

Can I use plugins such as EssentialsX and LuckPerms? Not directly. Those plugins belong to Bukkit, Spigot, Paper and Purpur, whereas Cobblemon is loaded by Fabric or NeoForge. For homes, warps and permissions, look for mods that fill the same role on your loader and Minecraft version.

Further reading

• Cobblemon or Pixelmon: Which Pokemon Mod to Pick in 2026?
• Create Modpacks on Your Server: Above and Beyond, Astral, Arcane
• ViaVersion: Let Players Join on Different Minecraft Versions