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How to Update Your BTH - Beyond the Horizon Server (1.20.1)

How to Update Your BTH - Beyond the Horizon Server (1.20.1)

MinecraftServer AdministrationMod Packs
4 min read

This process is what we use to update the BTH - Beyond the Horizon modpack that we have hosted on CloudNord.net. This process is the same for just about any hosting provider.

If you host your own server either locally or on a VPS or cloud server somewhere, you may be able to simplify things by staging it directly on the server and copying files over.

In any case, this is the general process.

1. Backup Your Current Server

  • Stop your server.
  • Make a full copy or backup of the server root folder, or at minimum:
    • Your world folders
    • server.properties
    • Player data files (whitelist.json, ops.json, banned-*.json)

2. Prepare the New Release

  1. Download the latest BTH server zip from Curseforge. You can find this in files > current version > additional files.
  2. Extract to a temporary staging folder. I just extract it in my Downloads folder since I'm going to delete it later.
    BTH server files extracted
  3. In a command prompt or terminal, run:
    • serverstart.bat (Windows) OR ./serverstart.sh (Linux/Mac)
      → Let it run until it generates libraries/ and other needed folders.
      → It will stop because eula.txt hasn't been agreed — that's fine. Stop here.
    • You do not need to actually start the staging server beyond this point. If you update the eula.txt file, you're going to get a bunch more files and a world created that are just more files to weed through.

Note you can generally run these files by double clicking on them in the file manager or Finder, but I prefer to open a command prompt or terminal window and run these manually.

Running serverstart script

Server initialization output

3. On Your Existing Server: Remove Old Modpack Content

Delete these folders:

  • config/
  • datapacks/
  • defaultconfigs/
  • kubejs/
  • libraries/
  • modernfix/
  • mods/
  • patchouli_books/
  • resourcepacks/

A safe way to do this is to rename these folders to [foldername].back. Like mods.back, config.back, etc. Then if there are problems, it's very easy to get them back. Then later delete them once the new server is running.

(Leave your worlds and root config files intact.)

4. Copy Fresh Files From Staging

Copy these folders from the staging folder into your live server folder. If you are FTPing these files up to a hosted server or need to move files across the Internet, it's best to archive all these into a single ZIP file.

  • config/
  • datapacks/
  • defaultconfigs/
  • kubejs/
  • libraries/
  • mods/
  • resourcepacks/

Note: You may notice that patchouli_books/ and modernfix/ were deleted in Step 3 but aren't being replaced here. That's perfectly fine - these folders will be automatically recreated when the server starts up.

I always select the folders with CTRL+click, then right click and choose the option to archive or compress files, depending on your Operating system.

Creating archive of update files

⚠️ Do not overwrite your server.properties, player list JSONs, or world folders.

FTP the .zip archive up to the server and extract it using the command line if you have access, or use the hosting provider's file interface to unzip. You want these files to be extracted in the same directory where you deleted the previous folders.

5. Restart Your Server

  • Start the server normally (using your host's start script).
  • Check logs/latest.log for errors.
  • Connect with a client on the same BTH version.

Important Notes

  • Always backup your server before any update
  • Keep your world data and server configuration files safe
  • Test the update in a staging environment if possible
  • Make sure all players update their clients to match the server version

This process ensures a smooth transition to the latest BTH version while preserving all your precious world data and player configurations. Happy updating!