Switching games

A Hostboi server is not tied to one game. The panel includes a game switcher (the Egg Changer) that rebuilds the server for a different title on the same plan. The invoice does not change, and neither does your billing term.

This is not the same thing as changing your plan size — that happens in the billing portal, and is covered in Upgrading or downgrading.

Before you switch

A switch applies the new game’s defaults, including its startup command, its server image and every startup setting. Anything you tuned for the old game does not follow you across.

That means settings you would hate to lose:

• the world or server name
• the join password
• the admin / RCON password, if the game uses one
• the player slot count and any whitelist

Note them down (a screenshot of Startup is enough) and take a backup — see Backups and restores. If you later switch back, you will be starting the old game again from its own files and defaults, not from the settings you had.

Which games are available

The switch list is filtered by RAM. You can switch to a game whose memory floor fits the RAM your server actually has — the paid size plus any free boost. If a game is missing from the list, one of these is true:

• your plan is below that game’s minimum RAM, or
• the game is not offered as a switch target, or
• the current game has no switch rule (Minecraft Java is the notable one — a Paper server cannot currently switch games from the panel).

That filter exists so a switch cannot put you on a plan smaller than the game needs. It is the same rule that applies when you buy: see the floor for each title on hostboi.com/games.

Note

If the game you want is not in the list and you think it should be, open a ticket. It may be a one-line rule on our side, or it may be a genuine RAM floor — we will tell you which.

How to switch

1. Back up first, and note the settings above.
2. Open the server in the panel and find the game switcher (Egg Changer) for that server.
3. Pick the target game from the list and confirm.
4. The panel switches the server’s image and startup configuration, and the new game installs on first start.
5. Start the server and watch Console. The first boot after a switch downloads the new game’s files and can take several minutes.
6. Open Startup, set the world name, passwords and slots for the new game, save, and restart.

After the switch

• Set your passwords again. This is the one that catches people out: the new game starts with its own defaults, which for some titles means a blank or generated admin password.
• Reconnect with the new game’s port. Your server address is unchanged, but check the server page — some games use a different port for queries, and the join port is the one to share.
• Reinstall mods and plugins for the new game. Files from the old game are not converted, and a plugin folder for one title means nothing to another.
• Expect a fresh world. A switch gives you the new game’s default world, not a migrated one.

Switching back

Switching back is the same operation in reverse, with the same rules: RAM floor, fresh defaults, and a new install. If the old game’s files are still on disk, they are not automatically the world the server loads — restore the backup you took before the switch if you want that world back.

• Backups and restores
• The free RAM boost