About ViaBackwards
From HangarAllow Java Edition clients with older versions to connect to your Minecraft server
ViaBackwards
Installation
This plugin requires to have ViaVersion installed. Drag and drop both plugins in your plugin folder, and you are good to go.
Requires Java 17. See here how to update your installed Java version. As a last resort, you can download Java 8 downgraded builds from our ci.
Important: ViaBackwards cannot add new features to older clients. Certain features, like client-side attribute handling, will still break and cannot be fixed.
Supported Versions
FAQ
Do you support 1.8 and lower? \ No, use ViaRewind or ProtocolSupport if you want backwards compatibility for 1.8 and lower.
Can I use this with Velocity/Bungee? \ Yes, you can also use both ViaBackwards and ViaVersion with Velocity. For BungeeCord, you need https://hangar.papermc.io/ViaVersion/ViaBungee
Clients with versions lower than 1.17 can't see blocks under y=0, will that ever be fixed? \ No.
How can I report issues and bugs? \ You can report bugs on the GitHub issue tracker. You can also use the Discussion section from the resource or send me a private message.
Why did you not implement this inside ViaVersion? \ The aim of ViaVersion is to allow a newer Minecraft client on an older server; by making it inside ViaVersion, people will expect us to also create full backwards compatibility in the future.
API
Maven:
<repository>
<id>viaversion-repo</id>
<url>https://repo.viaversion.com/</url>
</repository>
<dependency>
<groupId>com.viaversion</groupId>
<artifactId>viabackwards</artifactId>
<version>LATEST</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
Links
Highlights
From source dataGame versions
Supports 73 Minecraft versions, the newest being 4.2.1.
Loaders
Runs on Paper, Waterfall and Velocity.
Footprint
Rated a light load on a server.
ViaBackwards on Nxeon
From our catalogue- One-click install
- Supported on Nxeon Minecraft servers, for Paper servers. We download it from Hangar, place it, and restart the server.
- Server side
- Required on the server
- Server type needed
- Paper, Waterfall, Velocity
- Server load
- light
- Smallest plan we suggest
- Minecraft — 2 GB (2 GB RAM). This follows our own load rating above, not a benchmark.
- Latest build
- 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+658 (snapshot), released 2026-10-12
Game versions by loader
| Loader | Game versions | Newest |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | 26.3 |
| Velocity | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | 26.3 |
From 16 recorded builds of ViaBackwards.
Recent builds
| Build | Released | Game versions | Loaders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+658 snapshot | 2026-10-12 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+657 snapshot | 2026-10-11 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+656 snapshot | 2026-10-11 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+655 snapshot | 2026-10-11 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+654 snapshot | 2026-10-11 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
| 5.12.2-SNAPSHOT+653 snapshot | 2026-10-11 | 1.10 to 26.3 (70 versions) | Paper, Velocity |
Dependencies
- Required: ViaVersion (hangar, not in our catalogue)
- Optional: ViaRewind (hangar, not in our catalogue)
Declared by the newest build that lists any. Required ones are installed with it on one-click installs.
Run ViaBackwards on a Minecraft server
Pick a server or deploy a new one above; it is installed in one click.
What kind of mod it is
From the catalogPlugins
Its source category doesn’t say more about what it does, so NxLabs lists it under Other.
Runs on your server
From source side supportHangar lists ViaBackwards as required on the server. Check its Hangar page to see whether players need it too.
Compatibility
- Game
- Minecraft
- Loaders
- PaperWaterfallVelocity
- Runs on
- Serverrequired on the server
- Game versions
- 4.2.1 and 72 earlier
- Requires
- One-click install needs a Paper server.
Verified at the source
- ✓HangarOfficial listing, checked 2026-10-13Open ↗
- ✓AuthorViaVersion, as published on Hangar
- ✓LicenseGPLFree








