--- title: "How to run an All the Mods (ATM) server" description: "500 mods: why the 8 GB tier isn’t enough, when it’s the CPU and not the RAM, and the three classic ways an ATM server fails." url: https://tickserv.com/en/guides/all-the-mods-server site: "TickServ (https://tickserv.com)" lang: en published: 2026-07-17 updated: 2026-08-22 games: [minecraft] --- # How to run an All the Mods (ATM) server All the Mods is the reference "kitchen-sink" modpack: **around 500 mods** in version 10, tech through magic, and over **21 million downloads** on CurseForge. It's also one of the heaviest packs to host. Here's what it actually demands, and the three things that sink an ATM server. ## Which version, and why it matters ATM ships one generation per Minecraft version (ATM8, ATM9, ATM10…), and they aren't interchangeable. The latest, **All the Mods 10**, targets **Minecraft 1.21.1** on the **NeoForge** loader. The loader has changed across generations — the modded Minecraft ecosystem moved from Forge to NeoForge, and each ATM generation follows whichever was current. You don't have to pick it: **the pack imposes it**, and it's installed for you. Do check which generation you're launching on the pack's page, then make sure your players install **exactly the same version**, or the connection is refused. Choose the version by what your group wants to play, not by novelty: an ATM run lasts months, and you don't migrate an ATM world across major versions. ## RAM: the real number, and why 8 GB isn't enough This is what costs everyone their evenings, and it's badly explained everywhere. When you read "ATM wants 8 GB", that means the **JVM heap** (`-Xmx`) — not the machine's memory. The two are never equal: the operating system, Docker and Java's off-heap memory live **beside** the heap. Here, the heap is the smaller of "RAM − 2 GB" and "75% of RAM": | Tier you pick | Actual JVM heap | Verdict for ATM | | ------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------- | | 8 GB | 6 GB | too tight — the pack chokes | | **16 GB** | **12 GB** | **the right choice** | | 32 GB | 24 GB | large group, heavy exploring | In other words: **take the 16 GB tier.** The 8 GB tier yields only a 6 GB heap, and a 500-mod pack survives startup on it then dies the moment someone explores. That's why the creation screen warns you if you go below — it compares heaps, not machine sizes. Note carefully: CurseForge states **no official RAM figure** for ATM10. The tier above is what we recommend for this pack, not a recommendation from its authors. ## CPU, the other half of the problem A 500-mod pack doesn't only cost memory: it costs **compute per tick**. Hundreds of Create machines running, pipes, AE2 automation — all of it has to be simulated twenty times a second. The symptom is distinct from a memory one: the server doesn't fall over, it **drags**. Blocks take a second to react, mobs stutter, machines slow down. If the heap is comfortable and it still drags, RAM is no longer the issue: move to the **dedicated CPU** level, the only change that lifts ticks per second. ## The first boot takes twenty minutes Five hundred mods have to be downloaded, resolved, and written out as hundreds of configuration files — then a world crammed with added structures and biomes has to be generated. **Expect 15 to 25 minutes** on first boot. A vanilla server is ready in two minutes; don't compare the two. This is the classic phantom failure: people assume it crashed, kill it, start over — and never finish that first boot. Let it run to the end, once. The later ones are fast. ## The three ways an ATM server fails **A different pack version client-side.** The most frequent by far. Check the version number, not the name: "All the Mods 10" exists in dozens of builds. **Too small a heap.** The server starts, holds at spawn, then dies when a player wanders off. Generating modded chunks is the most memory-hungry thing it does. **An ATM world loaded without ATM.** A world from this pack contains thousands of blocks Minecraft has never heard of. Loaded without its mods — or with a different major version of the pack — it loses them permanently. Never switch packs on an existing world: create a second server. ## What's kept The data directory is archived **before every shutdown**, with a `save-all flush` immediately before, and restored on the next boot. An automatic backup runs **every 30 minutes** while you play, of which the **last 5** are kept. Storage is free, server off included. What isn't archived: the server's libraries and binaries, re-downloaded each session. Your archive holds only your world, your configuration and your mods. ## Why a big pack by the hour changes the maths ATM is precisely where by-the-hour billing pays off most, exactly because it demands a big machine. A monthly subscription for 16 GB costs full price whether you play or not. By the hour, the same machine costs **€0.05/h**: three evenings of three hours a week, about 36 hours a month, comes to **€1.80**. And with the server off it's **€0** — where a 16 GB machine left running is paid for in full, played or not. It's the one case where "big modpack" and "small budget" hold together. > [Create your Minecraft server](https://tickserv.com/en/games/minecraft) and paste in the All the Mods link. Your first session is free.