> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.freakhosting.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Start, Stop, and Restart Your Game Server

> Learn how to control your FREAKHOSTING game server's power state — start, stop, and restart — using the Game Panel at games.freakhosting.com.

## Taking Control of Your Server's Power

Every game server needs to be started, stopped, and restarted. Whether you are booting up for game night, shutting down for maintenance, or restarting to apply a new plugin, the three power buttons on the FREAKHOSTING Game Panel at [games.freakhosting.com](https://games.freakhosting.com) give you instant control. They are always visible at the top of every server page, so you are never more than one click away from any power action.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Difficulty" icon="gauge-low">
    Beginner
  </Card>

  <Card title="Time" icon="clock">
    1 Minute
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## The Three Power Buttons

At the top of your server page, three buttons sit in the header area, always visible no matter which tab you are on:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Start" icon="play">
    A **green button with a play icon**. Clicking it boots your server from an offline state. The server process starts, loads your configuration and world files, and begins accepting player connections. This is how you bring your server to life.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Restart" icon="rotate-right">
    A **dark/grey button with a refresh icon**. Clicking it performs a graceful restart -- the server shuts down cleanly, then immediately boots back up. Players will be briefly disconnected but can rejoin as soon as the server finishes starting. This is the most common power action you will use.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Stop" icon="stop">
    A **red outlined button with a stop icon**. Clicking it sends a graceful stop signal to the server. The server saves its data, disconnects all players, and shuts down. The server remains offline until you manually start it again.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  The buttons are context-aware. When your server is **offline**, the Start button is active while Stop is dimmed. When the server is **running**, Stop becomes active while Start is dimmed. Restart is available whenever the server is running.
</Info>

***

## Server Status Badge

Next to your server name in the header, a colored **status badge** tells you the current state at a glance:

| Status          | Badge Color | What It Means                                                  |
| --------------- | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Running**     | Green       | Your server is online and accepting player connections         |
| **Offline**     | Red         | Your server is stopped -- no players can connect               |
| **Starting...** | Yellow      | The server is in the process of booting up -- give it a moment |

The badge updates in real time, so you will see it change from **Offline** to **Starting...** to **Running** as your server boots, or from **Running** to **Offline** when you stop it.

***

## How to Start Your Server

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Your Server">
    Log into the Game Panel at [games.freakhosting.com](https://games.freakhosting.com) and click on the server you want to start. You will land on the Console tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the Status">
    Look at the status badge next to your server name. It should show **Offline** (red). If it already shows **Running** (green), your server is already online and you do not need to do anything.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Start">
    Click the green **Start** button in the header area. The status badge will change to **Starting...** (yellow) and the console will begin showing boot messages.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for Startup to Complete">
    Watch the console output. Your server is loading its configuration, world data, plugins, and mods. When you see a message like "Done" or "Server started," your server is fully online and ready for players.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Startup times vary depending on your server type and configuration. A vanilla Minecraft server might boot in 10-15 seconds, while a heavily modded server with large worlds could take 1-3 minutes. The console will tell you when it is ready.
</Tip>

***

## How to Stop Your Server

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Your Server">
    Navigate to your server on the Game Panel. The status badge should show **Running** (green).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Stop">
    Click the red **Stop** button in the header area. The server will begin its shutdown process.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for Shutdown">
    The server will save all data (world files, player data, configurations), gracefully disconnect all connected players, and then shut down the server process. The status badge will change to **Offline** (red) when complete.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### What Happens to Connected Players?

When you stop the server, all connected players are **immediately disconnected**. Most game clients will show a "Connection lost" or "Server closed" message. Players will not lose progress -- the server saves everything before shutting down. They can reconnect as soon as you start the server again.

<Warning>
  If a graceful stop takes too long (more than a minute or two), the panel may forcefully terminate the server process. This is called a **kill** and works like pulling the power cord -- it is safe in most cases since the graceful stop already saved data, but if the server was mid-save, there is a small risk of data loss. If your server regularly takes a long time to stop, it may be overloaded.
</Warning>

***

## How to Restart Your Server

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Your Server">
    Navigate to your server on the Game Panel. The status badge should show **Running** (green).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Restart">
    Click the dark/grey **Restart** button in the header area. The server will begin its restart sequence.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for the Restart Cycle">
    The server first shuts down gracefully (saving all data and disconnecting players), then immediately boots back up. You will see shutdown messages followed by startup messages in the console. The status badge will briefly show the transition, then return to **Running** (green) once the server is back online.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Players will be disconnected during the restart but can rejoin as soon as the server finishes booting. A typical restart cycle takes between 15 seconds and a few minutes depending on your server size and configuration.

***

## When to Use Each Button

Knowing which button to press and when is the key to smooth server management. Here are the most common scenarios:

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="You just installed or updated a plugin" icon="puzzle-piece">
    **Use: Restart.** Most plugins need a server restart to load. Your Minecraft server just got a new plugin dropped into the `plugins` folder -- restart to activate it. The restart saves the current world, shuts down, and boots back up with the new plugin loaded.
  </Card>

  <Card title="You changed a configuration file" icon="file-pen">
    **Use: Restart.** Edits to files like `server.properties`, `spigot.yml`, or any mod/plugin config typically require a restart to take effect. Restart and watch the console to confirm your changes loaded correctly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your server is frozen or unresponsive" icon="snowflake">
    **Use: Stop, then Start.** If your server is not responding to commands or players cannot connect but the status still shows Running, stop it first. Wait for it to fully shut down (status changes to Offline), then start it again. This gives you a clean slate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="You are done playing for the night" icon="moon">
    **Use: Stop.** If nobody will be using the server and you want to free resources, simply stop it. You can start it again whenever you are ready.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Players report lag or TPS drops" icon="gauge-high">
    **Use: Restart.** A restart clears memory leaks, reloads chunks, and gives the server a fresh start. This is often the quickest fix for performance issues. If lag returns quickly after restarting, you may need to investigate plugins, world size, or upgrade your plan.
  </Card>

  <Card title="You updated your server's game version" icon="arrow-up">
    **Use: Stop, then Start.** After changing the game version (e.g., updating from Minecraft 1.20 to 1.21), stop the server fully, then start it. This ensures the new version loads cleanly without any leftover state from the old version.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Graceful Stop vs. Kill

When you click **Stop**, the panel sends a graceful shutdown command to your server. The server process receives the signal, saves all game data, disconnects players, and exits cleanly. This is the safe, normal way to stop a server.

However, if the graceful stop does not complete within a reasonable time, the panel will **kill** the server process -- an immediate forced termination. Think of it as the difference between asking someone to close a door versus slamming it shut.

|                       | Graceful Stop                                              | Kill                                            |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **What happens**      | Server saves data, disconnects players, shuts down cleanly | Server process is terminated immediately        |
| **Data safety**       | All data saved properly                                    | Small risk of unsaved data loss                 |
| **When it occurs**    | Every time you click Stop (first attempt)                  | Automatically after the graceful stop times out |
| **Player experience** | Players see a "Server closed" message                      | Players see a "Connection lost" message         |

<Info>
  In most cases, you will never notice the difference -- the graceful stop completes within seconds. The kill is a safety net for situations where the server hangs during shutdown. If you frequently see kills happening, your server may be overloaded or a plugin may be preventing clean shutdowns.
</Info>

***

## Real-World Scenarios

| Scenario                                                  | Action                                                            | Why                                                |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Your Minecraft server just installed a new plugin         | **Restart**                                                       | Plugins load during server startup                 |
| Changing the server's game mode from Survival to Creative | **Restart** after editing `server.properties`                     | Config changes require a restart                   |
| A player reports they cannot connect                      | Check if status is **Running** -- if **Offline**, click **Start** | Server may have crashed or been stopped            |
| Server crashed overnight                                  | Click **Start**                                                   | Crashed servers go offline automatically           |
| Applying a modpack update                                 | **Stop**, update files, then **Start**                            | Clean stop ensures no file conflicts during update |
| Server is eating 100% CPU and not responding              | **Stop** (wait for it), then **Start**                            | Fresh start clears runaway processes               |
| Moving to a different game or server type                 | **Stop**, change egg/configuration, then **Start**                | Major changes need a full stop-start cycle         |

***

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What happens if I close the browser while the server is running?">
    Nothing changes. Your game server runs independently of the web panel. Closing your browser, logging out, or shutting down your computer does not affect the server. It will keep running until you (or an automated process) tells it to stop. You can come back hours later, log in, and the server will still be humming along.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will my server automatically restart if it crashes?">
    It depends on your configuration. Many server setups include crash detection that automatically restarts the server after a crash. Check your server's startup settings in the panel. If auto-restart is not enabled and your server crashes, you will need to manually click **Start** to bring it back online.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I schedule automatic restarts?">
    The Game Panel does not have a built-in restart scheduler, but many game servers support scheduled restarts through plugins or configuration. For example, Minecraft servers can use plugins that trigger restarts at set intervals. You can also configure the startup command or use task schedulers depending on your server type.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a difference between stopping and restarting vs. just restarting?">
    A **Restart** is essentially a stop followed by an immediate start, handled as one seamless operation. A manual **Stop** then **Start** achieves the same result but gives you time between the two actions -- useful if you want to make file changes while the server is offline, or if you want to verify the server fully stopped before starting it again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long should I wait before starting my server after stopping it?">
    You can click **Start** immediately after the server finishes stopping (status badge shows Offline). There is no mandatory wait time. However, if you are making file changes (uploading plugins, editing configs), finish those changes before starting the server so it loads the updated files.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My server keeps crashing right after starting — what should I do?">
    Watch the console output carefully during startup. The crash cause is almost always visible in the log -- look for lines containing **ERROR**, **FATAL**, or **Exception**. Common causes include incompatible plugins or mods, corrupted world data, or running out of memory. Try removing recently added plugins or mods, or check if you need more RAM for your server. If you are stuck, copy the console output using the copy button and open a support ticket.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

<Note>
  ### Need Extra Help?

  If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

  * **Live Chat:** Quick assistance via our website.
  * **Support Ticket:** [Open a Ticket](https://freakhosting.com/clientarea/submitticket.php)
  * **Discord:** [Join our Community](https://discord.gg/freakhosting)
  * **Email:** [support@freakhosting.com](mailto:support@freakhosting.com)
</Note>

<Tip>
  ### Save on Your Hosting

  Ready to get a new server? Use code **KB20** at checkout for **20% off** your first month!
</Tip>

***

<div align="center">
  **Last Updated:** March 2026 | **Game Panel Support:** Server power management simplified.
</div>