PlayerSync: Keep Your Progress Across Every Server
Running a Minecraft network usually means one painful trade-off: players lose everything the moment they hop from one server to another. Your survival world inventory, your hard-earned levels, your advancements, all of it resets. PlayerSync solves that problem by storing player data in a central database and loading it fresh every time someone connects. The result is a network that finally feels like one continuous world instead of a collection of disconnected islands.
What PlayerSync Actually Does
At its core, PlayerSync is a synchronization mod for multi-server setups. Instead of each server keeping its own copy of your player file, every server reads from and writes to a shared MySQL or MariaDB database. When you join a server, your data is pulled from the database. When you leave or your data is saved, the database is updated. Simple in concept, transformative in practice.
The mod handles far more than just your hotbar. Here is what stays consistent as you travel:
- Main inventory, armor slots, offhand, and ender chest contents
- Experience points, health, hunger, and score
- Advancements and achievements
- Active potion effects, restored the moment you join a new server
- Curios API slots and items
- Sophisticated Backpacks contents
- Cobblemon party, PC, and Pokédex data (1.21.1 only)
- Any mod using NeoForge AttachmentTypes
There is also an optional chat sync feature, off by default, that shares messages between servers when enabled in the config.
Modded Item Safety and Placeholder Items
One of the smartest details in PlayerSync is how it handles modded items on servers that do not have the matching mod installed. Rather than deleting the item or crashing the inventory load, the mod creates a placeholder item. Your original item is preserved in the database, and the moment you return to a server running that mod, the real item comes back. Nothing is lost, and nothing needs to be manually restored.
This matters a lot for networks with mixed mod packs. A player carrying Aether gear, Apotheosis affixes, Refined Storage disks, or Cosmetic Armor items can move freely without worrying about a server silently eating their equipment.
Supported Versions and Loaders
PlayerSync is built for NeoForge and targets modern Minecraft releases, with the 1.21.1 branch unlocking the widest mod support, including Cobblemon, Aether, Apotheosis, Refined Storage, Extra Disks, and Cosmetic Armor Reworked. Earlier branches cover the core sync features. If you are planning a network upgrade, check the mod page for the exact version matrix before you commit.
If you would rather skip manual file juggling, the foxygame.net launcher includes PlayerSync in its curated add-on catalog, so you can add it to a server profile with a single click and let the launcher handle version matching for you.
How to Install PlayerSync on Your Network
Setup is straightforward, but it does require a database. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Download and Place the Mod
Download PlayerSync and drop the jar into the mods folder of every server you want to synchronize. It must be installed on all of them, not just one.
Step 2: Generate the Config
Start each server once so the mod creates a playersync.toml file inside the config folder. Then open that file and enter your database details: host, port, username, password, and database name. SSL is optional and disabled by default.
Step 3: Assign a Unique Server ID
Every server in the network needs its own integer Server_id. If two servers share the same ID, data will collide. This is the single most common setup mistake, so double-check it before going live.
Step 4: Start and Verify
On the next launch, PlayerSync automatically creates the required tables. Join a server, grab some items, switch to another server, and confirm your inventory carried over.
Configuration Highlights
Most admins only touch a few settings. The sync_advancements option controls whether achievements travel with players and defaults to true. The use_legacy_serialization flag should stay false unless you are running mod versions older than 1.35 against the same database. Placeholder item titles and descriptions can be overridden if you want custom wording for missing modded items.
Final Thoughts
PlayerSync removes one of the biggest friction points in running a Minecraft network. Players keep their inventory, XP, advancements, and modded gear no matter where they log in, and admins get a clean, database-driven system that scales. If your community spans multiple servers, this mod is less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Set up the database once, assign your server IDs carefully, and enjoy a network that finally plays like a single world.