The ViaVersion suite allows server owners as well as players to allow client connection to servers of different Minecraft versions through a bit of magic:tm:. Below, you can find an overview of the projects to find the one that suits your exact needs.
| ViaVersion | ViaBackwards (requires ViaVersion) | ViaRewind (requires ViaVersion) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed on | Server: 1.8.8-latest | Servers: 1.10-latest | Servers: 1.8.8-latest |
| Allows | All client versions that are newer than your server | Client versions that are older than your server down to 1.9 | 1.7.10-1.8.9 clients |
| Additional benefits | Less gameplay and anti-cheat issues if run on a Paper server | Less gameplay issues if using ViaRewind Legacy Support |
Depending on the setup, these include ViaVersion, ViaBackwards, ViaRewind, and ViaLegacy.
| ViaFabric | ViaFabricPlus | ViaForge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed on | Fabric client or server: Latest minor version of 1.8, 1.14-latest | Fabric client: Latest | Forge client: Latest minor version of 1.8, 1.12, 1.14-latest |
| Allows | Connecting to 1.8.8-latest servers* | Connecting to classic c0.0.15 to latest release servers | Connecting to 1.8.8-latest servers |
| Additional benefits | Less potential for mod incompatibilities than ViaFabricPlus | Less gameplay and anti-cheat issues | Less gameplay and anti-cheat issues |
*If you want to connect to servers that are newer than your client, you need to add ViaBackwards (and ViaRewind on 1.8) to your mod directory.
These are proxies you host. By connecting through them with your client (can be modded or unmodded), you can join servers of different versions. Depending on the setup, these include ViaVersion, ViaBackwards, ViaRewind, and ViaLegacy.
| VIAaaS | ViaProxy | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed on | Local or remote instances to any server | Local instances to any server, or remote instances to a specific server |
| Allows | Connecting to 1.8.8-latest servers | Connecting to classic c0.0.15-latest servers |
| Additional benefits | Has already running, public instances | User-friendly graphical user interface for local instances |
These projects are not directly for users, but internal projects respectively libraries which are mainly used by the above-mentioned projects.
| ViaLegacy | ViaAprilFools | ViaLoader | Mappings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implemented in | ViaFabricPlus and ViaProxy | ViaFabricPlus, VIAaaS and ViaProxy | ViaFabricPlus, ViaForge and ViaProxy | ViaVersion and ViaBackwards |
| What it does | ViaVersion addon which allows connecting to classic-1.7.10 servers | ViaVersion addon which allows connecting to 3D Shareware*, 20w14infinite and Combat Test 8c servers | Easy to use ViaVersion, (and optional ViaBackwards, ViaRewind, ViaLegacy and ViaAprilFools) platform implementation. | Mapping generator and mapping files for the Via projects. |
*3D Shareware supports both directions (3DShareware client -> 1.14 server and 1.14 client -> 3DShareware Server)
