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Instances

An instance is a Minecraft game directory with an exact Minecraft version and loader selection. Each instance has its own mods, saves, configuration, and logs. Ephervex reuses downloaded game files, libraries, assets, and managed Java runtimes across instances.

Choose temporary or persistent storage​

New instances are temporary by default. They live in the operating system's temporary directory. Closing the game does not delete them, but the operating system can clear that directory at any time. Use temporary storage for a test you can discard.

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Choose persistent storage for worlds or test results you need to keep. The operating system can remove temporary instances without asking Ephervex.

Choose persistent storage when you want the instance to remain in your configured instance folder. You can also move a stopped temporary instance there later with Make Persistent. Its mods, saves, logs, and name move with it. Linked temporary servers move too unless you choose to leave them behind.

Create an instance​

Choose the exact Minecraft release you need. Vanilla needs no loader build; Forge and NeoForge need an exact build that supports that release. Ephervex does not replace an unsupported selection with another version. For Minecraft 1.12.2, Forge builds older than 14.23.5.2851 use an installer format Ephervex does not support. They are not offered, and selecting one by exact version is refused.

In the host list, select New Instance and enter a name. Then:

  1. Choose the Minecraft release you need.
  2. Choose Vanilla, Forge, or NeoForge. For Forge or NeoForge, select the exact loader build below the loader choice.
  3. Choose temporary storage for a disposable test, or turn on Store persistently to keep the instance. Optionally enter an Issue link (see below) and turn on Also create a linked server to get a server with the same versions and the mods that run on a server. Select Create Instance.

Find and launch an instance​

You need an account before launching. The first launch downloads missing game files. Ephervex picks a compatible Java runtime unless one is pinned. The workspace header shows that runtime and its status. A launch Ephervex refuses names the runtime it tried, how it was chosen, and the Java the instance expects.

Find the instance in the host list and select Launch on its card. Press the card or select Open Workspace in its menu to inspect its mods, settings, logs, and other details. Running now on Home shows active clients and their controls.

Search, filter, and sort instances​

Searching, filtering, and sorting change only what the list shows.

In the host list, type in Filter instances and servers... to search names, Minecraft versions, loaders, sources, and group names. The same search also narrows the servers.

Select Filters to open the filter panel. All, Temporary, and Persistent choose the storage type, and Favorites shows only favorites. Choose a Minecraft version, loader, running state, linked servers, or group, and choose Sort by: Favorites first, Name, Minecraft version, or Loader. Ephervex remembers the sort order. The Filters button shows how many conditions narrow the list, and Clear filters resets everything except the sort order.

Mark favorites and set icons​

Favorites, groups, and icons change only how Ephervex shows an instance or server. They never move files, and you can change them while the game runs. Favorites are listed first in the host list with the default sort order. An icon replaces the loader or server symbol on the card, on Home, and in the workspace.

Select the star beside an instance's or server's name, or Add to favorites in its card menu. To set an icon, select Choose icon... in the card menu and pick a PNG or JPEG image. Remove icon in the same menu brings back the symbol.

An icon file can be at most 16 MiB, 8192 pixels on a side, and 16 megapixels. Ephervex keeps its own copy scaled to at most 256 pixels, so changing the original file later has no effect.

Group instances​

A group is a label for finding instances. An instance is in at most one group; servers have none. Each group gets one of six colors and keeps it when renamed. Group names are compared without regard to case. Deleting a group leaves its instances ungrouped.

In an instance card's menu, Set group lists the groups and Remove from group takes the instance out of its group. New group... there creates a group with the instance in it.

Select Groups in the filter panel to see how many instances each group holds. Select Rename or Delete on a group, or New group to create an empty one. Delete does not ask for confirmation.

Track the bug you are reproducing​

An instance can carry what you know about the bug it reproduces: a link to the issue, the steps that trigger it, a note, and how often it showed up again. The steps, note, and count are kept by Ephervex outside the instance's files, so restoring a snapshot does not roll them back and a diagnostic bundle never includes them. Servers have no case and no issue link.

An issue link is a full http:// or https:// address of at most 2048 bytes, without spaces, a user name, or a password. Ephervex stores it as you typed it. Steps are limited to 100 per instance, 300 characters each, and a note to 8000 characters. A refused entry names the limit and keeps what you typed.

Fill in Issue link (optional) when you create an instance, or select Add issue link in the instance's header later. Edit changes it in place: press Enter to save and Escape to leave. Pressing the link opens it in your browser, and Overview shows it under Issue.

Open the Case tab, next to Overview, to write the case down:

  • Steps lists what it takes to make the bug happen. Type in Add a step... and select Add. Turn on the switch beside a step when you have done it; the heading counts "2 of 5 done". The remove button on a step deletes it.
  • Reproduced counts how often the bug showed up again. Reproduced it adds one, and Reset sets the count back to zero.
  • Note holds free text. Select Save note to keep it; the button says when there is nothing unsaved.
  • What happened lists the instance's history, oldest first: when it was created, launched, and stopped, how the game exited, the errors its log complained about, and each time you counted the bug again.

The host page also has a Copy summary for the issue card. Copy summary copies plain text for a bug report: the name, the issue link, the Minecraft version, loader, mod count, storage, linked server, your steps with their done marks, and how often the bug was seen again. It contains no paths from your computer.

The history is removed with the instance's files, and it keeps only the newest events once it grows large. A game left running after Ephervex closed records its start but not its end.

Copy or keep an instance​

Duplicate an instance when you want a separate copy to change or test. The copy starts with the original's storage type. Make Persistent instead when you want to keep the same temporary instance without leaving a copy behind. Stop the game before either action. A copy keeps the original's group and icon, but is not a favorite.

Open an instance card's menu and select Duplicate or Make Persistent. The latter is also available in the instance workspace's Overview. When making an instance persistent, choose which linked temporary servers to move with it. Duplicate asks whether to retain records of mods missing from the original's mods folder.

Set Java and memory for one instance​

An instance normally follows the global Java, memory, and JVM settings. Pin values here only when this instance needs different ones. Memory values are in MiB. Stop the instance before changing these settings.

The runtime's status is Healthy when Ephervex picks a runtime that fits or will download one at launch, Valid, customized when a pinned runtime fits, Problem when it cannot run this instance, or Not checked when the check could not run. The expected Java comes from the Minecraft release and loader, such as Java 21 or Java 8, update 320 or older (Forge).

Open the instance workspace, then Settings, or select the Java pill in the workspace header. The Java runtime card shows the runtime in use, its path, how it is chosen, the Java the instance expects, and the status.

When a pinned runtime cannot run the instance, the card shows Problem and a refused launch says why.

Under Available runtimes, select Use on a runtime, or on Automatic to let Ephervex choose. When Settings > Java names a preferred executable, that entry is Launcher preference instead. Runtimes that do not fit are disabled and say why. To use a runtime Ephervex has not found, enter its path under Another Java executable, select Check, then Use. Each choice opens a review of the current and new runtime; nothing changes until you select Apply.

If no installed runtime fits, Install Java N installs the Temurin build the instance expects, even when automatic downloads are off. It does not change the instance's Java setting. If the instance would not use the new runtime on its own, a review offers to pin it.

Under Java and memory, enter the memory or JVM argument values to override and select Save Runtime Settings. Empty fields follow the global settings. Follow Global Settings removes these overrides; it does not change the Java runtime choice.

Change a loader build​

For a Forge or NeoForge instance, open its workspace Overview and select Change Build. Choose another offered build of the same loader for the instance's Minecraft release, then select Install and Switch. Installed mods are left in place, so check their compatibility with the new build. Stop the game first: the button stays available, but the change is refused while the instance is running.

Changing a loader build is currently available in the desktop app. It does not switch between Vanilla, Forge, and NeoForge.

Inspect a retained pack recipe​

An imported instance retains its pack recipe. The CLI can show the client file plan or the server plan used when creating a linked server. This reads the retained recipe in the instance; it does not change files or need the original archive.

ephervex instance recipe INSTANCE_ID
ephervex instance recipe INSTANCE_ID --side server

Optional files that were not selected during import are left out of the default plan. Add --all-optional to include them in the displayed plan. A manually created instance has no pack recipe; the command reports that without failing.

Delete an instance​

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Deleting an instance also removes its linked servers from Ephervex. Decide whether to keep their directories before confirming. Delete Files also removes saves and server worlds in those directories, and the retained snapshots of the instance and its servers.

Stop the game, open the instance card's menu, and select Delete Instance. The dialog lists affected linked servers and offers two cards. Keep files removes the instance from Ephervex and leaves its folder on disk. Delete files deletes the folder, including worlds, mods, and logs. While linked servers are running, the card buttons read Stop and Keep Files and Stop and Delete Files, and they stop those servers first.