Downloads API

PaperMC provides a downloads API to facilitate automated downloads access. Full documentation can be found on the Downloads API Docs.

Getting the latest version

#!/usr/bin/env sh

PROJECT="paper"

LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/${PROJECT} | \
    jq -r '.versions[-1]')

echo "Latest version is $LATEST_VERSION"

This will get the latest available Minecraft version for the given project.

Getting the latest stable build number

#!/usr/bin/env sh

PROJECT="paper"
MINECRAFT_VERSION="1.21.5"

LATEST_BUILD=$(curl -s https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/${PROJECT}/versions/${MINECRAFT_VERSION}/builds | \
  jq '.builds | map(select(.channel == "default") | .build) | .[-1]')

if [ "$LATEST_BUILD" != "null" ]; then
  echo "Latest stable build is $LATEST_BUILD"
else
  echo "No stable build for version $MINECRAFT_VERSION found :("
fi

This will get the latest stable build for the given project and Minecraft version, if it’s available.

Downloading the latest stable build

#!/usr/bin/env sh

PROJECT="paper"
MINECRAFT_VERSION="1.21.5"

LATEST_BUILD=$(curl -s https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/${PROJECT}/versions/${MINECRAFT_VERSION}/builds | \
  jq -r '.builds | map(select(.channel == "default") | .build) | .[-1]')

if [ "$LATEST_BUILD" != "null" ]; then
  JAR_NAME=${PROJECT}-${MINECRAFT_VERSION}-${LATEST_BUILD}.jar
  PAPERMC_URL="https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/${PROJECT}/versions/${MINECRAFT_VERSION}/builds/${LATEST_BUILD}/downloads/${JAR_NAME}"

  # Download the latest Paper version
  curl -o server.jar $PAPERMC_URL
  echo "Download completed"
else
  echo "No stable build for version $MINECRAFT_VERSION found :("
fi

This is the most common use case for the API. It will download the latest stable build for the given project and Minecraft version. You should always serve & use the stable builds. Experimental builds are prone to error and do not receive support.