Quick answer
Waterfall is discontinued bungeecord fork. Historically improve BungeeCord performance, stability, scalability, and features.
| Developer / maintainer | PaperMC (historically) |
|---|---|
| Software type | Discontinued BungeeCord fork |
| Upstream / lineage | Fork of BungeeCord. |
| Current status | Legacy / status |
| Best fit | Existing legacy networks that still run Waterfall and need migration/status guidance. |
Who develops Waterfall?
PaperMC (historically) develops or maintains this project. Fork of BungeeCord.
This matters because “Minecraft server software” covers very different kinds of projects. Some are direct forks of Paper, some are mod loaders, some are compatibility layers, some are proxies, and some reimplement the server from scratch. The lineage above tells you what ecosystem, APIs, and operational assumptions carry over.
What is its main goal?
Historically improve BungeeCord performance, stability, scalability, and features.
A good reason to choose a server implementation is that its design goal matches a real requirement you have. Switching only because a fork is advertised as faster, more configurable, or more modern usually creates extra compatibility work unless you can name the problem it solves for your server.
How is it different from normal Minecraft?
Like any proxy, Waterfall did not run worlds or replace a backend server.
“Vanilla compatibility” can mean several things: the same client protocol, similar gameplay, identical redstone/farm behavior, the same world format, or simply the ability for an unmodified client to join. Those are not equivalent. For technical survival, modded worlds, or long-lived production servers, test the exact behavior you depend on.
How does it differ from its upstream or related forks?
Waterfall was PaperMC’s BungeeCord-family proxy. PaperMC now treats it as discontinued and directs modern proxy users toward Velocity.
Fork relationships are especially important for plugins and configuration. A downstream fork usually inherits much of its upstream API, but extra patches can change internals, scheduling, defaults, and edge-case mechanics. The closer a plugin is to undocumented internals, the less useful a generic “Paper-compatible” or “Bukkit-compatible” label becomes.
What type of server is Waterfall good for?
Existing legacy networks that still run Waterfall and need migration/status guidance.
For a new server, start with the simplest software that meets the requirement. More layers—especially hybrid plugin+mod stacks or multithreaded forks—mean more combinations to test when Minecraft, Java, plugins, or mods update.
Plugin, mod, and ecosystem compatibility
BungeeCord-family plugins/configuration were the target, but modern maintained development is no longer the reason to choose it.
Always match extensions to the exact Minecraft version and software family they target. A JAR being Java does not make it universally compatible, and a plugin/mod loading successfully does not prove every code path is safe.
Stability and project maturity
PaperMC’s current documentation labels Waterfall discontinued. That means lack of ongoing project direction matters more than whether an old build seems stable in an existing network.
Current version note: Do not select Waterfall for a new network in 2026 unless you have a specific legacy constraint and an explicit migration plan.
MSH does not assign a numeric stability score. Release status, maintenance activity, official warnings, supported Minecraft versions, architecture, and ecosystem compatibility are more useful than a single rating. A mature project can still be the wrong fit, while a beta project can be useful for a team that deliberately accepts the risk.
Before switching to Waterfall
Migration checklist: PaperMC has ended Waterfall development and recommends Velocity for new networks. Waterfall plugin compatibility and proxy migration are separate issues: evaluate every BungeeCord-style extension before switching.
How to verify: On staging, move one backend through Velocity, configure its forwarding/security model and verify login identity, permissions and server-switch behavior before decommissioning Waterfall.
Prefer evaluating Velocity for a maintained PaperMC proxy path. Migration should include forwarding/security/plugin checks, not only replacing the JAR.
If the server contains modded blocks/entities, switching away from the loader or mods that created that data can permanently damage a world. If the change involves proxies or threading models, compatibility problems may appear only when players move between servers or when plugins access data concurrently.
Official references
These primary project sources were checked on September 23, 2026. Software status changes quickly, so the linked project documentation should win over this article if a newer release changes support or requirements.
Related server software
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