Shard LInk

ShardLink links multiple Minecraft servers ("shards") together through a central hub. It's built for server owners who want to split their world across multiple machines — for example, running the Overworld on one server and the Twilight Forest or Nether on another — while keeping the experience completely seamless for players.

Features

• Cross-server chat — players on different shards see each other's messages in real time.
• Global TAB roster — the TAB player list shows every player across every shard, not just the one you're on.
• Seamless portal transfers — walking into a dimension owned by another shard automatically reconnects the client to that server and restores the player's position, inventory, and state there.
• Hub-based architecture — one central hub (the companion mcpanel web panel) coordinates all nodes.
• Server-side only — no client-side mod required. Players just join normally.

Requirements

• Minecraft: 1.21.1
• Loader: NeoForge 21.1.258+
• Hub: the ShardLink relay provided by the mcpanel web panel (WebSocket on port 8090)
• Java: 21 (server-side)

Installation

1. Drop shardlink-1.0.0.jar into each server's mods/ folder.
2. Create a shardlink.json file in each server's root directory (see below).
3. Make sure each server can reach the hub's WebSocket address.
4. Start the server — it will connect to the hub automatically.

Configuration

shardlink.json (at the server root):

{
  "hubUrl":  "ws://192.168.4.23:8090",
  "nodeId":  "main",
  "secret":  "<shared hub secret>",
  "hubName": "MC Hub",
  "port":    25565,
  "nodes":   { "main": "192.168.*.**:25595", "tf": "192.168.*.**:25565" },
  "shards":  { "twilightforest:twilight_forest": "tf" }
}

The hub pushes the authoritative shard map and node addresses to every connected node; the local file is the boot-time fallback.

How it works

Each server runs ShardLink and connects to the hub over a WebSocket relay. When a player walks into a dimension that belongs to a different node, ShardLink serializes the player's state, notifies the hub, and sends the client a "reconnect here" packet. The client reconnects to the target server, and the player's state is restored there — making the transfer feel seamless.

FAQ

Q: Do players need to install anything? No — ShardLink is server-side only.

Q: Can I use it with just one server? Yes, it will connect to the hub and run, but the cross-server features only become active once you have two or more nodes.

Q: What dimensions can I map? Any dimension by its full resource key, e.g. minecraft:the_nether, minecraft:the_end, aether:the_aether, twilightforest:twilight_forest.