Create adds mechanical contraptions, rotational power, and factory-style automation to Minecraft, built around gears, shafts, and rotating machinery rather than the redstone-only automation vanilla offers.
Supported loaders
Create runs on Forge and NeoForge. A separate community-maintained Create Fabric port exists for Fabric users, but it is a different project with its own release schedule, check its page for which Minecraft versions it currently supports before assuming it matches the main mod.
Step 1: Install your loader first
Create needs Forge or NeoForge already installed and running on your server before you add the mod itself. If you have not set that up yet, install Forge or NeoForge and confirm the server starts cleanly first.
Step 2: Check dependencies for your version
Create 6.0 and later bundles its rendering engine (Flywheel) directly, so no separate download is needed on current versions. If you are running an older Create release on Forge 1.18.2 or earlier, Flywheel is a separate required download, check the specific Create version's page for its exact dependency list before installing, since this has changed across releases.
Step 3: Download and install
Get the Create build matching your exact Minecraft version and loader from Modrinth or CurseForge, then drop the jar (and any listed dependency jars) into the server's mods folder.
Step 4: Install it on every client too
Create adds blocks, items, and mechanics that are fully server-authoritative, every player needs the same Create version, on the same loader, installed on their own client, or they will be rejected when connecting.
Step 5: Restart and verify
Restart the server and check logs/latest.log for a clean load with no missing-dependency errors. If Create loaded successfully, its blocks (Mechanical Press, Cogwheels, and similar) will be available in survival and creative inventories.
A note on performance
Create's contraptions (moving structures built from its mechanical blocks) can be demanding on large builds with many moving parts, since each one adds ongoing simulation work. If you notice tick rate drops on a Create-heavy world, a server status tool is a quick way to confirm whether the server itself is the bottleneck before assuming it is something else.
Getting a properly sized server
Create-based modpacks tend to need more RAM than a plugin-based or vanilla server of the same player count. A RAM calculator can give you a specific recommendation before you commit to a plan. Tick Hosting's panel installs Forge or NeoForge with a one-click selector, ready for Create, on every plan including the free tier. Get started on Tick Hosting's plans page.