22 articles
Plugins for a Minecraft server
The plugins every server needs and how to set them up: permissions, block logging, joining from other versions, PacketEvents.
- The best plugins for a Minecraft server: the essentials firstThe core set for any game mode: LuckPerms for permissions, DGuard for anticheat, CoreProtect for logging and rollbacks, WorldGuard for regions, ViaVersion for other client versions. Below, by job, with official download pages and what to avoid.7 min read
- Best Minecraft anarchy server plugins in 2026: what to install and what to skipAn anarchy server needs its own plugin set: pregeneration and a border for a huge world, protection from exploits and illegal items, a join queue, chat with ignore, and leaderboards — and almost nothing a survival server runs. Below: a table with facts from each plugin's own page, a short card per plugin and a starter set.9 min read
- Best Minecraft survival server plugins in 2026: claims, economy, jobsA survival server rests on three things: builds are protected, money means something, and players have something to do for weeks. Here are the plugins for each job — claims, homes, shops, an auction house, jobs, skills — in one table with facts from their official pages, a short card per plugin and a starter set.9 min read
- Best Minecraft minigame plugins: BedWars, SkyWars, Duels, lobby and networkA minigame server is modes (BedWars, SkyWars, duels), a lobby with a server selector, parties and queues between servers, and a fast arena reset after every match. Here are plugins for each part in one table with facts from their official pages, a short card per plugin and pointers on what fits your case.9 min read
- How to install a plugin on a Minecraft serverDownload the .jar from the official page, put it into plugins/ and restart the server — not /reload. Below: how to check compatibility, what to do about dependencies and why a plugin won't load.8 min read
- LuckPerms: permissions and groups in 10 minutesCreate groups, give them permissions and put people in them — four commands and a web editor. Below: a ready default → helper → moderator → admin setup, prefixes, promotion tracks and why handing out OP is a bad idea.7 min read
- EssentialsX: core server commands — modules, permissions and setupEssentialsX is a free suite of core commands for Paper and Spigot: homes, warps, teleport requests, kits, economy, private messages and moderation. The main jar does most of it; chat, spawn and Discord come as separate modules. The key step after installing is giving players permissions through LuckPerms.8 min read
- WorldGuard: regions, flags and prioritiesWorldGuard protects areas an admin has selected and changes the rules inside them: outsiders can't build, PvP is off at spawn, mobs stay out of the market, a restricted area can't be entered. It works with WorldEdit: you select the area with WorldEdit, and WorldGuard turns it into a region.8 min read
- WorldEdit: the in-game map editor — commands, permissions and safetyWorldEdit changes thousands of blocks with one command: it fills, replaces, copies builds and saves them as schematics. It's the builders' main tool and a required dependency of WorldGuard. It's also the fastest way to wipe out spawn if the wrong person gets the permissions.8 min read
- CoreProtect: find griefers and roll back the damageTurn on the /co i inspector and click a block to see who placed or broke it. /co rollback undoes everything a player did, and mining logs can hint at X-Ray.6 min read
- ViaVersion: letting players join from other versionsClients newer than the server: ViaVersion. Older: ViaVersion plus ViaBackwards. Really old 1.7–1.8: add ViaRewind too. If you run an anticheat, install Via on the game server, not the proxy.6 min read
- Geyser and Floodgate: letting Bedrock players onto a Java serverGeyser translates the Bedrock Edition protocol into Java Edition, so players on phones, consoles and Windows can join your Paper server. Floodgate lets them in without a paid Java account. That's two plugins and port 19132 — and then it pays to know what the bridge can't do and how the anticheat treats these players.7 min read
- PacketEvents: what it is and how to update itPacketEvents is a library plugin that other plugins use to read and send Minecraft packets. It changes nothing in the game by itself, but plugins that depend on it — like the DGuard anticheat — won't start without it. Updating: download the latest release, replace the jar, restart.6 min read
- PlaceholderAPI: placeholders, expansions and /papi commandsPlaceholderAPI is a free plugin that lets plugins show each other's data: name, ping, balance, rank, TPS — in the tab list, on scoreboards, in chat and on holograms. It ships with no placeholders of its own: they come from eCloud expansions or are built into plugins. Here's the setup, the commands you need, the usual failures and how to keep expansions safe.6 min read
- The TAB plugin: tab list, prefixes, nametags and scoreboardTAB by NEZNAMY is a free, open-source plugin that handles everything players see in the player list and above heads: the tab list header and footer, prefixes, nametags, the scoreboard and boss bars. It takes groups from LuckPerms, reads PlaceholderAPI placeholders and can run on a proxy — the recommended setup for a network.6 min read
- DiscordSRV: chat, console and roles between Minecraft and DiscordDiscordSRV is a free, open-source plugin that links a Minecraft server to Discord: chat flows both ways, the console goes to its own channel, players link their accounts, and server groups become roles. Setup comes down to a Discord bot, its token and channel IDs. The main trap is the console channel: anything posted there runs as a console command.7 min read
- Minecraft server economy: Vault, a provider and shopsMoney on a Minecraft server rests on three layers: the Vault bridge (or its fork VaultUnlocked), a plugin that stores balances — EssentialsX, for example — and the plugins that spend and pay out money: shops, jobs, rewards. Here's how to wire them together, where to start with the settings, and what breaks an economy faster than any bug.7 min read
- Minecraft login plugins: AuthMe, nLogin and moreA server with online-mode=false needs a login plugin: without one, anyone can join under someone else's name. We compare AuthMe Reloaded, nLogin, LibreLogin and LimboAuth using facts from their own pages — where they run, how they store passwords, whether they let premium players in without a password, two-factor login — and go through the settings that stop password guessing.9 min read
- NPCs on a Minecraft server: Citizens, FancyNpcs and moreNPCs are non-player characters: a shopkeeper in the lobby, a guide to the game modes, a quest giver. Vanilla Minecraft has none — a plugin adds them. We compare Citizens, FancyNpcs and ZNPCsPlus using facts from their docs, show the first commands, and explain why an NPC running console commands is a security question.7 min read
- Holograms in Minecraft: DecentHolograms, FancyHologramsA hologram is text, an item or a block floating in the air: a welcome at spawn, the rules, a top-players board, a label over an NPC. Vanilla makes such text with a text_display entity, but a plugin is far more convenient. We compare DecentHolograms and FancyHolograms using their docs and show the first commands, colours and placeholders.7 min read
- Menus and GUIs on a Minecraft server: DeluxeMenus and moreA chest menu is a server's familiar interface: a game-mode selector, a shop, kits, ranks, settings. It opens with a command or an NPC, and clicking an item runs an action. We compare DeluxeMenus, zMenu and CommandPanels using their docs, walk through a menu config, and explain why the [console] action calls for care.7 min read
- MySQL and MariaDB for Minecraft plugins: when you need them and how to set them upOne server usually does fine with the file database a plugin creates on its own. MySQL or MariaDB is needed when several servers share data or there's a lot of it. Here's how to create a database and a user with rights to it alone, connect LuckPerms and CoreProtect, keep the database off the internet, and not lose it in a crash.8 min read
Run the best anticheat for modern Minecraft
DGuard catches all 47 kinds of cheats in our comparison — the closest rival, Intave, has 27. Full protection on every plan, free up to 30 players online.