NuVotifier: votes from server lists and rewards

In short: drop NuVotifier into plugins/ and restart — it creates its config and keys and listens on port 8192. On the server list, enter your address, that port and the public key from plugins/NuVotifier/rsa/public.key (or a token, if the site supports protocol v2). Install a reward plugin — NuVotifier doesn't give rewards itself. Open only the vote port in the firewall, and on a network put NuVotifier on the proxy and forward votes to the servers.

What Votifier and NuVotifier are#

Votifier is the original plugin and protocol that server lists use to tell a server about a player's vote. NuVotifier is a secure replacement for the original Votifier: any reward plugin that works with Votifier works with it too. NuVotifier is open source under GPLv3, one jar for Bukkit, Spigot and Paper, Sponge 7, BungeeCord and Waterfall, and Velocity. Official releases are on GitHub, with a mirror on SpigotMC.

The latest release of the original NuVotifier on GitHub is 2.7.3. There's also a fork, azuvotifier (also GPL-3.0), on Modrinth: it lists Paper, Folia, Velocity and BungeeCord support and points to the same setup guide. Whichever you pick, check that the plugin page lists your server version.

A single server: setup#

1. 1

   Install the plugin

   The NuVotifier jar goes into plugins/, then a full restart. How to install plugins: install a plugin.

2. 2

   Check the port

   NuVotifier listens on 8192 by default. The port must be free and differ from the game port: if Minecraft is on 25565, NuVotifier can't use 25565. On shared hosting, ask support to open a port for it.

3. 3

   Add the server to a list

   Enter the address, the NuVotifier port and the contents of public.key — or the token, if the site accepts protocol v2.

4. 4

   Install a reward plugin

   NuVotifier only receives the vote. A listener plugin hands out the reward: items, currency, a chat message.

5. 5

   Test a vote

   /testvote simulates a vote, and a server list may also offer to send a test vote. If the log shows nothing, the site couldn't reach the port — see below.

host: 0.0.0.0
port: 8192
disable-v1-protocol: false
tokens:
  default: <generated on first start>
forwarding:
  method: none

Reload the config with /nvreload — from the console only. The developers don't support /reload or PlugMan: after them NuVotifier may stop working until a full restart.

RSA key and token: protocols v1 and v2#

disable-v1-protocol is false by default: per the config comment, most voting sites only support v1, so the developers don't recommend turning it off on a server that takes votes from sites. The keys only work as a pair — don't separate them. If the log says Could not decrypt data (is your key correct?), the public key on the server list doesn't match yours.

A reward plugin#

NuVotifier's documentation lists well-known listeners for Bukkit servers, such as VotingPlugin (open source on GitHub, listed on SpigotMC) and SuperbVote; some listeners are paid. Pick one for your server version and for whether you need network support. If the server lags when votes come in, the cause is usually not NuVotifier — it works off the main thread — but the listener or the commands it runs. The spark profiler finds the culprit: see server lag.

A server network: vote forwarding#

On a Velocity or BungeeCord network, NuVotifier goes on the proxy and on every server. The proxy receives votes from server lists and forwards them to the servers. There are two methods, and the developers recommend the first.

• `pluginMessaging` forwards over the plugin channel (nuvotifier:votes) through existing player connections. On the servers: forwarding.method: pluginMessaging and port: -1 — they need no port of their own. On the proxy: a free port (8192 works) and the same method. By default a vote goes to every server behind the proxy; excludedServers leaves some out, and onlySendToJoinedServer: true sends it only to the server the player is on. Votes for empty servers are cached in a file, for 10 days by default.
• `proxy` makes the proxy connect to each server's NuVotifier the way a server list would. On the servers: their own port, the token from tokens.default and disable-v1-protocol: true; on the proxy: method: proxy with address, port and token for each server. There's no vote cache and it's harder to set up — use it only if the first method doesn't fit.

host: 0.0.0.0
port: 8192
forwarding:
  method: pluginMessaging
  pluginMessaging:
    channel: nuvotifier:votes
    cache: file
    onlySendToJoinedServer: false

Firewall: open only the vote port#

A server list connects to NuVotifier over TCP, so besides the game port open only the vote port — on the proxy, if you run a network. With pluginMessaging the NuVotifier ports on the servers behind the proxy are off (-1); with proxy only your proxy connects to them, so open them for the proxy, not the whole internet. At home you also need port forwarding on the router — see server IP and port.

sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp   # Minecraft or the proxy
sudo ufw allow 8192/tcp    # NuVotifier
sudo ufw status verbose

If votes don't arrive and the log is empty, the developers' troubleshooting guide lists the usual causes: NuVotifier didn't enable, couldn't bind the port, listens on the wrong IP (try host: 0.0.0.0), is blocked by a firewall or sits behind NAT without port forwarding.

Rewards, automation and the anticheat#

The vote itself is cast on the server list's website, and the anticheat doesn't see it: it won't catch vote manipulation on a site. But rewards for votes, playtime and leaderboards attract people who play without being there: the character stands around for days, fishing and eating on its own while the owner sleeps. That tilts rewards and the economy towards automation.

DGuard — the best anticheat for a modern Minecraft server — catches AntiAFK, AutoFish and AutoEat along with combat, movement and building cheats — 47 cheat types from the comparison in all. Server lists bring players in, but fair play keeps them: a server where you never meet KillAura or Fly is one players recommend themselves. More on attracting and keeping players: how to promote a server.

FAQ#