How to install a Minecraft plugin

Step by step

1. 1.Check that your server can run plugins

   Plugins need Bukkit-based server software: Paper, Spigot, Purpur or Folia for game servers, BungeeCord or Velocity for proxies. A vanilla server, or a Fabric or Forge server, does not load plugins.

2. 2.Check the plugin's version

   The plugin page or file says which Minecraft versions it supports. A plugin built for a newer version than your server usually refuses to load.

3. 3.Stop the server and copy the .jar

   Put the .jar file in the plugins/ folder next to the server .jar. On a hosting panel, upload it with the file manager or SFTP. Do not unzip it.

4. 4.Install its dependencies

   If the plugin needs other plugins (Vault, PlaceholderAPI, ProtocolLib, LuckPerms), put their .jar files in plugins/ too.

5. 5.Start the server and read the console

   Look for the plugin's name in the startup log. "Enabling <Plugin>" with no error after it means it loaded.

6. 6.Check it in game and configure it

   Run /plugins: loaded plugins are green, plugins that failed to enable are red. Its settings appear in plugins/<PluginName>/config.yml; edit them and restart.

Where the files go

A typical server folder looks like this after the first start with a plugin:

• paper.jar (or spigot.jar): the server itself.
• plugins/MyPlugin.jar: the plugin you added.
• plugins/MyPlugin/: a folder the plugin creates, with config.yml, messages and its saved data.
• logs/latest.log: the log of the current run, where load errors are written.

Restart, do not /reload

/reload unloads and reloads every plugin without restarting the server. Many plugins do not support it: listeners register twice, data is lost or memory leaks. Always restart the server after adding, removing or updating a plugin. Some plugins have their own reload command (for example /myplugin reload) for their config only: that one is safe to use.

Before you install on the live server

• Back up the server folder, or at least plugins/ and the worlds.
• Try it on a copy first: the same software, version and other plugins as the real server. See how to test a plugin.
• One plugin at a time: if something breaks, you know which one did it.
• Download from the author's page (SpigotMC, Hangar, Modrinth, GitHub), not from re-uploads.

Plugins made with Codexe

A plugin made on Codexe comes as a built .jar named after the project, checked before you get it: it must contain the compiled classes and a plugin.yml. You can try it on a private test server before installing it anywhere, free on every plan; the test server installs the plugins listed as dependencies for you. Downloading the .jar for your own server needs a plan or a download pack.

Questions