How to install plugins on a Minecraft server

Check your server type

Open Settings and look at the server type. If it says Paper, Purpur or Spigot, you are ready. If it says Vanilla, switch it to Paper there: the world stays exactly as it is.

If it says Fabric, Forge or NeoForge, you run mods instead. Those servers use mods, not plugins, and the two do not combine. Paper, Purpur or Spigot and Fabric, Forge or NeoForge help you pick.

Install from the catalog

1. Open the Plugins tab.
2. Search the Plugin catalog below your installed plugins, for example for LuckPerms or EssentialsX.
3. Click install. The panel picks the file that matches your server type and Minecraft version, so you do not have to choose a download yourself.
4. Restart the server from the Console tab. Plugins load at startup.

After the restart, the console lists every plugin it loaded. Type plugins in the console to see the list at any time; loaded plugins show in green.

Upload a plugin yourself

Not every plugin is in the catalog, and some are paid. For those, download the .jar file from the author's page and upload it.

1. Download the version of the plugin that matches your Minecraft version. The plugin page usually lists which versions it supports.
2. In the Files tab, open the plugins folder.
3. Upload the .jar file there. Do not unpack it.
4. Restart the server.

Only download plugins from the author's own page or a large plugin site. A .jar can do anything on your server, so a file from an unknown forum post is a real risk.

Change a plugin's settings

Most plugins create a folder with the same name inside plugins on their first start, with a config.yml in it. Edit that file in Files, save, and either restart the server or use the plugin's own reload command if it has one.

Avoid the general /reload command. It reloads every plugin at once, and many plugins do not survive it cleanly. A restart is safer.

Update or remove a plugin

• Update: install the new version from the catalog, or upload the new .jar and delete the old one. Two versions of the same plugin in the folder cause errors.
• Remove: use Remove plugin in the Plugins tab and restart. Its settings folder stays unless you choose to delete it, so reinstalling later brings your settings back.
• After a Minecraft update: check that each plugin supports the new version before you change the server version. A backup first lets you go back if one does not.

Plugins worth knowing

Start small. Every plugin costs a little memory and startup time, and a server with five well chosen plugins runs better than one with fifty.

A plugin does not load

Look at the console right after startup. The line about the plugin usually says why.

• Unsupported API version or a class error: the plugin is made for another Minecraft version.
• Unknown dependency: it needs another plugin installed first. The message names it.
• No mention at all: the file is not a plugin, or it is in the wrong folder.