Installing your first plugins
Check you are on Paper
Plugins only work on Paper, Spigot or Purpur. Check on the Change Version tab. Fabric and Forge use mods instead.
Download the plugin
Get plugins from Hangar, Modrinth or SpigotMC. Pick the file for your Minecraft version.
Free copies of paid plugins often hide backdoors that give a stranger control of your server.
Upload it
- Open the File Manager and go into
plugins. - Upload the
.jarfile. Not a zip, and not in a subfolder. - Restart the server.
Check it loaded
Type plugins in the Console. Green means it is running. Red means it failed, and the console says why.
It causes strange bugs. Always restart instead.
Change its settings
After the first restart, each plugin makes its own folder in plugins with a config.yml. Edit it, then restart. Use spaces, never tabs.
Let players use it
Most commands are for ops only. Install LuckPerms to give permissions to other players. Type lp editor for an easy web editor.
Problems
It is not in the plugin list
Did you restart? Is the file a .jar in the plugins folder?
Could not load plugin
It is for a different Minecraft version. Get the right one.
The server will not start after adding one
Delete the plugin you just added and restart.