Installing Plugins on a Self-Hosted Paper Server

Introduction

One of the biggest advantages of running a Paper server is access to the enormous Bukkit and Spigot plugin ecosystem. Plugins can add economy systems, custom minigames, land protection, chat formatting, admin tools, and much more. This tutorial explains how to find, install, configure, and manage plugins on your Paper server.

How Plugins Work on Paper

Paper is compatible with plugins written for Bukkit and Spigot, which means you have access to over a decade of community-developed plugins. Plugins are JAR files placed in the plugins folder of your server. When the server starts it loads all plugins automatically. Unlike Fabric mods, Paper plugins are always server-side only. Players do not need to install anything on their client to use plugins.

Prerequisites

Make sure the following are in place before starting.

Your Paper server is set up and running correctly. You know which version of Minecraft your server is running. The plugins folder exists inside your server directory.

Step 1 — Finding Plugins

The main sources for Paper plugins are the following.

Modrinth at https://modrinth.com is the modern recommended platform. Filter by Platform: Paper to find compatible plugins. Hangar at https://hangar.papermc.io is the official plugin repository maintained by the PaperMC team. SpigotMC at https://www.spigotmc.org/resources is the largest plugin repository with thousands of plugins. Most Spigot plugins work on Paper.

Always download plugins from these official sources. Avoid downloading plugins from unofficial websites.

Step 2 — Checking Plugin Compatibility

Before downloading a plugin, verify the following on its page.

The supported server versions list must include your Minecraft version. The plugin should support Paper, Spigot, or Bukkit. All three are compatible with Paper. Check the dependencies section for any required libraries and install those too.

Step 3 — Download the Plugin

On Modrinth or Hangar click the plugin you want and go to its download or versions page. Download the JAR file for your Minecraft version.

Step 4 — Install the Plugin

Stop your server before adding new plugins.

stop

Copy the JAR file into the plugins folder.

cp ~/Downloads/pluginname-*.jar ~/minecraft-paper-server/plugins/

On Windows drag and drop the JAR into the plugins folder.

Step 5 — Start the Server

Start the server and watch the console for any errors.

./start.sh

When plugins load successfully you will see messages from each plugin in the console. A typical successful load message looks like the following.

[PluginName] Enabling PluginName v1.0.0

If a plugin fails to load you will see an error message. Common causes are an incompatible Minecraft version or a missing dependency.

Step 6 — Configure the Plugin

Most plugins generate a configuration folder inside the plugins directory when they first load. For example a plugin called EssentialsX would create the following folder.

plugins/Essentials/

Inside this folder you will find a config.yml file. Open it in a text editor to customise the plugin's behaviour. YAML files use indentation for structure. Be careful with spacing as incorrect indentation will cause errors.

After editing a config file, reload the plugin without restarting the server using the following command.

/pluginname reload

Or reload all plugins with the following command. Note that not all plugins support this safely.

/reload confirm

Essential Plugins for Any Paper Server

The following plugins are highly recommended for almost every Paper server.

EssentialsX from https://essentialsx.net provides the core commands every server needs including /home, /spawn, /tpa, /kit, /warp, economy integration, and much more. It is the most widely used Minecraft plugin.

Download EssentialsX and also the EssentialsX Chat addon for formatted chat with prefixes and suffixes.

LuckPerms from https://luckperms.net is the most powerful and flexible permissions plugin available. It lets you create groups, assign permissions, and manage what each player can do. It has a web-based editor at https://editor.luckperms.net for easy management.

WorldEdit from https://enginehub.org/worldedit is an in-game map editor that lets operators select regions and perform mass block operations. Essential for building servers.

WorldGuard from https://enginehub.org/worldguard works with WorldEdit to protect regions of the map from griefing. You can define protected zones where players cannot build or break blocks.

CoreProtect from https://modrinth.com/plugin/coreprotect logs all block changes, chest access, and player interactions. If someone griefs your server you can roll back all their changes with a single command.

/co rollback u:playername t:1h

Vault from https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/vault.34315 is an economy and permissions API that many plugins depend on. Install it even if you do not plan to use economy features immediately as some plugins require it.

Setting Up a Basic Permission System with LuckPerms

After installing LuckPerms, create a default group for new players and an admin group for trusted staff.

Create a member group with basic permissions.

/lp creategroup member

/lp group member permission set essentials.home true

/lp group member permission set essentials.tpa true

/lp group member permission set essentials.spawn true

Set member as the default group.

/lp group default parent set member

Create an admin group.

/lp creategroup admin

/lp group admin permission set * true

Promote a player to admin.

/lp user playername parent set admin

Updating Plugins

To update a plugin, stop the server, delete the old JAR from the plugins folder, place the new JAR in its place, and restart. The plugin's configuration folder will be preserved.

Never delete the plugin's configuration folder when updating unless the update specifically requires a fresh configuration.

Removing Plugins

To remove a plugin, stop the server and delete its JAR from the plugins folder. Optionally delete its configuration folder from the plugins directory as well. Restart the server.

Troubleshooting Plugins

If a plugin is not working, check the following.

Run /plugins in the console or game to see a list of loaded plugins. Plugins shown in green are loaded. Plugins shown in red failed to load. Check the server log at logs/latest.log for error messages related to the plugin. Make sure all dependencies are installed. Visit the plugin's page or support Discord for help.

Backing Up Plugin Data

Always back up your plugins and their configuration before making changes.

cp -r ~/minecraft-paper-server/plugins ~/minecraft-paper-server/plugins-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)

Conclusion

You now know how to find, install, configure, and manage plugins on your Paper server. Start with the essential plugins listed above to get a solid foundation, then explore the thousands of available plugins to create the server experience you want.