Minecraft Plugin Guide

Installing Plugins on Your Minecraft Server

Plugins let you add new features to your Paper or Spigot server — from basic commands and permissions to full minigame frameworks. All HostedGG Paper and Spigot servers support plugins out of the box.

How to Install Plugins

Method 1: 1-Click Install (Recommended)

1. Open your server dashboard
2. Go to the Mods tab
3. Search for a plugin by name (powered by Modrinth)
4. Click Install
5. Restart your server

Method 2: Manual Upload

1. Download the plugin .jar file from SpigotMC, Modrinth, or Hangar
2. Open your server's File Manager
3. Navigate to the /plugins/ folder
4. Upload the .jar file
5. Restart your server

Essential Plugins Every Server Needs

Core Plugins

Protection & Anti-Grief

Economy & Shops

Chat & Social

Performance

Configuring Plugins

Most plugins create configuration files on first startup:

1. Start your server with the plugin installed
2. Stop the server
3. Open File Manager → /plugins/<PluginName>/
4. Edit config.yml (the main config file)
5. Start the server again

Example: Setting Up LuckPerms

1. Install LuckPerms via the Mods tab
2. Restart your server
3. In the server console, run:
   • lp creategroup admin — create an admin group
   • lp creategroup mod — create a mod group
   • lp user <YourName> parent set admin — make yourself admin
4. Configure permissions using the LuckPerms web editor

Example: Setting Up EssentialsX

1. Install EssentialsX
2. Restart your server
3. Edit /plugins/Essentials/config.yml:
   • Set spawn-on-join: true to teleport players to spawn on login
   • Configure kits for starter items
   • Set teleport-cooldown and teleport-delay

Using Your Free MySQL Database

Some plugins perform better with MySQL instead of flat files. HostedGG includes a free MySQL database with every Paper server.

Plugins that benefit from MySQL:

• LuckPerms (shared permissions across servers)
• CoreProtect (faster lookups on large databases)
• Economy plugins (reliable data storage)
• BungeeCord network plugins (shared data)

To connect a plugin to MySQL:

1. Go to your dashboard's Databases tab
2. Copy your database credentials (host, port, database, username, password)
3. Open the plugin's config.yml
4. Find the storage or database section
5. Change type from file/yaml to mysql
6. Enter your database credentials
7. Restart the server

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

1. Check the console for red error messages on startup
2. Version mismatch — ensure the plugin supports your Minecraft version
3. Missing dependency — some plugins require Vault, ProtocolLib, or PlaceholderAPI
4. Wrong server type — plugins don't work on Vanilla or Forge servers

Plugin Conflicts

If your server crashes after installing a new plugin:

1. Remove the last plugin you installed
2. Start the server
3. Check if the issue persists
4. If fixed, the removed plugin conflicts with another — check both plugins' documentation

Commands Not Working

1. Check you have the correct permission node (use LuckPerms)
2. Check the plugin's help command: /<plugin> help
3. Some plugins need /reload or a full restart to apply config changes

Next Steps

• Set up your server from scratch
• Install mods for Forge/Fabric
• Configure automatic backups