Installing Plugins

What Are Plugins

Plugins are files written in Java that change the way the server works, generally adding features. They allow server owners to do a lot of modifications, such as adding an economy system, managing teleports and permissions, etc.

Finding Plugins

Warning

Do not download plugins from untrustworthy sources! Malicious plugins can be used to give others unauthorized access to your server or computer.

SpongePowered currently runs the Ore platform to make it easy for plugin developers and users to distribute and download plugins. Alternatively, you can search for plugins on the SpongePowered forums.

Installation

SpongeForge

In order to install plugins, place them into the /mods/ folder of your game or server directory. If your download came in a .zip file, then you may need to extract it to find a .jar file inside.

You can also place your plugins inside the /mods/plugins/ subfolder or even set a custom folder in the global.conf file via the plugins-dir setting. SpongeForge will automatically search these folders for plugins. Please note that plugins which make use of Mixins must reside inside the mods folder.

SpongeVanilla

Note

For consistency between SpongeForge and SpongeVanilla, plugins are stored in the mods directory on SpongeVanilla.

In order to install plugins, place them into the /mods/ folder of your game or server directory. If your download came in a .zip file, then you may need to extract it to find a .jar file inside.

You can also place your plugins inside the /mods/plugins/ subfolder or even set a custom folder in the global.conf file via the plugins-dir setting. SpongeVanilla will automatically search these folders for plugins. Please note that plugins which make use of Mixins must reside inside the mods folder.

Common Problems

If you are having problems with a plugin, consider the following things:

  • Is the plugin compatible with your Minecraft version? While Sponge tries to keep old plugins working, this is sometimes not possible. In most cases, plugins based on a stable release should continue functioning without being updated. Please note that plugins might stop working if you switch to a different major version of the API, since major versions contain breaking changes. Refer to our versioning scheme for more information.

  • Do you run a current Java version? Sponge is built for Java 8 and is known to trigger a bug in the JRE 1.8.0_20, so make sure you use a version newer than that.

  • The plugin may be outdated. Is there a newer version of the plugin?

  • Does the plugin need a specific implementation and/or build of Sponge? Some plugins may bypass the Sponge API, or otherwise rely on details that change between versions or platforms. Check at the site you downloaded it from.