Install Minecraft plugins

Plugins, mods, datapacks – what runs where?

Plugins only run on the server; your players don't install anything. Mods usually need to be installed on the client as well. Paper is a fork of Spigot – faster and more configurable – and almost all Spigot plugins run on it. Datapacks (folder world/datapacks) work everywhere, even on vanilla.

If your server runs Vanilla or Forge, you need Paper first. At AvantaHost you pick the software when ordering; whether you can switch it with a startup variable in the panel's Startup tab (labelled „Start“) depends on the server type – otherwise support can help. Take a backup first.

Step 1: Download the plugin from a trusted source

A plugin has full access to your server and its files. Only download from well-known sources:

• Hangar – PaperMC's official plugin repository
• Modrinth – plugins and mods, easy to filter by platform and version
• SpigotMC and BukkitDev – the large, older directories
• The project's GitHub releases

On the download page, check the supported Minecraft versions and the platform (Paper/Spigot/Bukkit). The file has to end in .jar. If you get a .zip, extract it and use the JAR meant for Paper or Bukkit.

Step 2: Create a backup

Plugins write configuration and sometimes data into your world. Back up the server before installing or updating anything. In the AvantaHost panel: Backups tab → create backup („Backup erstellen“), naming it e.g. “before plugin update”. How many backups you can keep at once depends on your package.

Step 3: Put the JAR into the plugins/ folder

The plugins folder sits in the server's root directory, next to server.properties. Paper and Spigot create it on first start.

/
├── plugins/
│   ├── LuckPerms-Bukkit-5.x.jar   ← put it here
│   └── LuckPerms/                 ← created by the plugin
├── world/
├── server.properties
└── paper.jar

• In the panel: open the Files tab, go into plugins, click Upload („Hochladen“) and pick the JAR. You can also upload a ZIP and unpack it with Extract („Entpacken“) – delete leftover files afterwards.
• Via SFTP: the credentials are in the Network tab under „SFTP-Zugang“. Connect with FileZilla or WinSCP and drag the JAR into plugins/.
• The JAR has to sit directly in plugins/. Subfolders like plugins/new/ are not scanned.

Step 4: Restart the server – not /reload

Plugins are loaded at server start, so restart the server with Restart in the panel. /reload is not a substitute: many plugins don't handle a reload well, which leads to memory leaks and listeners registered twice. Paper itself warns against it.

Then check in the console that everything loaded:

plugins
# Example output:
# Server Plugins (2):
# Bukkit Plugins:
#  - LuckPerms, Vault

Green means enabled, red means the plugin was not enabled – the reason is in the log.

Step 5: Configure the plugin

On first start most plugins create their own folder with a config.yml, e.g. plugins/LuckPerms/. Edit it in the panel editor (Files tab, click the file, save) and restart. Some plugins have their own command to reload their config – that is fine, unlike the global /reload.

YAML is picky: indent with spaces only, never tabs. One wrong space and the plugin falls back to defaults or doesn't load at all.

If a plugin needs a MySQL database (for example LuckPerms across a network), create one in the panel's Databases tab and enter host, user and password in the plugin config.

Updating and removing plugins

• Update: backup, stop the server, delete the old JAR, upload the new JAR, start. If old and new versions sit in the folder together you get “Ambiguous plugin name”.
• Remove: delete the JAR and restart. You can keep the config folder (in case you reinstall later) or delete it too.
• After a Minecraft update, first check that all your plugins support the new version – otherwise stay one version behind.

Common log errors

Your first stop is logs/latest.log or the live console. Plugin load errors appear near the top, shortly after startup. The first one or two lines of the error usually tell you enough.