23 Best Minecraft Plugins your Spigot Server Needs (+Links)
If you are just getting started with Spigot, it might be hard to find the best plugins for your Minecraft server.
Yes, you can browse to the thousands of resources on the official website, but good luck to find the best ones.
I have a lot of experience with Spigot, that’s why I’m sharing with you my top picks in this article. Let’s start with the essentials before looking at other options:
| Plugin | Role |
|---|---|
| Essentials | Mandatory for all basic commands |
| Vault | Economy management |
| LuckPerms | Permissions management |
| WorldGuard | World protection |
| Multiverse | To create several worlds on the same server |
| WorldEdit | To terraform quickly |
We’ll now take a look at the 23 most important plugins you need to know. They are sorted by category, and I’ll explain their role each time with a direct link to download it. Even if it’s your first Minecraft server, it should help a lot.
Essentials plugins on Spigot
Let’s start with the ones you can skip if you are serious with your server, they are almost mandatory on any server.
Essentials
As the name says, Essentials is a must-have on any server.
This small plugin will add many features and commands to yor server:
- Spawn point management, with the /spawn command
- Feature to set homes (teleportation points, different for each player) and warps (common points)
- It also improves the default chat
- You can give a default stuff to your new players, thanks to the kits feature
- Etc.
The original Essentials plugin is no longer maintained by its creator, but you can still find updated versions or clones with more or less the same features.
Essentials is also part of the Spigot upgrades, if you check the Jenkins server with the Spigot releases, there will be the updated version of Essentials in the same directory.
Download it on Spigot
You can also get EssentialsX here, which is a continuation of the original project.
Vault
Vault is also a plugin you need to have on any server.
Basically, there is no economy if Vault is not installed. And it’s also required by many other plugins you’ll install after that.
Vault work in the background, adding the basic framework other plugins need to work correctly (permissions, money, chat, etc.)
ViaVersion
During the last years, Mojang has really increased the frequency of new releases, and it’s not easy for server owners to keep up with that pace. For each new release, you need to upgrade the server, find compatible plugins for the new version, and probably adapt the game play to the updated version.
ViaVersion is a great plugin to avoid doing this each time. Once installed, your server will be compatible with any Minecraft launcher, from 1.8 to the latest version. It might not seem important when you create your server, but it’ll save you a lot of time on the long run.
ProtocolLib
ProtocolLib is a plugin totally transparent for players, they never know it’s installed. But it’s required by many other plugins, this is why it’s almost mandatory to have it on your server.
It’s a gateway towards the Minecraft API for the other plugins developers.
Permissions manager plugins for your Minecraft server
I could have included these in the previous part because it’s almost mandatory on any public server: you have to put limits in place to avoid players destroying your server. This can also be useful if you want to create ranks and give perks relative to these ranks.
PermissionsEx
This is maybe not the one I would recommend if you are just getting started because it doesn’t seem to be maintained anymore. But this plugin has still its place in a top plugins list. It can manage the permissions on your server, and I’m still using it on several servers.
You can set permissions for each player or group, you can also define them depending on the world where the player is. It’s not too hard to set up and maintain on a daily basis, you can do everything directly in game, that’s why I keep using it.
You can download it here, but read the following options that might be a better choice for you.
GroupManager
GroupManager is an alternative to PermissionsEx.
Personally, I never used it but I know it was the direct competitor to PEX this years, and that most server owners love it. It should do the job too.
It’s still updated regularly, so it’s probably a better option than PermissionsEx. Use the link below to try it, and see if it does what you need. If not, the third option in this category should be the one for you
Download GroupManager on Spigot
LuckPerms
On my main servers, I moved recently from PermissionsEx to LuckParms.
It’s almost mandatory if you build a server in the latest Minecraft version. The developer is active, the plugin is updated frequently, and he listens to the community to fix bugs and add new features.
It’s probably the best option currently.
The plugin seems to be built with current technologies, for example there is a full API for other plugin developers.
It’s also possible to enable a web interface allowing basic permissions management, this is really revolutionary in this field.
Here is the link to download LuckPerms
Spigot plugins to protect your server
Once the basic plugins installed, you can start to protect your server before opening it to the other players.
WorldGuard
WorldGuard is a must-have in this field, as it will help you to protect your builds.
You can use it to create areas in your world, and give them specific permissions.
For example, one player can build a house here, but the other players can’t break it.
You can also set flags in each region, to change the game settings in this zone. For example, you can set a flag to make players invincible in the spawn area.
I highly recommend installing it as soon as possible on your server.
AuthMe Reloaded
AuthMe add an authentication step where players connect to your server.
The first time you access the server, you need to create a password. The next times you log in, you’ll need to enter it to confirm the server access with this player name.
It’s mandatory if your server is configured as “offline” (crack), to avoid identity theft.
But you can also use it on online servers (premium), to add a two-step authentication. This way, even if the Minecraft password is hacked, the progress on your server stay safe.
There might be other options to do the same thing, but it’s probably the most popular.
CoreProtect
CoreProtect is another toolbox for the server security.
There are many features available, that you can enable or disable as you want, but the most common use of this plugin is to log all blocks modifications. There is also a rollback feature to revert an issue in a specific area or for a specific player.
Let’s say an important block disappear somewhere on your server, this plugin can tell you who broke it and when. This might be really useful depending on the server.
More details and download here
AreaShop
AreaShop is a very convenient plugin, allowing you to sell plots automatically.
Create a new region with WorldGuard, select it with AreaShop and create a sign to sell it for a specific price. You can set who will get the money and the rent duration. There are permissions available to limit the number of plots depending on the player rank for example.
I use it on my server for cities to have plots on rent for other players. It works really well.
World management plugins on Spigot
It’s time to move to the next level, you are ready to welcome new random players on your server, but to attract them, you’ll need to have something interesting to offer. Create several worlds, with different purposes, is a great way to do this.
Multiverse-core
Multiverse is one old plugin, that was already there with Bukkit at the beginning of Minecraft servers. And it’s still essential on a modern server.
This plugin allows you to create several worlds, for example one to farm resources, where players can mine, in a different environment than the spawn world, where you have your important builds.
You can create all kind of worlds with this plugin: Overworld, Nether and End. You can pick the seed you want or use a world generator to add originality.
Multiworld
I will be quick on this one, this is the only concurrent I have found to Multiverse.
The idea is exactly the same, so nothing more to add.
I think it has been created at one time, when Multiverse has been a bit slow to update for the newest Minecraft versions. But if you can find a Multiverse version compatible with your Minecraft server, I would recommend Multiverse.
Per world inventory
This one is a bit different, and more interesting than the last one. The idea is to have a distinct inventory in each world (or at least one of your worlds). It also does the same thing for the player experience.
For example, you can create a new world where you organize some events, you give player stuff to play in these events, but when they come back to the spawn world they recover their normal equipment.
It works great with Multiverse.
Plugins to improve the game interface
In this category, I’ll introduce a few plugins to improve the interface of your Minecraft server. Interface? Yes, you can tweak it a bit to add a few interesting elements, you’ll understand in a few seconds.
TitleManager
TitleManager is a plugin that allow you to change the appearance for the players list (“TAB” scoreboard).
You can include for example the name of your server, the website address (or the one for Discord), et any other useful tips for your players.
With TitleManager, you can also manage login screens, action bars and scoreboards.
I’ll let you download it and test all of this on your server. There is a complete documentation on the link below.
QuickBoard
QuickBoard is more specialized adn can do only one thing, but it does it well: easily create wonderful dynamic scoreboards.
You can use it with PlaceHolderAPI, so it’s possible to connect it with dozens of plugins to display different kind of information, for example: money (Vault), XP Level, player statistics (StatZ), etc.
NameTagEdit
NameTagEdit is a light plugin, easy to configure which well help you to change the text displayed above the player head.
This way, you can customize it to display important information depending on your server (rank, staff, VIP, etc.)
Creative Gates
Yes, we are in Stargate with this plugin, you can create teleportation portals on your server!
You can link two places on your server, and it’s easy to use, no command required to create a portal 🙂
Citizens
The last one in this category is well-know among Minecraft server owners.
With Citizens, you can create specific non-players entities, choose their appearance (villager, player, mob), make them speak or move on a specific way. They can also execute commands when a player interact with them.
It’s another way to set up teleportation on your server, but you can also use it for many other links, like quests or just for a better player experience (it’s always better to interact with a Villager than typing a command).
Other interesting plugins for Spigot servers
In this last category, I’m adding all the interesting plugins that I can’t put in the other sections.
WorldEdit
WorldEdit is essentials, you probably already know about it, so I’ll be short.
With this plugin, you can create selection and edit them quickly, import/export selections, create specific shapes (like sphere and cubes).
There is a lot of possibilities for builders, players in creative mode and most of all for server administrators.
Crazy Auctions
Crazy Auctions is useful for allowing trade between players (even if they are disconnected). They will get an interface where they can set the items they want to sell at which price, and other players can buy them directly from there.
It also helps to have a certain control over the economy, as you can configure the items that are allowed or not, and price ranges for each of them.
You should test it!
AutoRestart
AutoRestart is a basic plugin, but still important because it allows you to set automatic reboot of your server at specified times. You’ll configure everything and it will safely reboot your server and warn the players a few minutes before.
On restart, the map will be saved just before, and it will disable all plugins.
It’s a great way to free up some RAM from time to time, and you can also do your own backups at the same time (always better to this with the server off).
ClearLagg
ClearLagg is another toolbox plugin, it will add many features to your server, all related to the server performances.
For example, you can use it to remove items floating on the ground or to set a maximum number of mobs in each chunk. There are many other tools to monitor lag in each area or world.
Related questions
How to install a new plugin on Spigot?
To install a new plugin on a Spigot server, the version corresponding to the Minecraft server has to be downloaded in the /plugins/ folder of the server. On the next reboot, the plugin will be installed automatically.
Conclusion
That’s it, you now have my shortlist of plugins for Minecraft server running on Spigot.
I hope this will be useful for you, and that you’ll save time with it. As you can see, you don’t need to do everything yourself, most features already exist in various plugins 🙂
