Game Servers & OuiPanel•December 15, 2025• 4 views

How to Install Plugins on Your Minecraft Server

How to Install Plugins on Your Minecraft Server

How to Install Plugins on Your Minecraft Server

Estimated Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner ⭐
Compatible Servers: Paper, Spigot, Purpur, Bukkit (not Vanilla)

📋 Introduction

Plugins are extensions that add features to your Minecraft server: economy systems, zone protections, extra commands, mini-games, and much more.

Plugin vs Mod: What's the Difference?

Plugin Mod
Installs server-side only Requires installation server-side AND client-side
Compatible with Paper, Spigot, Purpur Compatible with Forge, Fabric
Players don't need to install anything Players need to install the same mods
.jar files in the /plugins folder .jar files in the /mods folder

💡 This guide is for plugins. For mods (Forge/Fabric), refer to the dedicated guide.

🔧 Prerequisites

Check Server Compatibility

Plugins work only with these types of servers:

Server Type Compatible Plugins Recommendation
✅ Paper Yes ⭐ Recommended (better performance)
✅ Spigot Yes Good choice
✅ Purpur Yes Enhanced Paper
✅ Bukkit Yes Old, prefer Paper
❌ Vanilla No No plugins possible
❌ Forge No Use mods
❌ Fabric No Use mods
❌ Bedrock No Use addons

⚠️ Using Vanilla server? You must first switch to Paper or Spigot in your server settings.

📥 Where to Download Plugins?

Download your plugins only from reliable sources:

Site Link Description
🔶 SpigotMC spigotmc.org/resources Largest plugin library
🟢 Modrinth modrinth.com/plugins Modern, verified plugins
🟠 Hangar (PaperMC) hangar.papermc.io Plugins for Paper
🟡 Bukkit dev.bukkit.org Historical, still active

⚠️ Attention: Never download plugins from unofficial sites or suspicious Discord links. Risk of malware!

🚀 Installing a Plugin

Method 1: Via File Manager (Recommended)

Step 1: Download the Plugin

  1. Go to SpigotMC or Modrinth
  2. Search for the desired plugin (e.g., "EssentialsX")
  3. Check compatibility with your Minecraft version
  4. Click on Download to get the .jar fileImageImage

💡 Tip: Note any required dependencies (e.g., Vault for economy plugins).

Step 2: Access the File Manager

  1. Log in to OuiPanel
  2. Select your Minecraft server
  3. In the side menu, click on File Manager

Image

Step 3: Open the plugins folder

  1. In the file manager, click on the plugins folder

📁 If the plugins folder doesn't exist, start your server once and then stop it. The folder will be created automatically.

Step 4: Upload the plugin

  1. Click on the Upload button
  2. Select the .jar file of the plugin from your computer
  3. Wait for the upload to complete

Image

  1. The plugin will appear in the list of files:Image

Step 5: Restart the server

  1. Go back to your server's Console
  2. Click on Restart
  3. Wait for the server to fully start
  1. In the console logs, you should see the plugin loading:
[Server] [INFO] [EssentialsX] Enabling EssentialsX v2.20.1
 [Server] [INFO] [EssentialsX] Essentials: Using 1.20.4+ Provider as support

Step 6: Verify the installation

Log in to your Minecraft server and type the command:

/plugins

or

/pl

You will see the list of installed plugins:

  • Green = Plugin enabled ✅
  • Red = Plugin disabled/error ❌

Image

If you run the command via OuiPanel console, please do not include the / to execute the command

Method 2: Via SFTP (Large Files)

If your plugin exceeds 100 MB (rare but possible), use SFTP:

  1. Connect via SFTP with FileZilla (see SFTP guide)
  2. Navigate to the /plugins folder
  3. Drag and drop the .jar file
  4. Restart the server

📖 Check the "SFTP Access with FileZilla" guide for detailed instructions.

⚙️ Configuring a Plugin

Most plugins create a configuration folder on first startup.

File Structure

After the restart, your plugins folder looks like this:

📁 plugins/
├── 📄 EssentialsX.jar          ← The plugin
├── 📁 EssentialsX/             ← Configuration folder
│   ├── 📄 config.yml           ← Main configuration
│   ├── 📄 messages.properties  ← Customizable messages
│   └── ...
├── 📄 LuckPerms.jar
├── 📁 LuckPerms/
│   └── 📄 config.yml
└── ...

Modify the configuration

  1. In the File Manager, open the plugin folder
  2. Click on the file config.yml
  3. Click on the file to Edit

Image

  1. Modify the settings according to your needs
  2. Click Save
  3. Restart the server to apply the changes

💡 Tip: Some plugins support /reload or a specific reload command to avoid a full restart.

⭐ Recommended Popular Plugins

Essentials (Essential)

Plugin Description Link
EssentialsX Basic commands (/home, /spawn, /tpa, /kit...) SpigotMC
LuckPerms Permission and rank management SpigotMC
Vault Economy API (required by many plugins) SpigotMC
WorldEdit Massive terrain editing SpigotMC
WorldGuard Zone protection SpigotMC

Protection & Security

Plugin Description Link
CoreProtect Logs and anti-grief rollback SpigotMC
GriefPrevention Player protection claims SpigotMC
AuthMe Authentication (cracked servers) SpigotMC

Economy & Commerce

Plugin Description Link
EssentialsX Economy Simple economy system Included with EssentialsX
ShopGUI+ GUI shop interface SpigotMC
ChestShop Sign shops SpigotMC

Fun & Gameplay

Plugin Description Link
mcMMO RPG skills system SpigotMC
Jobs Reborn Jobs and money gains SpigotMC
Citizens Customizable NPCs SpigotMC

Administration

Plugin Description Link
Plan Statistics and analytics SpigotMC
Multiverse-Core Multi-world management SpigotMC
TAB TAB and nametags customization SpigotMC

🔧 Troubleshooting

The plugin does not load

❌ Issue ✅ Solution
Incompatible version Check if the plugin supports your Minecraft version
Missing dependency Install required plugins (e.g., Vault)
Wrong folder The .jar file should be in /plugins, not in a subfolder
Corrupted file Re-download the plugin from the official source
Vanilla server Switch to Paper or Spigot

The plugin appears in red in /plugins

Check the Console to see the exact error:

[Server] [ERROR] Could not load 'plugins/MyPlugin.jar'
 [Server] [ERROR] java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError...

Common errors:

Error Meaning Solution
UnsupportedClassVersionError Outdated Java version Update Java in the settings
NoClassDefFoundError: Vault Missing dependency Install Vault
Plugin already initialized Duplicate plugin Remove duplicates
Invalid plugin.yml Corrupted or poorly compiled plugin Re-download

Plugin conflict

If your server crashes or lags after installing a plugin:

  1. Stop the server
  2. Delete the last installed plugin
  3. Restart the server
  4. Check if the issue persists
  5. Refer to the plugin page for known incompatibilities

The plugin is not functioning correctly

  1. Check the configuration (config.yml)
  2. Refer to the wiki or plugin documentation
  3. Check the permissions (LuckPerms)
  4. Test by giving yourself OP: /op YourUsername

🗑️ Remove a Plugin

  1. Stop your server
  2. In the File Manager, open the plugins folder
  3. Delete the plugin's .jar file
  4. (Optional) Remove the configuration folder of the plugin
  5. Restart the server

💡 Keep the configuration folder if you plan to reinstall the plugin later.

💡 Best Practices

Before installing a plugin

  • ✅ Check the compatibility with your Minecraft version
    • ✅ Read the reviews and rating on SpigotMC
    • ✅ Check the last update date (abandoned plugin?)
    • ✅ Read the required dependencies
    • ✅ Make a backup before installing a large plugin

    Maintenance

    • 🔄 Regularly update your plugins
    • 📊 Monitor performance (TPS) after each installation
    • 🧹 Remove unused plugins
    • 📝 Document installed plugins and their usefulness

    📝 Summary

    1. Download the plugin (.jar) from SpigotMC or Modrinth
 2. In OuiPanel → File Manager
 3. Open the "plugins" folder
 4. Click on "Upload" and upload the .jar
 5. Restart the server
 6. Check with /plugins in-game
 7. Configure in plugins/PluginName/config.yml
Back to Documentation