Installing plugins on a Paper Minecraft server

Plugins are the main reason you'd pick Paper over Vanilla. Install them in three easy steps and restart the server.

Where plugins live

All plugin jars go in the /plugins/ folder. Each plugin creates its own subfolder for configuration on first start (e.g. /plugins/LuckPerms/).

Install via the panel

1. Download the plugin JAR from the official source (Modrinth, SpigotMC, Hangar, GitHub releases).
2. Open the Files tab → /plugins/.
3. Click Upload or drag the JAR into the browser window.
4. Restart the server. Check the console for [PluginName] Enabled.

Install via Wingman AI

One-liner: "Install LuckPerms and EssentialsX, then restart." Wingman finds the right build, downloads it, and triggers a restart.

Updating a plugin

1. Stop the server.
2. Delete the old JAR from /plugins/.
3. Upload the new JAR with the same name.
4. Start the server. Configs in /plugins/<name>/ are preserved.

Plugin recommendations for every server

• LuckPerms — permissions management, must-have.
• EssentialsX — core commands (/sethome, /spawn, /tpa).
• CoreProtect — rollback grief and log actions.
• DiscordSRV — bridge server chat to Discord.
• spark — performance profiling when TPS drops.