The 5 plugins every Minecraft server should have

You've just set up a Paper server. Plugins are enabled. The world's fresh. Now what do you actually install?!

These five are the ones I'd put on every single server without thinking twice.

1. EssentialsX

This is AWESOME! EssentialsX gives you the core commands every server needs! /home, /spawn, /tpa, /warp, economy basics, chat formatting. It's been around forever, it's maintained properly, and it just works.

Download it, drop it in your plugins folder, restart, and you’re sorted!

2. LuckPerms

Permission management. Boring but essential. Without it everyone has the same access to everything which is a nightmare waiting to happen.

LuckPerms has a web editor that makes setting up ranks and permissions fun! (generous, but a lot better than the alternatives). Set up a basic Player rank and an Admin rank on day one and thank yourself later.

3. WorldEdit

Not just for building servers. WorldEdit is useful any time you need to clear a massive area, fix a griefed section, or just move something without doing it block by block.

I’ve used it a few times without telling my friends, and they wonder how I’ve built a castle when they’ve just got iron. Hehe, they will NEVER EVER KNOW!

4. CoreProtect

Grief protection and rollback. CoreProtect logs every single block placed and broken so if someone causes havoc you can roll it back with one command.

/co rollback u:username t:1h

That undoes everything that username did in the last hour. We all have that friend (well not me anymore, I BANNED HIM!).

5. Dynmap

A live map of your server accessible from a browser. People love it. You can see where everyone is, what's been built, how far the world has been explored.

It's also genuinely awesome to watch your server grow over time.

All of these are free, all of them work on Paper, and all of them are actively maintained.

If you're running on Ignulo you can upload plugins directly through the file manager in the panel, no SFTP needed!