How to install a plugin on a server (Paper, Spigot, Purpur)

Plugins go on the server only — players don't need to download anything. They run on Paper, Spigot, Bukkit, Purpur, Folia; proxies use Velocity and BungeeCord.

Run a Paper server

Download Paper from papermc.io for your version and start it once: server folders appear, including plugins.

java -Xms2G -Xmx4G -jar paper.jar nogui

Download the plugin

On the plugin page choose the game version and your server software, then click Download.

Put the file into plugins

Stop the server and put the .jar into the server's plugins folder.

<server folder>/plugins

Start the server

The plugin creates its config folder on start. Check with the plugins command.

ImportantDon't use /reload for plugins — restart the server instead.

Where the .minecraft folder is

SystemPath

Windows%appdata%\.minecraft

macOS~/Library/Application Support/minecraft

Linux~/.minecraft

FAQ

Do plugins work on a Forge server?

Usually not: plugins are for Paper/Spigot, mods are for Forge/Fabric.