How To Add Plugins to Your Minecraft Server

Plugins are a great way to customize your Minecraft server. They are lighter than mods and do not require players to download anything. Players can join your server using vanilla Minecraft simply by entering the IP address.

Getting Your Server Ready for Plugins

Step 1: Login to the Server Control Panel

First need to access the SimpleGameHosting Control Panel. 

1. Navigate to panel.simplegamehosting.com and enter your login credentials in the provided field and click the Login button. 

👋 Trouble loggin in? If you haven't logged into the panel before, check out this guide on setting up your account and accessing the panel. 

2. After logging in successfully, you’ll be taken to the Console tab for your server. If you have more than one server, you’ll first see a dashboard listing all your available servers. Just click on the one you want to manage.

3. Make sure to turn the server offline on your Console tab by pressing the Stop button.

🛑Wait: Before you continue, make sure that your server has fully shut down. Once complete, you will often see the console display "Server marked as offline...".

Step 2: Installing Paper on Your Minecraft Server

1. Navigate to the Modpacks & Versions tab in the menu.

2. Click on the Version Manager subtab. From the dropdown menu, select Paper or Purpur. The page will refresh to display the available game versions.

3. Choose the version you want to install and click Install. Wait for the installation to complete.

4. After installation, a pop-up will appear asking you to confirm the installation of Paper or Purpur. Click the Install button to proceed.

⚠️ Warning: This will cause some files on your server to be deleted. Consider backing up your server if there are files on your server you don't want to lose.

5. Next, go to the Console tab and start the server. This will generate the Plugins folder, which you'll use later to add plugins.

6. Once the server is online and the Plugins folder has been created, stop the server and go to the File Manager tab. You're now ready to begin installing plugins on your server.

Adding Plugins Through Your File Manager

There are millions of plugins available for Minecraft servers, and most of them can be downloaded from websites like Bukkit or Spigot.

The plugins you choose will depend entirely on what you want your server to do, whether that is adding new gameplay features, improving performance, or enhancing moderation tools.

💡Tip: It is important to ensure that any plugin you install is compatible with the version of Minecraft your server is running. As long as that is the case, you should be able to install and use the plugin without any problems.

Step 1: Installing Your Plugins

Before you begin, make sure you are logged into the SimpleGameHosting control panel, your server is offline, and you have selected the File Manager tab for your server.

1. Next, locate the plugins folder. This is simple. Just look for the folder named plugins in the File Manager and click to open it.

2. To install plugins on your server, click the Upload button in the top right corner of the File Manager. You can also drag and drop your plugin files directly into the plugins folder.

3. A file selection window will appear, allowing you to choose the plugin files you want to upload. Confirm the upload by clicking Open, Upload, or Save, depending on your operating system. This will vary between Windows and Mac.

4. Once uploaded, your plugins will appear in the plugins folder. All plugins must be placed in this folder in order to work correctly.

📁 Note: After your plugins are activated in the next step, folders for each plugin will be created inside the plugins folder. These folders will contain the configuration files for each plugin.

Step 2: Activating Your Plugins

With your plugins installed, activating them is simple. 

1. First, click Console in the menu bar of the control panel. 

2. Then, click the Restart or Start button to launch your server and activate the plugins.

• If your server is currently stopped, you will need to click Start to begin running the server with your newly added plugins.

3. To confirm that your plugins have been installed, simply type the command plugins into the console and press Enter.

This will display a list of the current and active plugins running on your server in the console logs, as shown below.

If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team by submitting a Support Ticket or contacting us directly via LiveChat!