LuckPerms: Ranks and Permissions on Your Minecraft Server, Step by Step

What it is and what you need

LuckPerms is a permissions plugin: each player belongs to one or more groups (ranks) and each group has a list of permissions. It works on Paper or Purpur servers, not on Fabric or Forge. Players don't install anything.

Install it from “Mods & plugins” in the panel (if it doesn't show up in the search, download the .jar from its official website and upload it to the plugins folder from “Files”) and restart. Make a backup from “Backups” first.

Creating your first ranks

All new players land in the “default” group. The usual approach is to leave it with the basics and create a couple of groups above it. These commands are typed in the panel console (without the slash) or in the game if you're op.

1. Create the group

   lp creategroup moderator. To see the ones you have: lp listgroups.

2. Give it permissions

   lp group moderator permission set essentials.kick true (the exact name of each permission is in the documentation of the plugin you want to control). With false it's explicitly denied.

3. Make it inherit from another

   lp group moderator parent add default. That way the moderator has everything from the default group plus their own, and you don't have to repeat permissions.

4. Put a player in the group

   lp user PlayerName parent add moderator. To take them out: lp user PlayerName parent remove moderator.

5. Check

   lp user PlayerName permission check essentials.kick tells you whether they have it and which group it comes from.

The web editor: the easiest option if you don't want to type

Type lp editor in the console or in the game. LuckPerms gives you a link: open it in your browser and you'll see the groups and permissions on a screen where you can add, remove and drag them. When you're done, you save and it gives you a command to apply the changes; paste it into the server. The link is private, don't share it.

Common mistakes

The permission is spelled right but doesn't work: check that the plugin is loaded and that no other group denies it with false. If you set it with lp user and then change the group, the user's permission is still there.

Chat prefixes (the [Admin] in front of the name) are managed by LuckPerms with lp group admin meta setprefix 100 "&c[Admin] ", but to see them you need a chat plugin that displays them (EssentialsX Chat, for example) and Vault. Without it, the permission does work, but the prefix doesn't show.

Be careful with giving “*”: it's every permission, the same as being an administrator. Keep it for yourself, and better still: for your own account, not for a group.

A backup of what you've set up

LuckPerms keeps its data in the plugins/LuckPerms folder. If you change a lot, make a backup of the server from “Backups” before touching the permissions of a group with lots of players: if something goes wrong, it's restored in a minute.

Frequently asked questions