Minecraft Creative Plot Server with PlotSquared: Step-by-Step Setup

What you need

A Paper server (or Spigot, Purpur): PlotSquared is a plugin, not a mod. On NapNodes, Minecraft servers are delivered on Paper, on the latest version.

PlotSquared won't start without WorldEdit (or FastAsyncWorldEdit, which replaces it): it uses it to clear and copy plots. Also, with WorldEdit installed, each player can only use it inside their own plot.

Multiverse-Core isn't required, but we recommend it: if it's there, PlotSquared creates the plot world with it and Multiverse loads it again on every startup. That way you can have the normal world (or a survival) and the plot world side by side, each with its own game mode.

And LuckPerms, for permissions: out of the box, claiming a plot is for ops only.

Installing the plugins

1. Make a backup

   In the panel, “Backups”. If something doesn't convince you, you go back in a minute.

2. WorldEdit, Multiverse-Core and LuckPerms

   In “Mods & plugins”, search for them and install them. The panel only shows the versions that work with your Minecraft version.

3. PlotSquared

   Search for it in “Mods & plugins” too. If it doesn't show up, download it from its official page (SpigotMC) and upload it to the plugins folder from “Files”. First, check that version says it works with your Minecraft version.

4. Restart

   From the “Console” or with “Restart”. On startup, plugins/PlotSquared appears with its config folder (settings.yml and worlds.yml). If the console says WorldEdit is missing, it hasn't loaded: check it's in plugins and matches your version.

Creating the plot world

The easiest way is PlotSquared's wizard, in game and as an op (in the panel's “Console”: op YourName). Type /plot setup and answer as you go: each question is answered with /plot setup <value>, and the wizard itself shows the default value for each step.

1. Generator

   Choose PlotSquared.

2. World type

   normal is the classic: all plots and roads on flat terrain. augmented puts the plots on normal terrain, and partial leaves the world as it is with loose groups of plots; for a creative server, normal.

3. Size and blocks

   If you change nothing, each plot is 42 × 42 blocks, with quartz roads 7 wide, a grass floor and a slab border that changes colour when someone claims it. For a small server of friends, bigger plots (64 or 100) give you more to play with.

4. Name

   A short one, with no spaces or accents: plots. When you finish, the wizard takes you to the new world.

If you'd rather do it by hand

With Multiverse-Core, from the “Console”: mv create plots normal -g PlotSquared. It's the same thing the wizard does behind the scenes, with the default plot size.

So everyone builds in creative in that world: mv modify plots set gamemode creative. The other worlds keep their mode, and if you mix a survival with the creative one, add Multiverse-Inventories so inventories don't cross over (it's in the multiple worlds guide).

The settings of each plot world (size, blocks, height) are stored in plugins/PlotSquared/config/worlds.yml. Changing them only affects terrain generated afterwards: in a world that's already in use, better not touch the size, or the old plots stop lining up.

Permissions: letting your players claim their plot

PlotSquared comes with a permission pack with everything a normal player needs: plots.permpack.basic (claim, go to their plot, add friends, merge plots, set flags…). Give it to the everyone group with LuckPerms, from the “Console”: lp group default permission set plots.permpack.basic true.

That pack doesn't say how many plots each player gets: that's separate, with plots.plot.<number>. So each player can have two: lp group default permission set plots.plot.2 true. A VIP or builders group can get more (plots.plot.5) without touching everyone else; how to create groups is in the LuckPerms guide.

If a player types /plot auto and gets told they don't have permission or have reached their limit, it's almost always one of those two.

The commands your players will use

They all start with /plot (or the shorter /p).

/plot auto gives the player the nearest free plot and takes them there. /plot claim claims the plot they're standing on. /plot home (or /plot h) takes them back to theirs; if they have several, /plot home 2.

/plot add Name lets a friend build, but only while the owner is online. /plot trust Name lets them build any time, also with the owner offline. /plot remove Name removes either of the two. /plot deny Name doesn't even let them in, and /plot kick Name throws them off the plot right now.

/plot visit Name takes you to another player's plot to see it. /plot info tells you who owns the plot you're on and who can build on it. /plot middle takes you to the centre.

/plot merge joins the plot with the one next to it (merge n, e, s or w: north, east, south or west) to make a bigger one; both have to be yours. /plot unlink splits them again.

/plot clear leaves the plot as if newly created and /plot delete also frees it up for someone else. Both ask for confirmation (/plot confirm), and what's deleted doesn't come back: that's what the server's backups are for.

Flags: each plot's rules

Each owner can tweak their plot with /plot flag set <flag> <value>. /plot flag list shows them all and /plot flag remove <flag> removes one.

The most used: time (a fixed time of day, for example /plot flag set time 6000 so it's always noon), weather (clear so it never rains), greeting and farewell (a message on entering and leaving), gamemode and guest-gamemode (the game mode inside, for the owner and for visitors) and pvp.

/plot biome changes the biome of the whole plot (for the colour of grass or water), and /plot alias set <name> gives it a name so others can visit it with /plot visit <name>.

Ideas so it isn't just another creative server

Build contests: a theme a week and a plot per player. With /plot rate the others rate the plots; if you enable approval in settings.yml (the approval section), only the plots their owner marks as finished with /plot done get rated.

A plot world next to the survival one: survival in the normal world and plots for testing designs before building them for real. With Multiverse, mv tp plots takes you from one to the other.

Schematics: with WorldEdit, what someone builds on their plot can be saved as a .schem and pasted into the survival world later (the WorldEdit guide explains how).

How much RAM it needs and where to host it

A creative plot server needs less than a survival one with the same number of players: the terrain is flat and generates instantly. What weighs most are builds with lots of redstone or entities, and very big WorldEdit commands. To run your own numbers, use the Minecraft RAM calculator.

It works the same on your PC, but the world only exists while your computer is on, and on a creative plot server the whole point is that everyone builds whenever they like. On NapNodes you can start with the free server (no card, it starts when you want to play) and move to a plan, always on and with backups, when it needs one. The plan's RAM is yours alone.

Frequently asked questions