How to Install Minecraft Plugins on a Paper Server

Two ways to add plugins to Paper — one click from the panel, or a manual JAR upload to /plugins — plus the plugin list that runs happily on a free 5 GB node.

Plugins are what turn a plain survival server into your server: land claiming, a shop, a teleport system, ranks or a minigame. On a Paper server there are exactly two ways to install them — the one-click installer built into the SadHost panel, or a manual upload of a .jar — and both end up in the same place, the server's /plugins folder.

First: is your server actually running Paper?

Plugins only work on Bukkit-family software: Paper, Purpur, Spigot or Bukkit. If your server is Vanilla, Fabric or Forge it will ignore a plugin JAR completely — no error, no log line, nothing. Check the Version tab in the panel: it shows the current software and lets you switch. Paper supports both plugins and (via a compatibility layer) a large share of Spigot plugins, which is why it is our default.

Fabric and Forge servers use mods instead, installed from the Mods or Modpacks tab. The rule of thumb: plugins are server-side and players do not need them; mods usually need to be installed on every client.

Method A — the Plugin Installer (recommended)

1. Open your server in the panel and go to the Plugins tab.
2. Search by name — for example "EssentialsX", "LuckPerms" or "ViaVersion". The installer lists versions that match your server's Minecraft version, so you cannot accidentally grab a build for a version you are not running.
3. Press Install. The plugin is downloaded and written straight into the server's /plugins folder — no SFTP, no unzipping.
4. Restart the server. Plugins load at startup. A restart (not a reload) is the clean way to apply changes, and it is what the panel's restart button does.
5. Confirm in the console. Look for lines such as [Server thread/INFO]: [Essentials] Enabling Essentials v2.21.0. If your plugin is not in that list, it did not load — see the troubleshooting section below.

Method B — upload a JAR manually

Use this when a plugin is not in the installer, when you have a paid build, or when you need a specific development version.

1. Download the JAR from the right place. Prefer the project's official page on Modrinth, Hangar or SpigotMC. Random "plugin pack" sites are the fastest way to host something you did not intend to.
2. Check the version. A plugin built for 1.20.x will often refuse to load on 1.21.x. The download page usually states the supported Minecraft versions.
3. Open the panel File Manager, go into the /plugins folder and press Upload.
4. Restart the server and watch the console for the plugin's "Enabling…" line.
5. Configure it. Most plugins generate their own folder under /plugins/<PluginName>/ with a config.yml. Edit it in the panel's file editor, then restart again.

How to tell it actually worked

• Console: an "Enabling <Plugin>" line for each plugin, and no red stack trace right after it.
• In game: as an operator, run /plugins. Loaded plugins are green; plugins that failed load are red; plugins that were found but refused to start are yellow.
• Commands: the plugin's own commands should now tab-complete — /home, /claim, /pv, whatever it registers.

A sane starter set for a 5 GB server

Resist the urge to install all of them at once. Add a plugin, restart, confirm it loads, play for a bit, then add the next one. When something breaks you will know exactly what caused it — and every plugin you do not install is memory and CPU back for the world itself.

Troubleshooting: the plugin is not loading

• Wrong server software. Fabric/Forge/Vanilla ignore Bukkit plugin JARs entirely.
• Wrong Minecraft version. Look for Unsupported API version or requires version 1.20.4 or above in the console, then grab the build that matches your server.
• Missing dependency. Many plugins need Vault, PlaceholderAPI or ProtocolLib. The console names the missing piece — install that, then restart.
• Two versions of the same plugin. Uploading EssentialsX-2.20.jar next to an older EssentialsX-1.19.jar causes confusing behaviour. Keep exactly one JAR per plugin.
• Java too old. UnsupportedClassVersionError means the plugin needs a newer Java runtime than the one your server image uses — switch the server's Java version in the panel, or use an older plugin build.
• Corrupt or blocked download. A JAR that is a few kilobytes in size is usually an HTML error page. Delete it and download again from the source.

The /plugins folder is created for you, so "the folder does not exist" is not a failure mode here — if the installer completed but nothing loads, the answer is almost always a version or dependency mismatch in the console output.

Where to go next

Plugins installed, world still stuttering? Work through the lag and low-TPS checklist before blaming your host. Bringing a world with you? See how to upload a Minecraft world. And if you would rather install a whole curated experience than hand-picked plugins, the Modpacks tab does that in one step.

Updated 22 September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us on Discord or email support@sadhost.com and we will fix it.