How to Install Plugins on a Minecraft Server (Paper, Aternos, Hosts, Bedrock and Fabric)

You made a server for your friends and now you want to add plugins. Here's how to install plugins on a Minecraft server, starting with the part that catches a lot of first-timers: plugins only run on plugin-capable server software like Paper, Purpur or Spigot, and the plain server.jar you grabbed from minecraft.net isn't that. If your plugin won't load, check that first.

Once you're on the right software, the whole job is four moves: download the plugin's .jar, drop it in the plugins folder, restart the server, and run /plugins to check it loaded. The details change depending on where your server lives, so pick your setup below.

Which setup do you have?

How to add plugins to a Minecraft server on Paper

This is Paper's own procedure for a self-hosted server. If you haven't got Paper running yet, start with my guide to making a Minecraft server. Not sure Paper is the right software? See Minecraft server software compared.

1. Find the plugin. Paper's docs point you to Hangar, Paper's plugin repository, plus Modrinth and BukkitDev. Plenty of plugins also post releases on GitHub.
2. Download the .jar. The file has to end in .jar. If you get a .zip, extract it and find the jar for your platform. It's often labelled bukkit or paper.
3. Put it in plugins. That folder sits in your server's root, next to the server jar. Drag the file in. Don't tuck it in a subfolder, because subfolders aren't checked.
4. Restart the server. A full restart, not /reload. Paper's docs say /reload is deprecated for removal and known to cause issues with plugins.
5. Check it loaded. Type /plugins in game or plugins in the console. Green means it's running. Red means it failed to load or got disabled, so go read the log (see troubleshooting below).

How to add plugins to a Minecraft server on Aternos

Aternos has one rule that trips people up. You can only install plugins from Aternos's own plugin library. You can't upload a jar you downloaded from the web. So don't go hunting for files first.

1. Change your software. Plugins need a plugin-capable setup, and Aternos lists PaperMC (the one it recommends), Purpur and Spigot.
2. Search the library. Aternos's plugin library pulls from several platforms, including CurseForge and Modrinth. Search it at aternos.org/addons, pick a plugin, choose the right version and hit download next to it.
3. Start the server. After the first start, most plugins create their own config folder. Edit it in the Files section and restart, since most config changes need one.

If the plugin you want isn't in the library, you can't add it there. Aternos points people who need unrestricted uploads to a paid host. If you're still shopping around, my free Minecraft server hosting guide covers the free options and what they cost you in limits.

How to add plugins on a paid host

Paid hosts mostly follow the same flow as Paper, just through a web panel. Make sure the server is running Paper, Purpur or Spigot first. Then:

1. Open the file manager in your host's panel, or connect with SFTP.
2. Upload the plugin's .jar into the plugins folder.
3. Restart the server from the panel and run plugins in the console to check it.

If you use plain FTP instead of SFTP, set your client to binary mode, not ASCII. ASCII mode mangles the jar and the plugin will fail to load.

How to install plugins on a Minecraft server on Bedrock

Honest answer: Bedrock doesn't really do plugins. Mojang's Bedrock Dedicated Server has poor support for community mods or plugins, unlike Java's Spigot and Paper. What it has instead is add-ons (behavior packs and resource packs) and a scripting API that add-ons use. You'll also need to restart the server when settings change or you add things, since /reload can't reload it.

On Aternos's Bedrock servers, add-ons go in the packs folder through the Files page. Some need experiments turned on, and an add-on has to match your server's Minecraft version. The server won't fix an outdated one for you.

There's also third-party software that adds plugin loading to Bedrock servers. Endstone and LeviLamina are two examples. They're unofficial and not from Mojang, so treat them like any other community project. The route most people actually want is a Java server running Paper with Geyser added, so Bedrock players can join and you keep the full plugin world. My Bedrock server guide covers the base setup.

Fabric servers use mods, not plugins

If you're on a Fabric server, you want mods. A Fabric or Forge mod is not a plugin, and Paper's docs say it won't run on Paper. The reverse holds too: don't expect to drop plugin jars into a Fabric setup. Torn between the two? My Paper vs Fabric comparison walks through it.

Plugin won't load? Troubleshooting

Open logs/latest.log first. Plugin loading shows up near the top. Read the key line and ignore the scary stack trace.

• Missing dependency. The log names a plugin you need to install first, with a line like "Unknown/missing dependency plugins". Install what it names and restart.
• Invalid plugin.yml. That plugin isn't a valid Paper plugin. Usually it's a Forge or Fabric mod, or a broken download. Saving an error page instead of the jar is a classic. Re-download it, and use SFTP or the panel rather than ASCII-mode FTP.
• Nothing in the log. The server isn't even trying to load it. Check the file sits directly in plugins and ends in .jar, not .zip.
• Two copies of the same plugin. Delete the older version and restart.
• Wrong version. Match the plugin build to your exact server version, and check the supported versions on the plugin's download page.
• Wrong Java. Paper needs a specific Java version for each Minecraft version. Check the table in Paper's getting-started docs for yours.

Stay safe with plugin downloads

Plugins get full, unrestricted access to your server and the machine it runs on. That's straight from Paper's docs. So only install from sources you fully trust. Stick to the repositories above. Paid marketplaces are a different call: see whether BuiltByBit is safe before you buy anything, and check whether WorldEdit is safe if that's the one you're after. For mods, my are Minecraft mods safe page has the same advice.