Introduction

EssentialsX is the most popular and comprehensive plugin for Minecraft servers. A modern fork of the legendary Essentials, it offers over 130 commands and essential features for any server administrator.

Why choose EssentialsX?

+130 commands — Teleportation, economy, kits, warps, homes...
Free and open-source — Actively maintained by the community
Modular — Install only what you need
Compatible — Works with Spigot, Paper, Purpur (1.8 to 1.21+)
Customizable — Detailed configuration of each feature
Translated — Multilingual support including French

Installation

Prerequisites

Item	Minimum Version
Minecraft	1.8.8+ (recommended 1.20+)
Server	Spigot, Paper, Purpur
Java	17+ (for MC 1.20+)
Vault	Recommended for economy

Step 1: Download

Download EssentialsX only from official sources:

Official Site : essentialsx.net
Modrinth : modrinth.com/plugin/essentialsx
Hangar : hangar.papermc.io/EssentialsX/Essentials

⚠️ Warning : Never download from unofficial sites. Risk of malware!

Step 2: Installation

1. Stop your server
2. Place EssentialsX-X.X.X.jar in the /plugins/ folder
3. (Optional) Add desired modules
4. Start the server
5. EssentialsX automatically generates its configuration files

Step 3: Verification

/plugins

EssentialsX should appear in green. You can also test:

/essentials

EssentialsX Modules

EssentialsX is modular. Install only what you need:

Available Modules

Module	Description	Essential?
EssentialsX	Main plugin (basic commands)	✅ Yes
EssentialsX Chat	Chat formatting, prefixes, colors	✅ Recommended
EssentialsX Spawn	Spawn management, respawn, newbie spawn	✅ Recommended
EssentialsX AntiBuild	Build restrictions by permission	Optional
EssentialsX Discord	Discord ↔ Minecraft linking	Optional
EssentialsX GeoIP	Geolocation of players	Optional
EssentialsX Protect	Basic world protection	Optional
EssentialsX XMPP	Jabber/XMPP support	Rare

Recommended Installation (Survival Server)

plugins/
├── EssentialsX-2.XX.X.jar          # Main
├── EssentialsXChat-2.XX.X.jar      # Chat
├── EssentialsXSpawn-2.XX.X.jar     # Spawn
└── Vault-X.X.X.jar                  # Economy (dependency)

Optional Dependencies

Plugin	Use with EssentialsX
Vault	Connection with economy and permissions
LuckPerms	Advanced permission management
PlaceholderAPI	Variables in chat and messages

Basic Configuration

After the first startup, EssentialsX generates its files in /plugins/Essentials/.

File Structure

plugins/Essentials/
├── config.yml           # Main configuration
├── messages.properties  # Customizable messages
├── items.json          # Item aliases
├── kits.yml            # Kit configuration
├── spawn.yml           # Spawn coordinates
├── warps/              # Warp files
└── userdata/           # Player data

Essential Configuration (config.yml)

Open config.yml and modify these key settings:

Plugin Language

# Change the language (fr for French)
locale: fr

Username and Nickname

# Allow colored nicknames change-displayname: true Format of the username (with nickname) nickname-prefix: '~' Max length of the nickname max-nick-length: 15 Allow colors in nicknames

nick-color: true

Login/Logout Messages

# Disable default messages (if using another plugin)
custom-join-message: "none"
custom-quit-message: "none"

Or customize
custom-join-message: "&8[&a+&8] &7{DISPLAYNAME}"
custom-quit-message: "&8[&c-&8] &7{DISPLAYNAME}"

Teleportation

# Delay before teleportation (in seconds) teleport-delay: 3 Cancel if the player moves teleport-cancel-on-move: true Cooldown between teleports teleport-cooldown: 30 Free teleportation for OP

teleport-cost: 0

Essential Commands

Player Commands

Command	Description	Permission
`/spawn`	Return to spawn	`essentials.spawn`
`/home`	Go to your home	`essentials.home`
`/sethome [name]`	Set a home	`essentials.sethome`
`/delhome [name]`	Delete a home	`essentials.delhome`
`/tpa <player>`	Request a teleport	`essentials.tpa`
`/tpaccept`	Accept a request	`essentials.tpaccept`
`/tpdeny`	Decline a request	`essentials.tpdeny`
`/back`	Return to your previous position	`essentials.back`
`/warp <name>`	Go to a warp	`essentials.warp`
`/warps`	List of warps	`essentials.warp.list`
`/bal`	View your balance	`essentials.balance`
`/pay <player> <amount>`	Send money	`essentials.pay`
`/kit <name>`	Receive a kit	`essentials.kit`
`/kits`	List of kits	`essentials.kit.list`
`/msg <player> <message>`	Private message	`essentials.msg`
`/r <message>`	Reply to last PM	`essentials.msg`
`/afk`	Set yourself AFK	`essentials.afk`
`/nick <nickname>`	Change your nickname	`essentials.nick`
`/seen <player>`	Last login of a player	`essentials.seen`
`/mail send <player> <msg>`	Send a mail	`essentials.mail.send`
`/mail read`	Read your mails	`essentials.mail`
`/helpop <message>`	Request help from staff	`essentials.helpop`

Moderation Commands

Command	Description	Permission
`/tp <player>`	Teleport to a player	`essentials.tp`
`/tphere <player>`	Teleport a player to you	`essentials.tphere`
`/tppos <x> <y> <z>`	Teleport to coordinates	`essentials.tppos`
`/tpall`	Teleport everyone to you	`essentials.tpall`
`/kick <player> [reason]`	Kick a player	`essentials.kick`
`/ban <player> [reason]`	Ban a player	`essentials.ban`
`/tempban <player> <duration>`	Temporarily ban	`essentials.tempban`
`/unban <player>`	Unban a player	`essentials.unban`
`/mute <player> [duration]`	Mute	`essentials.mute`
`/unmute <player>`	Unmute	`essentials.unmute`
`/jail <player> <prison>`	Jail	`essentials.jail`
`/unjail <player>`	Release	`essentials.unjail`
`/vanish`	Become invisible	`essentials.vanish`
`/invsee <player>`	View inventory	`essentials.invsee`
`/socialspy`	Spy on PMs	`essentials.socialspy`
`/broadcast <message>`	Global message	`essentials.broadcast`

Administration Commands

Command	Description	Permission
`/setspawn`	Set the spawn	`essentials.setspawn`
`/setwarp <name>`	Create a warp	`essentials.setwarp`
`/delwarp <name>`	Delete a warp	`essentials.delwarp`
`/createkit <name> <delay>`	Create a kit from inventory	`essentials.createkit`
`/eco give <player> <amount>`	Give money	`essentials.eco.give`
`/eco take <player> <amount>`	Take money	`essentials.eco.take`
`/eco set <player> <amount>`	Set balance	`essentials.eco.set`
`/god [player]`	Invincible mode	`essentials.god`
`/fly [player]`	Fly mode	`essentials.fly`
`/speed <1-10>`	Movement speed	`essentials.speed`
`/heal [player]`	Heal	`essentials.heal`
`/feed [player]`	Feed	`essentials.feed`
`/gamemode <mode>`	Change game mode	`essentials.gamemode`
`/time <day/night>`	Change time	`essentials.time`
`/weather <sun/rain>`	Change weather	`essentials.weather`
`/essentials reload`	Reload config	`essentials.reload`

Economy System

EssentialsX includes a complete economy system.

Economy Configuration

In config.yml:

# Currency symbol currency-symbol: '€' Currency name (singular/plural) currency-singular: 'euro' currency-plural: 'euros' Starting money starting-balance: 1000 Maximum balance (0 = unlimited) max-money: 10000000000000 Minimum balance (can be negative to allow debts) min-money: -10000 Display format

economy-log-enabled: false

Economy Commands

# Players
/bal                    # View your balance
/baltop                 # Richest ranking
/pay <player> <amount> # Send money

Administration
/eco give <player> 1000  # Give 1000€
/eco take <player> 500   # Take 500€
/eco set <player> 5000   # Set balance to 5000€
/eco reset <player>      # Reset to starting balance

Integration with Vault

To connect the economy to other plugins (shops, jobs...):

Install Vault : Download Vault
Place it in /plugins/
Restart the server
EssentialsX economy is automatically detected

Kits and Warps

Create a Kit

Method 1: In-game (Recommended)

# Put the desired items in your inventory
# Then create the kit with the delay in seconds
/createkit starter 86400

Method 2: kits.yml file

kits: starter: delay: 86400 # 24 hours in seconds items: - stone_sword 1 - leather_helmet 1 - leather_chestplate 1 - leather_leggings 1 - leather_boots 1 - cooked_beef 16 - torch 32 vip: delay: 43200 # 12 hours items: - diamond_sword 1 sharpness:2 - diamond_pickaxe 1 efficiency:3 - golden_apple 5 - ender_pearl 8

weekly: delay: 604800 # 7 days items: - diamond 16 - emerald 32 - netherite_ingot 2

Enchantments in Kits

Format: item quantity enchantment:level

items:
  - diamond_sword 1 sharpness:5 unbreaking:3 fire_aspect:2
  - diamond_pickaxe 1 efficiency:5 fortune:3 unbreaking:3
  - elytra 1 unbreaking:3 mending:1

Kit Permissions

# Permission to use the "starter" kit essentials.kit.starter Permission to use all kits

essentials.kit.*

Create Warps

# Go to the desired location /setwarp shop # Creates the warp "shop" /setwarp arena # Creates the warp "arena" /setwarp spawn # Creates the warp "spawn" Delete a warp /delwarp shop List warps

/warps

Warp Permissions

# Access to a specific warp essentials.warps.shop Access to all warps

essentials.warps.*

Homes and Teleportation

Homes Configuration

In config.yml:

# Default number of homes
default-home-limit: 1

Homes per group (with LuckPerms)
Set via permissions: essentials.sethome.multiple.<number>

Multi-Homes Permissions

Permission	Effect
`essentials.sethome.multiple.2`	2 homes
`essentials.sethome.multiple.5`	5 homes
`essentials.sethome.multiple.unlimited`	Unlimited homes

Example with LuckPerms

# Normal players: 2 homes /lp group default permission set essentials.sethome.multiple.2 VIP: 5 homes /lp group vip permission set essentials.sethome.multiple.5 Staff: unlimited

/lp group staff permission set essentials.sethome.multiple.unlimited

Teleportation Configuration

# Delay before teleportation (in seconds) teleport-delay: 3 Disable delay for certain groups via permission essentials.teleport.timer.bypass Cooldown between /tpa teleport-cooldown: 60 Validity duration of a TPA request tpa-accept-cancellation: 120 Teleport to AFK players

teleport-to-afk: true

Permissions

EssentialsX Permissions Structure

essentials.<command>              # Basic permission
essentials.<command>.others       # Use on other players
essentials.<command>.<argument>   # Specific arguments

Recommended Permissions by Group

Group: default (Players)

permissions:
  - essentials.spawn
  - essentials.home
  - essentials.sethome
  - essentials.delhome
  - essentials.tpa
  - essentials.tpaccept
  - essentials.tpdeny
  - essentials.back
  - essentials.back.ondeath
  - essentials.warp
  - essentials.warp.list
  - essentials.balance
  - essentials.balance.others
  - essentials.pay
  - essentials.kit
  - essentials.kit.starter
  - essentials.msg
  - essentials.mail
  - essentials.mail.send
  - essentials.afk
  - essentials.seen
  - essentials.list
  - essentials.motd
  - essentials.rules
  - essentials.helpop
  - essentials.sethome.multiple.2

Group: VIP

permissions:
  - essentials.nick
  - essentials.nick.color
  - essentials.back.ondeath
  - essentials.kit.vip
  - essentials.sethome.multiple.5
  - essentials.tpa.cooldown.bypass
  - essentials.teleport.timer.bypass

Group: Moderator

permissions:
  - essentials.tp
  - essentials.tphere
  - essentials.tppos
  - essentials.kick
  - essentials.kick.notify
  - essentials.mute
  - essentials.mute.notify
  - essentials.tempban
  - essentials.tempban.notify
  - essentials.jail
  - essentials.vanish
  - essentials.vanish.see
  - essentials.invsee
  - essentials.socialspy
  - essentials.helpop.receive
  - essentials.fly
  - essentials.god

Group: Admin

permissions:
  - essentials.*
  # Or selectively:
  - essentials.ban
  - essentials.unban
  - essentials.setspawn
  - essentials.setwarp
  - essentials.delwarp
  - essentials.createkit
  - essentials.eco
  - essentials.eco.give
  - essentials.eco.take
  - essentials.eco.set
  - essentials.gamemode
  - essentials.time
  - essentials.weather
  - essentials.broadcast
  - essentials.essentials

Configuration with LuckPerms (Complete Example)

# Create groups /lp creategroup vip /lp creategroup mod /lp creategroup admin Hierarchy /lp group vip parent add default /lp group mod parent add vip /lp group admin parent add mod Player Permissions /lp group default permission set essentials.spawn /lp group default permission set essentials.home /lp group default permission set essentials.sethome /lp group default permission set essentials.tpa /lp group default permission set essentials.warp /lp group default permission set essentials.balance /lp group default permission set essentials.kit.starter VIP Permissions /lp group vip permission set essentials.fly /lp group vip permission set essentials.nick /lp group vip permission set essentials.kit.vip Mod Permissions /lp group mod permission set essentials.kick /lp group mod permission set essentials.mute /lp group mod permission set essentials.vanish /lp group mod permission set essentials.tp Admin Permissions

/lp group admin permission set essentials.*

Advanced Configuration

EssentialsX Chat

Install EssentialsXChat to customize the chat.

Configuration in config.yml:

# Enable chat formatting
chat:
  # Global chat format
  format: '{DISPLAYNAME}&7: &f{MESSAGE}'
  
Format by group (requires Vault + LuckPerms)
  group-formats:
    default: '&7[Player] {DISPLAYNAME}&7: &f{MESSAGE}'
    vip: '&6[VIP] {DISPLAYNAME}&7: &f{MESSAGE}'
    mod: '&9[Mod] {DISPLAYNAME}&7: &f{MESSAGE}'
    admin: '&c[Admin] {DISPLAYNAME}&7: &f{MESSAGE}'

Available Chat Variables

Variable	Description
`{DISPLAYNAME}`	Player's nickname or username
`{USERNAME}`	Real username
`{MESSAGE}`	Message sent
`{GROUP}`	Player's group
`{PREFIX}`	LuckPerms prefix
`{SUFFIX}`	LuckPerms suffix
`{WORLD}`	Current world
`{WORLDNAME}`	Name of the world

EssentialsX Spawn

Spawn configuration in config.yml:

# Teleport to spawn on join spawn-on-join: true Only for new players spawn-on-join: newbies Spawn by group spawn-on-join-groups: default Respawn at spawn (instead of bed) respawn-at-spawn: true Spawn by world

respawn-at-spawn-by-world: false

Configuration in spawn.yml:

spawns:
  default:
    world: world
    x: 0.5
    y: 100.0
    z: 0.5
    yaw: 0.0
    pitch: 0.0

Custom Messages (MOTD, Rules)

Message of the Day (MOTD)

Create/edit motd.txt:

&6╔════════════════════════════════════╗
&6║  &eWelcome to &bMyServer&e!        &6║
&6║                                    &6║
&6║  &7• Site: &fwww.myserver.com        &6║
&6║  &7• Discord: &fdiscord.gg/myserver &6║
&6║  &7• Shop: &f/shop                &6║
&6║                                    &6║
&6║  &aHave a great adventure!          &6║
&6╚════════════════════════════════════╝

Rules

Create/edit rules.txt:

&6&l▬▬▬ SERVER RULES ▬▬▬ &e1. &fRespect all players &e2. &fNo cheating or hacking &e3. &fNo griefing or stealing &e4. &fNo advertising or spamming &e5. &fUse common sense

&7Breaking these rules = Permanent ban

Color Codes

Code	Color	Code	Color
`&0`	Black	`&8`	Dark Gray
`&1`	Dark Blue	`&9`	Blue
`&2`	Dark Green	`&a`	Light Green
`&3`	Dark Cyan	`&b`	Cyan
`&4`	Dark Red	`&c`	Red
`&5`	Purple	`&d`	Pink
`&6`	Gold	`&e`	Yellow
`&7`	Gray	`&f`	White

Code	Format
`&l`	Bold
`&o`	Italic
`&n`	Underline
`&m`	~~Strikethrough~~
`&r`	Reset

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Unknown command" after installation

Possible causes:

The plugin is not loaded correctly
Conflict with another plugin

Solutions:

# Check that the plugin is loaded /plugins If red, check the logs /logs/latest.log Restart properly

/stop

The economy does not work with other plugins

Solution:

Install Vault
Check that Vault detects EssentialsX:

/vault-info economy

Permissions are not working

Checks:

# Test a permission
/essentials:perm <player> essentials.fly

With LuckPerms, check
/lp user <player> permission check essentials.fly

Homes/warps are not saving

Causes:

File permission issues
Server crash

Solutions:

# Save manually /essentials save Check folder permissions

chmod -R 755 plugins/Essentials/

Error messages in the console

Error: "Player data not found"

Normal for new players
Data is created on first login

Error: "Could not load config"

YAML syntax error
Use an online YAML validator
Check spaces (no tabs!)

Diagnostic Commands

# EssentialsX version /essentials version Reload configuration /essentials reload Debug a player /essentials debug Economy information

/essentials eco

Complete Reset

If everything is broken:

1. Stop the server
2. Backup the plugins/Essentials/ folder
3. Delete plugins/Essentials/
4. Restart the server (regenerates default configs)
5. Reconfigure gradually

Quick Commands - Cheat Sheet

Initial Configuration

# 1. Set the spawn /setspawn 2. Create important warps /setwarp shop /setwarp arena /setwarp mine 3. Create the starter kit (with items in inventory) /createkit starter 86400 4. Test

/kit starter /warp shop /spawn

Quick Player Management

# Teleportation
/tp <player>           # Go to
/tphere <player>       # Bring to you

Moderation
/kick <player> reason
/tempban <player> 1h reason
/mute <player> 10m
Economy
/eco give <player> 1000

Useful Resources

Official Documentation : essentialsx.net/wiki
GitHub : github.com/EssentialsX/Essentials
Discord Support : discord.gg/essentialsx
SpigotMC : spigotmc.org/resources/essentialsx

Conclusion

EssentialsX is the foundation of any good Minecraft server. With this guide, you have all the keys to:

Install and configure the plugin correctly
Manage the economy, kits, and warps
Configure permissions by group
Customize chat and messages
Troubleshoot common issues

Recommended next steps:

Install LuckPerms for advanced permissions
Configure EssentialsX Chat for a professional chat
Create kits suited to your gameplay
Customize messages (MOTD, rules)