Short answer
Install for jobs, not for features: one plugin per job, from Hangar or Modrinth, checked for a build made for your Minecraft version. A small server needs fewer than a dozen plugins, and every one costs memory and tick time from the moment it loads.
The plugin list is where small servers go wrong. Installing twenty plugins to do six jobs costs startup time, RAM and tick time, and it multiplies the number of things that can be the reason a server misbehaves.
This guide is a job-based shortlist: what to look for, which kind of plugin does the job, and how to check one before you give it a slot. It deliberately names no single plugin for most jobs, because plugin quality changes with every Minecraft release and the selection a server makes should be one it can defend.
Before you start
- A Paper server with file access to the plugins folder
- A backup before installing anything
Plugin jobs on a small server
| Job | What to look for | Why it earns a slot |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics | A profiler you can read without help; spark is the one Paper recommends | Without measurements every change is a guess, and guesses cost evenings |
| Backups | Scheduled, automatic, with a way to restore from the panel | The only recovery from corruption, a bad plugin or a griefed world |
| Moderation | Active maintenance, a build for your Minecraft version | Needed as soon as anyone outside your group can join |
| Protection | Region or claim based, with a permission model you understand | Prevents the argument that becomes a lost friendship |
| Chat and commands | Small scope, no duplicated features from other plugins | Quality of life; the first thing to remove if memory is tight |
| Minigames or hubs | Written for Paper, with its own world so it cannot hurt the overworld | Only if the server has a purpose beyond survival |
Install from a repository, not from a search result
Hangar is Paper's own plugin repository, and Modrinth and BukkitDev are the other two sources worth using. Paper's documentation is explicit about why the source matters: a plugin runs with full access to the server and the machine it runs on, so a JAR from an unknown site is code you are choosing to trust.
Check the plugin page for the Minecraft versions it is built for and for its last update. A plugin that has not been updated since before your version may still load, but the log is where you will find out.
1. Download the .jar (extract it from a .zip if needed)
2. Put the .jar in the plugins/ folder
3. Restart the server
4. Run /plugins in game and check the colourPick one plugin per job, and count the jobs
Most servers need the same handful: player moderation, backups, performance metrics, chat and command quality of life, a spawn or hub area, and perhaps a minigame. Everything beyond that is a decision about the specific server rather than a requirement of running one.
Write the list down before you install anything, and remove a plugin whose job is now covered by another. Two plugins doing the same job is the most common cause of the conflicts and the doubled memory use.
- Moderation and player management, if your server is not friends-only.
- Backups, on a schedule. Backing up covers the schedule and what a backup must contain.
- Metrics, so you can see whether an action helped. Spark is the one Paper itself recommends.
- Protection, if players can build in each other's areas.
- Chat formatting or commands, if you want them.
Check each plugin before you give it a slot
Before installing, read the page: the Minecraft versions listed, when it was last updated, whether the project is maintained, and what permissions or data it stores. A plugin that has not been touched in two years and has no issue tracker is a risk you are choosing, not a default.
After installing, read the startup log. Paper logs each plugin loading, and warnings about deprecated API calls tell you the plugin is running on assumptions that may stop being true at the next release.
/plugins
/version <plugin_name>Remove what you stopped using, and watch the cost
Plugins stay loaded until you remove the JAR and restart, so an abandoned plugin is still costing you memory and startup time months later. Take an inventory once a season and delete what has no owner.
For the ones you keep, measure. Spark's report names the plugins using tick time, and the memory figure on startup tells you which ones are expensive. That is the list you act on: update the ones that matter, drop the ones that do not earn their place.
Good to know
- Installing plugins has the mechanics: the folder, the restart, the colours in
/pluginsand the first-failure troubleshooting. - A plugin can read everything in your server's files, including player data and any credentials stored in configuration. Only install from a source you would trust with your account.
- On PufferHost the free tier has 3 GB of RAM and ten slots. That is enough for a short plugin list and a small world, and the wrong place for a large plugin set.
- Comparison of the plugin APIs the three forks expose is in Paper vs Spigot and Paper vs Purpur.
Common questions
How many plugins should a small server run?
Fewer than you think. A friends server with quality-of-life plugins runs happily on six or seven. Every plugin adds memory at startup and tick time for whatever it does each second, so count jobs rather than features.
Where should I download plugins from?
Hangar, Paper's own repository, or Modrinth and BukkitDev. A plugin runs with full access to the server and its machine, so the source of the JAR is part of your trust decision.
How do I know a plugin is causing lag?
Run a spark profile during the lag and look at the plugin section. Or remove it and measure again with the same player count. A plugin at the top of the profile is a diagnosis, not a suspicion.
Can I run Paper plugins on Purpur and Spigot?
Yes. All three expose the same plugin APIs, so a plugin built for Paper normally runs on Purpur and Spigot unless it explicitly refuses another brand.
Sources
Official documentation this guide was checked against.
Rather not run this on your own machine? PufferHost gives every player a free Minecraft server with 3 GB of RAM and 10 slots. Create a free server.