Staff+

Staff+ is an enterprise-grade, high-performance moderation and utility plugin built for modern Minecraft networks. It ships as two platform-specific JARs — one for Paper/Purpur/Folia backend servers and one for Velocity proxies — sharing a unified core engine for consistent punishment management across your entire network.

Paper Edition runs on Paper/Purpur/Folia 1.20–1.21+ servers with full Folia multi-threaded region safety, and includes advanced staff tools like vanish, inventory inspection, and spectator monitoring.

Velocity Edition runs on Velocity 3.3.0+ proxies and enforces bans, IP-bans, and mutes at the network gateway before players even reach a backend server.

Both editions share the same database, configs, and migration system — deploy one or both depending on your setup.

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Platform Comparison

Feature	Paper (Paper/Purpur/Folia)	Velocity (Proxy)
Ban / TempBan / Unban	✅	✅
IP-Ban / TempIP-Ban / UnIP-Ban	✅	✅
Mute / TempMute / Unmute	✅	✅
Warn / Warns / Clear	✅	✅
History / StaffHistory	✅	✅
Staff Rollback	✅	✅
IP-Ban Exemption (/staffallow)	✅	✅
Punishment Migration (/staffimport)	✅	✅
Discord Webhook Logging	✅	✅
Warning Escalation Ladder	✅	✅
Hierarchy Protection	✅	✅
Alt-Detection (IP Matching)	✅	✅
SQLite / MySQL Storage	✅	✅
Vanish System	✅	❌
Spectator Monitor/Follow	✅	❌
Inventory Inspector (/invsee)	✅	❌
Gamemode Shortcuts	✅	❌
Flight Toggle (/fly)	✅	❌
bStats Metrics	✅	✅
Folia Scheduler Safety	✅	N/A
Proxy-Level Ban Enforcement	❌	✅

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Features

Cross-Platform Core

• Shared Database: Both Paper and Velocity editions read and write to the same punishment database (SQLite or MySQL), enabling seamless network-wide moderation.
• Shared Configs: config.yml and messages.yml use identical formats on both platforms via the Okaeri configuration framework.
• Unified Migration Engine: Import punishments from 7+ plugins on either platform.

Folia Safety (Paper Edition)

• Asynchronous Lifecycles: All commands, database transactions, and packet actions run on Folia-compliant regional or asynchronous schedulers.
• Folia Teleportation Safety: Standard teleports are replaced with safe, non-blocking teleportAsync futures, completely preventing thread crashes.
• Isolated Packet Loops: Visually toggling features (like Vanish hide/show packets) are scheduled on each recipient's specific regional thread, guaranteeing thread-safety.

Proxy Gateway Enforcement (Velocity Edition)

• Pre-Login Ban Check: Intercepts login attempts at the proxy level and rejects banned players before they reach any backend server.
• Network-Wide Mute Filter: Blocks chat messages from muted players across all connected servers.
• IP-Ban Gateway: Enforces IP bans at the proxy gateway, preventing banned IPs from connecting to any server in the network.

Vanish (Paper Only)

• Total Invisibility: Completely removes the player from the online count, player ping lists, tab completions, and visible lists.
• Physical Interaction Bypass: Vanished staff bypass physical pressure plates and tripwire triggers entirely.
• Silent Containers: Allows opening chest, furnace, and barrel interfaces silently without triggering container animations or audio.
• Stealth Suppression: Prevents mob targeting, item pickups, and suppresses join/quit messages entirely while active.
• Visual Action Bar Indicator: Real-time HUD showing vanished status via safe asynchronous repeating tasks.

Moderation (Both Platforms)

• Comprehensive Actions: Integrated /ban, /tempban, /ip-ban, /tempip-ban, /mute, /tempmute, and /warn.
• Warning Profiles: Track individual warning logs via /warns <player> [list/clear].
• Dynamic Time Parsing: Sophisticated time parser supporting complex units (e.g. 1d, 12h, 45m) and infinite duration mappings (perm).
• Relational Storage: Backed by a high-performance database manager supporting both local SQLite databases and remote MySQL servers, managed via a shaded, thread-safe HikariCP connection pool.
• Linked Account Alt-Detection: On player login, automatically scans, logs, and broadcasts alternate accounts sharing the IP address, color-coding active (green) and banned (red) profiles.
• Dynamic Command & History Parity: Multi-threaded /history <player>, /staffhistory <staff>, and /staffrollback <staff> commands supported by dynamic database-backed name tab completions.
• Warning Escalation Ladder: Scale punishments dynamically (e.g. tempmutes scaling to permanent bans) based on active warning levels. Command dispatches execute safely on each platform's native scheduler.
• Non-Blocking Discord Webhook Logs: Real-time embeds logging all mute, ban, and warning dispatches using modern non-blocking Java 21 HttpClient interfaces with zero impact on region ticks.
• Administrative Overwrite Hierarchy Protection: Custom staff weight ranks (staff.hierarchy.weight.<number>) blocking junior staff from overriding, deactivating, or removing punishments placed by senior administrators or the Console (Integer.MAX_VALUE).
• IP-Ban Exemption Bypass: Whitelist specific accounts (/staffallow) to connect and bypass active IP-bans without lifting the IP ban itself for other accounts sharing the IP.

Punishment Importer & Migration (Both Platforms)

• 7 Supported Platforms: Seamlessly import mutes, bans, warnings, and IP bans from:
  • Vanilla Minecraft: Direct imports from banned-players.json and banned-ips.json in the server root.
  • Essentials / EssentialsX: Automated scans of mutes and bans in user profiles under plugins/Essentials/userdata/*.yml.
  • LiteBans: Migrates bans, mutes, and warnings from H2/SQLite/MySQL databases. Supports auto-detection of the litebans.mv.db H2 file or manual JDBC parameters.
  • AdvancedBan: Integrates and normalizes legacy SQL Punishments tables from SQLite or MySQL.
  • MaxBans: Migration of bans, IP bans, mutes, and warnings from SQLite or MySQL.
  • BanManager: Integrates historical player bans, mutes, and warnings with configurable table prefixes.
  • BungeeAdminTools (BAT): Imports entries from database tables bat_ban and bat_mute.
• Dynamic Auto-Scanning: Scans your server's active files on command, extracts SQLite paths or remote SQL database credentials, and allows zero-configuration migrations.
• Batch Operations: Commits imported records inside a single transaction using batch inserts, migrating thousands of records instantly.
• Non-Blocking Futures: Runs connection setups, configuration decodes, and database commits fully asynchronously on non-blocking thread pools.

Spectator Follow (Paper Only)

• Cinematic Camera Tracking: Teleports staff in spectator mode to follow the target seamlessly.
• Velocity-Predicted Follow: Computes target movements and velocity vectors (target.getVelocity()) to position the camera slightly ahead of the target, eliminating stutter and rubber-banding.
• Throttled Teleports: Auto-updates run at a throttled 4-tick (200ms) interval with a 400ms cooldown, giving client-side predicted movements and Paper's async teleportation futures time to fully resolve.
• Configurable Boundary Tether: Allows staff to orbit or move freely within a 10-block radius. Going beyond the boundary gently tethers the camera back into offset.

Inventory Inspector (Paper Only)

• 54-Slot Live GUI: View and edit target players' main inventories (0-35), armor slots (helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots), off-hand items, and stats.
• Live Stats & Shortcuts:
  • Golden Apple: Displays health, food levels, and experience dynamically.
  • Potion Bottle: Shows a live list of active potion effects and durations.
  • Ender Chest: Quick-access shortcut item to inspect their Ender Chest directly.
• Unparalleled Folia Safety: Completely avoids asynchronous block-state reads (which crash under Folia when querying .getOpenInventory().getTopInventory().getHolder() on block-based inventories in other regions). Instead, it implements a thread-safe custom session registry that cleanly tracks active inspect views and propagates updates regionally.

Shortcuts (Paper Only)

• Instant Gamemode Shifts: Rapid commands including creative (/gmc), survival (/gms), spectator (/gmsp), and adventure (/gma).
• Flight Mode: Seamless command flight toggles via /fly.

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Commands & Permissions

Network-Wide Commands (Paper & Velocity)

Command	Description	Usage	Permission Node
/ban	Bans a player from the server.	/ban <player> [reason]	staff.ban
/tempban	Temporarily bans a player.	/tempban <player> <duration> [reason]	staff.tempban
/unban	Unbans a player.	/unban <player>	staff.unban
/ip-ban	IP-bans a player.	/ip-ban <player> [reason]	staff.ipban
/tempip-ban	Temporarily IP-bans a player.	/tempip-ban <player> <duration> [reason]	staff.tempipban
/unip-ban	Unbans an IP address or player.	/unip-ban <player/IP>	staff.unipban
/mute	Mutes a player in chat.	/mute <player> [reason]	staff.mute
/tempmute	Temporarily mutes a player.	/tempmute <player> <duration> [reason]	staff.tempmute
/unmute	Unmutes a player.	/unmute <player>	staff.unmute
/warn	Warns a player.	/warn <player> [reason]	staff.warn
/warns	View or clear warning history.	/warns <player> [list/clear]	staff.warns
/history	View complete punishment logs (active/inactive) for players.	/history <player>	staff.history
/staffhistory	View all punishments issued by a staff member.	/staffhistory <staff>	staff.staffhistory
/staffrollback	Rollback all active punishments placed by a staff member.	/staffrollback <staff> [confirm]	staff.staffrollback
/staffallow	Exempt a player/UUID from active IP bans.	/staffallow <player> [remove]	staff.staffallow
/staffimport	Import punishments from other plugins.	/staffimport <source> [params...]	staff.import

Paper-Only Commands

Command	Description	Usage	Permission Node
/vanish	Toggle complete invisibility.	/vanish	staff.vanish
/invsee	Inspect a player's inventory live.	/invsee <player>	staff.invsee
/monitor	Spectate and smoothly follow a player.	/monitor <player/leave>	staff.monitor
/fly	Toggle player flight.	/fly [player]	staff.fly
/gmc	Switch to creative mode.	/gmc [player]	staff.gmc
/gms	Switch to survival mode.	/gms [player]	staff.gms
/gmsp	Switch to spectator mode.	/gmsp [player]	staff.gmsp
/gma	Switch to adventure mode.	/gma [player]	staff.gma

Admin Wildcard: The permission node staff.admin grants access to all capabilities of the plugin by default.
Bypass Node: Players with the permission staff.vanish.see can see vanished players in-game, in tab lists, and in commands.

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Installation

Paper Edition (Paper / Purpur / Folia)

1. Download StaffPlus-Paper-1.0.0.jar from Releases.
2. Place the JAR in your server's plugins/ folder.
3. Restart your server.
4. Edit plugins/Staff/config.yml and plugins/Staff/messages.yml to your liking.

Velocity Edition (Proxy)

1. Download StaffPlus-Velocity-1.0.0.jar from Releases.
2. Place the JAR in your Velocity proxy's plugins/ folder.
3. Restart your proxy.
4. Edit plugins/staffplus/config.yml and plugins/staffplus/messages.yml to your liking.

Shared Database (Network Mode)

To share punishments across your entire network, configure both editions to use the same MySQL database:

# config.yml (same on both Paper and Velocity)
storage-type: "mysql"
mysql-host: "your-db-host"
mysql-port: 3306
mysql-database: "staffplus"
mysql-username: "your-user"
mysql-password: "your-password"

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Configuration

The plugin uses Okaeri Config to generate, validate, and auto-update clean YAML configuration structures. Both platforms share identical configuration formats.

config.yml

# Storage type: SQLITE or MYSQL
storage-type: "sqlite"

# MySQL Connection Details (only used if storage-type is MYSQL)
mysql-host: "localhost"
mysql-port: 3306
mysql-database: "minecraft"
mysql-username: "root"
mysql-password: "password"
mysql-pool-size: 10
mysql-use-ssl: false

# Vanish settings (Paper only — ignored on Velocity)
vanish-silent-container-clicks: true
vanish-ignore-pressure-plates: true
vanish-disable-mob-targeting: true
vanish-disable-item-pickup: true

# Warning escalation ladder settings
warning-ladder-enabled: true

# Actions to run when a player reaches a specific number of active warnings
warning-ladder-actions:
  1: "tempmute {player} 1h [Warning Ladder] First warning"
  2: "tempmute {player} 12h [Warning Ladder] Second warning"
  3: "tempban {player} 3d [Warning Ladder] Reached 3 warnings"
  4: "ban {player} [Warning Ladder] Reached 4 warnings"

# Discord Webhook logging settings
discord-webhook-enabled: false
discord-webhook-url: ""
discord-webhook-username: "Staff+ Moderation"
discord-webhook-avatar-url: "https://i.imgur.com/8Qp49X0.png"

# Hex color codes for webhook embeds (without the #)
discord-webhook-color-ban: "FF5555"
discord-webhook-color-mute: "FFAA00"
discord-webhook-color-warn: "FFFF55"

messages.yml

Features full Adventure MiniMessage compatibility, enabling gorgeous native text styling, hex colors, and gradients (e.g. <gradient:#FF5F6D:#FFC371>Text</gradient>).

# Prefix for all plugin messages
prefix: "<color:#A0A0A0>[<color:#00E262>Staff+<color:#A0A0A0>] "

no-permission: "<color:#E20000>You do not have permission to execute this command."
player-only: "<color:#E20000>This command can only be executed by a player."
cannot-overwrite-punishment: "<color:#E20000>You cannot override a punishment placed by a higher-ranking staff member ({staff})."
player-allowed: "<color:#00E262>You have allowed {player} to bypass IP bans."
player-allowed-broadcast: "<color:#00E262>{player} has been exempted from IP bans by {sender}."
player-unallowed: "<color:#00E262>You have removed IP ban exemption for {player}."
player-unallowed-broadcast: "<color:#00E262>{player} is no longer exempted from IP bans."
player-not-found: "<color:#E20000>Player '{player}' has not been found or registered."
invalid-duration: "<color:#E20000>Invalid duration format! Use e.g. 1d, 12h, 30m or perm."

# Mutes
player-muted: "<color:#00E262>You have muted {player} for {time}. Reason: {reason}"
player-muted-broadcast: "<color:#E2B700>{player} has been muted by {sender} for {time}. Reason: {reason}"
you-are-muted: "<color:#E20000>You are muted! Remaining time: {time}. Reason: {reason}"

# Bans
player-banned: "<color:#00E262>You have banned {player} for {time}. Reason: {reason}"
player-banned-broadcast: "<color:#E20000>{player} has been banned by {sender} for {time}. Reason: {reason}"
ban-kick-message: "<color:#E20000>You have been banned from the server!\n\nReason: {reason}\nExpiry: {time}"

# Vanish (Paper only)
vanish-enabled: "<color:#00E262>You are now vanished."
vanish-disabled: "<color:#00E262>You are no longer vanished."
vanish-action-bar: "<color:#00E262>★ YOU ARE VANISHED ★"

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Build & Compilation

Staff+ is a multi-module Gradle project producing two independent shaded JARs.

Requirements

• Java 21 or higher
• Gradle (installed or via wrapper)

Build Command

Compile and build both platform JARs:

./gradlew clean build

The compiled plugins will be located at:

staff-paper/build/libs/StaffPlus-Paper-1.0.0.jar    # Paper/Purpur/Folia servers
staff-velocity/build/libs/StaffPlus-Velocity-1.0.0.jar  # Velocity proxies

Project Structure

StaffPlus/
├── staff-core/          # Shared platform-agnostic library
│   └── src/main/java/   # Database, Punishment model, Configs, Migration, Utils
├── staff-paper/         # Paper/Folia backend plugin
│   └── src/main/java/   # Paper commands, listeners, vanish, monitor, invsee
├── staff-velocity/       # Velocity proxy plugin
│   └── src/main/java/   # Velocity commands, login/chat listeners
├── build.gradle          # Root configuration
└── settings.gradle       # Multi-module declaration

Note: The Gradle shadow configuration automatically relocates eu.okaeri, com.zaxxer.hikari, org.h2, and org.xerial libraries to private namespaces (me.ayosynk.staff.libs.*) to prevent conflicts with any other plugins on the classpath.

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Continuous Integration

Staff+ implements a fully automated CI/CD pipeline via GitHub Actions to compile, validate, and distribute artifacts for both platforms.

Dev Builds

• Frequency: Built automatically on every push to the master or main branches.
• Release Target: Published under the rolling dev-latest pre-release tag on GitHub.
• Rolling Policy: The pipeline automatically overwrites the previous dev-latest tag on every build, maintaining a clean releases page.
• Artifacts: Both StaffPlus-Paper and StaffPlus-Velocity JARs are published in every release.

Stable Releases

• Frequency: Generated whenever a semantic Git version tag matching v* (e.g., v1.0.0) is pushed to the repository.
• Release Target: Published as a dedicated production release containing formal release notes and both platform-ready shaded JAR assets.

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bStats Metrics

Both editions of Staff+ integrate with bStats to collect anonymous usage statistics. This helps us understand how the plugin is being used and guides future development.

• Paper Edition: Uses bstats-bukkit for server-side metrics.
• Velocity Edition: Uses bstats-velocity (Plugin ID: 31693) for proxy-side metrics.

If you wish to opt-out of anonymous metrics collection, you can disable it by navigating to the plugins/bStats/config.yml file on your server or proxy and setting enabled: false.

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Developer Notes

For developers looking at the source code of Staff+, here is a summary of the architecture:

Multi-Module Architecture

1. staff-core: Platform-agnostic shared library containing the database layer, punishment model, config system, migration engine, and utility classes. Uses ForkJoinPool.commonPool() for async operations — no platform-specific scheduler dependencies.
2. staff-paper: Paper/Folia plugin implementing StaffPlatform interface. Contains all Paper-specific commands, listeners, vanish, monitor, invsee, and gamemode shortcuts. Uses Folia-safe regional schedulers.
3. staff-velocity: Velocity proxy plugin implementing StaffPlatform interface. Contains proxy-level commands and login/chat event listeners for network-wide enforcement.

Folia Threading Rules (Paper)

1. Async Teleportation: Never call Player#teleport() on Folia. Always use Player#teleportAsync() and queue dependent actions using .thenRun() or .thenAccept().
2. Recipient Thread Safety: Action updates (like recipient.hidePlayer() or recipient.showPlayer()) must execute on the recipient's regional thread context. Wrap these calls in SchedulerUtils.runEntity(plugin, recipient, ...) to guarantee packet delivery.
3. Avoid cross-region block state reads: Calling open.getHolder() on block-based inventories open in other regions throws threading exceptions. Instead, maintain an in-memory, thread-safe registry of InvseeSession objects.
4. Cinematic Follow Damping: Use interval checking (≥4 ticks), velocity extrapolation, and a task cooldown to maintain smooth follower views.