How to Install and Use the Minecraft Essentials Plugin 🛠️

Hosting your Minecraft server can be a lot of fun, but the default version of the game doesn’t offer much control. If you want to set homes, have teleportation, kits, sign commands, and more, you can do this through plugins. However, with thousands of plugins available online for nearly any function or capability you desire, it can be frustrating to find and use them on your server. Having an all-in-one plugin that implements everything you want is ideal, and EssentialsX does just that. It offers many unique features that are essential for your server, hence the plugin's name.

Additionally, it is highly customizable with its numerous configuration files and commands, allowing you to fully control how it appears or behaves in the game. Our guide from PixelHost will show you how to install and use EssentialsX on your Minecraft server.

🔧 Plugin Installation

To use and customize this plugin, it must be installed on your Minecraft server.

1. Go to the EssentialsX Spigot page and click on the Download Now button.

2. Make sure you are viewing the stable version section and click Download on the main EssentialsX plugin.

3. Once downloaded, go to your PixelHost server panel and click on FTP Access in the top right corner, then log in to that area with your password.

4. Once inside the FTP panel, locate and enter the plugins directory.

5. Click Upload in the top left corner and drag the EssentialsX jar file, then wait until it reaches 100%.

6. After that, restart the server from the main panel so it loads onto the server.

If you need additional support when installing the plugin on your server, check out our manual installation guide.

🚀 Getting Started

EssentialsX offers tons of unique features and commands, but we’ll focus on the main aspects important for getting started. Understanding the commands and configurations is helpful because it gives you full control over the plugin. For additional resources on how to use EssentialsX on your Minecraft server, you can find tutorials and information here.

🎒 Kits

One amazing tool in EssentialsX is its kit system, which allows you to get predefined items or blocks with a command. For example, you can obtain a combat kit with enchanted weapons and armor along with golden apples. You can create any kit you desire with a set cooldown period before it can be used again. This is used for nearly any game mode on your server, from Skyblock to Factions. Below, you’ll find the list of commands and permissions related to kits.

📜 Common Commands

🛠️ Creating a Kit

First, you'll want to gather all the items in your inventory for the kit, then execute the command /createkit [kitname] [delay]. After that, you should be able to use it! Once you've created a kit, you can use this permission node to allow your rank or player to use it: essentials.kits.[kitname]. However, the base node essentials.kit must be set for that player or group to use any kit.

Alternatively, you can manually create kits in the kits.yml file of the plugin via the FTP panel. An example is shown below.

yaml
kitname:  # Sets the name of the kit for use in config.yml, permissions, and commands. delay: 86400  # Cooldown time for the kit in seconds. items: - [item/block] [quantity] [enchantments] [name] [lore] # Format per item or block for the kit. - diamond_sword 1 damage_all:5 name:&3PixelHost lore:The best hosting service!

🏠 Homes

In the default version of Minecraft, using a bed is the way you can set a spawn point at your base. However, with the EssentialsX home system, you can have tons of homes accessible via commands. For example, using the command /sethome Base creates a home called "Base" that can be used with the command /home Base.

Additionally, you can control how many homes each player or rank can set, which is done through settings in the config.yml file of the main plugin. Otherwise, you can use permissions to have no limit on the number of homes. Below is a list of commands and permissions related to the home system.

📜 Common Commands

📜 Common Permissions

🏠 Multiple Home Configuration

If you want to use the multiple home settings, it needs to be configured in the config.yml file. You can define the [name set] value of the permission in the settings for the sethome-multiple option. An example of a full group permission node is: essentials.sethome.multiple.vip. Below is the exact area where you can make these edits.

yaml
sethome-multiple:  # The list of groups that limit the number of homes a player can set. default: 3  # Permission node: essentials.sethome.multiple.default vip: 5 staff: 10

🌍 Teleportation

A useful feature of EssentialsX is teleporting to players or defined locations with warps. This can be implemented in any game mode on your server! For example, if you wanted to set up a shop, having a warp for it will help players get there from anywhere in the world. Additionally, if a user wants to visit their friend’s base, teleportation commands are required.

🚀 Warps

Setting up warps on your Minecraft server is essential for most server owners, as this system allows you to instantly travel between locations. For example, you can create a warp with the command /setwarp [name] at the desired spot in your world so players can use /warp [name] to get there. You can find a list of commands and permissions below.

📜 Common Commands

📜 Common Permissions

🔄 TPA (Teleport to Player)

Sometimes, teleporting to a specific user is better suited for your setup instead of using warps. In that case, you can use the command /tpa [player] to request a teleport to that user. You can bypass that request with /tp instead if you have admin permissions for your account or rank. Below are commands and permissions for all warp and teleportation functions.

📜 Common Commands

📜 Common Permissions

Sign Functionality with EssentialsX

Having signs in your Minecraft world while using EssentialsX provides many features that can be incredibly useful for your players. For example, using a kit sign allows users to easily obtain items for PvP or starter gear. The player or group must have the permission node essentials.signs.use.[sign] to use any sign functionality. If the user wants to use a warp sign command, then the essentials.signs.use.warp node is required. You can find all the signs and their specific formats in the EssentialsX Sign Tutorials.

However, it’s important to note that before using any signs, the settings must be enabled in the config.yml file of the plugin's files. In the file, you’ll need to remove the hash symbols to enable them. You can find this starting on line 359 to begin making these changes. Make sure to click Save to retain the edits and Restart the server to apply them.

💰 Economy

In most servers, having an economy for shops and trades is essential for players. Fortunately, EssentialsX comes with a built-in economic system, but it requires the Vault plugin to support it.

Once you have Vault installed, you can start using commands and signs to buy, sell, and trade items/blocks. Additionally, you can even spend money on specific features like enchantments, healing, or game modes. For more information on using eco signs, check here. Below are the commands and permissions to help you get started.

📜 Common Commands

📜 Common Permissions

Various Commands

The following commands are the most commonly used by players and administrators. However, there's a comprehensive list of commands and permissions that reveals everything you need to know.

Command	Permission	Description
/ci	essentials.clearinventory	Clears your player inventory.
/heal	essentials.heal	Heals and removes effects from your player.
/god	essentials.god	Puts you in god mode.
/near	essentials.near	Reveals all nearby players.
/spawnmob	essentials.spawnmob	Main command to start spawning specific entities.
/item	essentials.item	Ability to give yourself items or blocks in the game.
/remove	essentials.remove	Removes entities in your world.
/ec	essentials.enderchest	Force opens your ender chest without needing one.
/speed	essentials.speed	Grants you a speed boost without potions.
/top	essentials.top	Sends you to the highest block at your location.
/time	essentials.time	Base command to control the day/night cycle.
/hat	essentials.hat	Anything in your hand will be used as a helmet.
/invsee	essentials.invsee	Ability to view other players' inventories.
/enchant	essentials.enchant	Applies any enchantment to applicable items or blocks.
/vanish	essentials.vanish	Access to become completely invisible to default players.

Configuration

There are many settings and options within the config.yml file of the EssentialsX plugin, controlling features from teleport delays to the in-game currency symbol. You can access this file by logging into the FTP File Access area with your panel password, then navigating to the directory .../plugins/Essentials/. Due to the large size of the configuration file, we will focus on the most important and commonly edited options.

• ops-name-color: '4' - Controls the color of operators on the server.

• nickname-prefix: '~' - The prefix before any nickname that will be displayed in the game.

• max-nick-length: 15 - Maximum number of characters allowed for any nickname.

• teleport-delay: 0 - The command delay time for teleportation in seconds.

• auto-afk: 300 - Automatically sets any player to AFK after a specific time in seconds.

• unsafe-enchantments: false - Toggle non-standard enchantment levels (e.g., Sharpness 100).

• starting-balance: 0 - Sets the starting in-game balance for any user who joins.

• currency-symbol: '$' - The currency icon displayed when money is mentioned.

• max-money: 10000000000000 - The limit for how much money a player can have.

• min-money: -10000 - The minimum amount of money a user can have, which can be negative.

Conclusion

EssentialsX is an all-in-one plugin that gives you the ability to use kits, warps, homes, sign commands, money, and much more. However, remember that Vault is required for using the economy with the main plugin. Most of the features use commands, but how they act in-game is configurable in the plugin's main config.yml file in the FTP panel. Make sure to use the permission nodes according to your players and ranks so they can access all the features. In this resource, we've covered all the main aspects of EssentialsX, which should help you create a professional, creative, or fun Minecraft server.

Best Regards,

João @PixelHost.