How to Install LuckPerms on a Minecraft Server

To install LuckPerms on a Minecraft server, download the jar for your server type from luckperms.net (the Bukkit jar for Paper, Spigot and Purpur, or the Fabric, Forge or NeoForge jar for modded servers). Put it in plugins/ or mods/, and restart. Then give yourself access from the console with lp user <yourname> permission set luckperms.* true, create groups with lp creategroup, and manage everything in the browser with /lp editor. Chat prefixes also need Vault and a chat plugin.

What you are working with

LuckPerms supports everything from old versions up to Minecraft 26.3. Always take the newest build for your server type from the official download page.

What goes where

The default storage, H2, is a single file and is fine for one server. If you run several servers behind a proxy, they need a shared MySQL or MariaDB database instead, set in the config's storage section.

Before you start

• Use a server type that supports it. Paper is the usual choice for plugins, Fabric or NeoForge for mods.
• Start the server once before installing, so the plugins or mods folder exists.
• Remove any old permissions plugin (and older LuckPerms jars) so two systems do not fight.
• Back up before installing.

Step 1: Install the jar and restart

Stop the server, upload the jar to plugins/ (Paper) or mods/ (Fabric, with Fabric API next to it), and start it again. Watch the console for LuckPerms enabling and loading its storage. A full restart is needed, not a plugin reload.

Step 2: Give yourself full access

When LuckPerms is new, nobody can use its commands, not even ops. In the server console (no slash), run:

lp user YourName permission set luckperms.* true

You need to have joined the server once so LuckPerms knows your account. From now on you can run /lp commands in game too.

Step 3: Create your groups

Every player is in the default group automatically. Add staff groups on top and make them inherit, so admins get everything mods have:

lp creategroup mod
lp creategroup admin
lp group mod parent add default
lp group admin parent add mod

Step 4: Give groups permissions

Permissions are text nodes like minecraft.command.kick. Set them true on a group:

lp group mod permission set minecraft.command.kick true
lp group mod permission set minecraft.command.ban true
lp group admin permission set minecraft.command.gamemode true
lp group default permission set essentials.home true

To find a plugin's nodes, check its docs, or run lp verbose on, use the command, and LuckPerms shows each permission checked.

Step 5: Put players in groups

lp user Steve parent add mod
lp user Alex parent add admin

Use parent remove to take someone out, and lp user Steve info to see what they have.

Step 6: Use the web editor

Typing every node gets old fast. Run:

lp editor

LuckPerms prints a link to its web editor. Open it, add groups, permissions and members with a few clicks, and press Save. The changes are sent back to the server, or the editor gives you an lp applyedits command to paste into the console.

The trap: prefixes that never show in chat

You run lp group admin meta addprefix 100 "&c[Admin] ", check with lp user Alex info, see the prefix, and chat still looks the same. That is expected. As the LuckPerms wiki puts it, LuckPerms stores prefixes but does not format chat. On Paper you need two more plugins:

1. Vault, the bridge other plugins use to read LuckPerms groups and prefixes.
2. A chat formatter that reads from Vault, such as EssentialsX Chat or a small one like VaultChatFormatter.

Check the bridge with /vault-info: it should name LuckPerms as the permissions and chat provider. The number in addprefix 100 is the weight. When a player inherits several prefixes, the highest weight wins, so give admin a higher number than mod.

Common problems

• "You do not have permission" on every /lp command: you skipped Step 2, or ran it with a typo in your name. Run it again from the console.
• LuckPerms will not load on Fabric: Fabric API is missing from mods/, or the jar is for another Minecraft version.
• Permissions do nothing for a plugin: the node is misspelled or the plugin uses another node. Use lp verbose on to see the real one.
• Ops can do everything anyway: ops bypass most checks. Test your groups on an account that is not op.
• Prefixes missing in chat: install Vault and a chat formatter.
• All permissions gone after moving servers: the .mv.db file was left behind. Copy the whole LuckPerms folder.

LuckPerms on GamezServers

On a Minecraft server from GamezServers, switch to Paper or Fabric in your settings, then use the file manager to download the LuckPerms jar from its link straight into plugins/ or mods/. The console in the panel is where you run Step 2, and a one click Backup covers you before installing. For the plugin most people pair it with, see how to install EssentialsX on a Minecraft server.

FAQ

How do I give myself all permissions in LuckPerms?

Run lp user YourName permission set luckperms.* true in the server console. That gives full access to LuckPerms, and you can grant everything else from there.

Does LuckPerms work on Fabric?

Yes. Use the Fabric build in mods/ with Fabric API installed alongside it.

Why is my LuckPerms prefix not showing in chat?

LuckPerms does not format chat. Install Vault and a chat plugin like EssentialsX Chat on Paper.

Where does LuckPerms store its data?

By default in an H2 database file, luckperms-h2-v2.mv.db, in the LuckPerms folder. Back it up with the rest of the server.