How to Update Minecraft Plugin Versions in 2023

Have you ever wanted to use a Minecraft plugin, which belongs to a far older server version than your current one?

Nowadays, Minecraft plugins are often discontinued due to no profits, or lack of stimulation from the developer’s side, causing many plugins to be left in the void.

If you wish to keep using these outdated plugins, check our guide on how to update Minecraft plugin versions, and learn how to be up-to-date with every Minecraft update.

What are Minecraft plugin versions?

Minecraft is a game, which lasted for more than a decade, and received tons of version updates. With every update, new mobs, items, terrains, and other things are introduced, causing massive joy for the Minecraft community.

But that’s what a non-developer person sees. Aside from the cool features introduced in-game, a very big chunk of code gets deleted and rewritten for optimal performance.

Another thing is the Java updates, and codes getting constantly changed, making Minecraft delete older codes, and replace them with newer ones.

With every new Minecraft update, a big chunk of the plugins created has to receive the so-called version update, which requires changes in the codes or sometimes just the library.

Aside from basic version updates for plugins, they also receive constant code fixes, optimizations, or new features being added to them.

In short, Minecraft plugin versions are created to stay up-to-date with the newest Minecraft updates, get bug fixes, or introduce new features.

Why you should update plugins in Minecraft

I get asked very often, why plugin updates are important for newer Minecraft servers. To answer this question, I would like to offer every new server owner, to update the Minecraft server version, and check how many plugins are working.

But that’s not all. Even if some plugins are showing as active and will work on your server, this doesn’t guarantee that all functions will be actionable, and will not slow down the server.

So the main reason to update Minecraft plugins is to ensure that everything will be functioning properly, and will not cause server disruptions.

Aside from the bug-fixing or feature updates, the regular version updates help Minecraft servers built on Spigot, Bukkit, Paper, or their additives, to respond to the newest libraries, and use the newest functions offered.

How to update Minecraft plugins

Updating Minecraft plugins to their latest version will keep stability, and will prevent further issues from happening on your server. If you are not sure about proceeding in this case, you may want to take a look at our list of suggested developers for plugin updates.

To update a Minecraft plugin you will need to follow these X steps:

1. Download the latest development build for your plugin.

With that said, if you are using Bukkit, you will need to download the latest development build from the official Bukkit website.

2. Download the plugin from Bukkit

Since we will be using Bukkit for this tutorial, you will need to find the plugin you wish to update from the Bukkit plugins list and download it on your computer.

3. Decompile the plugin.

To decompile the plugin, you can download the JD decompiler, or simply use a Java decompiling tool from the internet.

In our case, we are going to be using the JavaDecompilers tool, which is offered on the web. Simply place the plugin you wish to be decompiled, and hit “Upload and Decompile”.

Make sure you are using the Procyon, as it is using the latest Java version, and will prevent further issues.

4. Open the plugin in your IDE

The next step is to open up the plugin in our IDE. We can use Eclipse, as it is the most popular Minecraft plugin editing tool.

To load the plugin, you will need to extract it from its ZIP folder, and load it from your Eclipse app.

The option to load the plugin should be “Clean Maven Project”, so the plugin can be started fresh, and get compiled later.

5. Configure the build path

Now that you have the plugin uploaded on Eclipse, you will need to select the build path. This will help Eclipse discover all dependent classes, and work with the newest Minecraft server version.

To add the build path, you will need to select the Bukkit Development jar file.

Once the latest file has been added, you can just compile the plugin by choosing the “Maven Install” option, and it will make a new jar file, which you will need to upload to your Minecraft plugins folder.

Conclusion

Updating Minecraft plugins is a pretty straightforward way, and does not require technical knowledge. At least now always.

Depending on how the plugins were built, and if they are using deprecated functions, most plugins should run directly after uploading the newest jar files and keep you up-to-date with your favorite Minecraft plugins.