LuckPerms – Part 2: Installation and Setup

Install a Plugin Manager (if you don't already have one)

To use permissions plugins like LuckPerms (or any plugin) in Minecraft, you first need to install a plugin manager on your server. There are versions of LuckPerms available for the Spigot and Sponge plugin managers.

- Spigot is used on servers that only have plugins and no mods. LuckPerms versions for Spigot will work on Minecraft versions from 1.7 through the most recent version.

- Sponge has two versions: "Sponge Vanilla" for plugin-only servers and "Sponge Forge" which works with forge and mods. LuckPerms for Sponge Forge will work on Minecraft from version 1.10.2 through 1.12.2.

Depending on the plugin manager you install, your server may require more RAM to handle the additional processes, which could increase the cost of operating the server.

LuckPerms Installation

This simply involves uploading the file directly to the /plugins or /mods folder on your Minecraft server, depending on the plugin manager you are using. If you use Spigot or Sponge Vanilla, it will be the /plugins folder, and if you use Sponge Forge, it will be the /mods folder.

Before the plugin can be used, it still needs to be configured. See the section below for other effects of installing permissions plugins.

Understand the Immediate Effects of Adding LuckPerms to Your Server

This information was covered in part 1 of the LuckPerms setup guide, but we include it here again in part 2 due to the immediate and serious effects that simply adding the mod will have on your server, especially before configuration is complete.

When you add a permissions plugin to your server, it immediately locks down and shuts off all commands and abilities on your server. The default response to any request to use a command when a permissions plugin is installed is "NO!" The plugin will only say "YES!" and allow access when it verifies a list of users, groups, and allowed commands.

Unfortunately, if you haven't created that list yet, there's nothing to verify. It will say "NO!" to every request to use a command, by any user (including the server owner).

Keep this in mind and that, until the information for the permissions plugin has been created, all commands and abilities will be unavailable to players on the server. If the information it requires is deleted later (such as deleting the database or text file), it will revert to blocking all access to commands and abilities (once again, the default response is "NO!" to everything).

LuckPerms Configuration

Choosing a Storage Method

Once LuckPerms is installed, you will need to start the process of configuring the plugin. One of the first steps is to determine how the important "list" mentioned earlier will be stored. Permissions plugins need a method to store information about groups and users, and which commands they are allowed to use. This is often done with editable text files or some type of database.

LuckPerms supports a variety of options, from various editable text file formats to flat files like H2 or SQLite, or full databases like

MySQL. LuckPerms even supports split databases and can convert from one type to another.

Information about the various storage methods and their advantages and disadvantages can be found on the LuckPerms Github page: [here](https://github.com/lucko/LuckPerms/wiki/Storing-Data)

On the Minecraft servers here at Holy, we offer the ability to create a MySQL database that runs in parallel with the Minecraft server. This is offered on all Minecraft servers at no additional cost.

MySQL requires some additional steps to set up compared to some other storage methods, but it is very powerful and fast once configured. The MySQL database has another important advantage, being that, since it is hosted remotely, it can be accessible by multiple servers. This is absolutely necessary for setups like Bungeecord, where there are multiple Minecraft servers and players can move between them.

Because of this, the rest of this article series on how to set up LuckPerms will focus on the MySQL database as the storage method. If you have more personal experience with one of the other storage options, feel free to choose it as your storage method.

Create a MySQL Database

First, let's create the MySQL database. This is a thorough and extensive process. To start, go to your Holy server control panel and click the "MySQL Database" button on the left side of the panel. Then, on the next screen, click the green "Create Database" button. Refer to the image below:

[Minecraft_luckperms_createmysql_warrows]

It will create the database in just a few seconds, and the page should look something like the following example (of course, all the details will be different):

[Minecraft_luckperms_database]

Note: Yes, we are aware that the passwords are visible. This screenshot is from a test server database created solely for this article.

And that's it, the database is created. My finger is exhausted, I have to go rest now.

Seriously, the Holy control panel handles all the details of setting up the database "behind the scenes". All you have to do is click a button.

You can click the "MySQL Database" tab at any time to view the MySQL database information, such as the database name and password. It will be necessary to copy and paste this information into the configuration files later.

Configuration

Edit the LuckPerms Configuration File

The next step in configuring LuckPerms is to change the configuration file so that LuckPerms knows which storage method to use, where the database is located, and how to connect to it. The

LuckPerms configuration file will be located in a "luckperms" folder inside the "Config" folder on your Minecraft server.

The file is called LuckPerms.cfg. Select the file and click the edit button at the top of the file manager.

NOTE: You may need to start and stop the server for some of these files to be created.

When you edit LuckPerms.cfg, you should see the following shown below.

[Luckperms_config]

Changes in the file are made by navigating to the correct line and editing the settings between quotes. The file has numbered lines on the left side that we will use to reference specific sections.

As in many configuration files, any line with a # at the front is a "comment" and the server will ignore any text that follows a #. The vast majority of the configuration file is actually comments describing the features and settings. In the image above, the only line with an actual setting is line # 33; the rest are all "comment" lines.

Additionally, throughout the comment sections of the configuration file, there are lines that have URLs that will allow you to see more detailed information about those sections.

You can copy and paste them into your browser to see more details about the section and its importance. In the image above, lines # 8, 9, 10, 13, and 32 have URLs that link to web pages with extensive documentation on LuckPerms, and that's just in that screenshot. The LuckPerms developer has provided a lot of support for their product.

Set the Storage Method

Navigate to line #85 of the configuration file, shown in the image below, and change the default text "H2" between quotes to "mysql" instead.

[Minecraft_luckperms_configsettings1]

Of course, if you have decided to use a different storage method that you're more familiar with, you would change this line to that storage method instead.

Set the MySQL Server Address and Port Number

Navigate to line #97, change the default text "localhost" to the information from the "MySQL Database" page in your control panel to the right of "Database Hostname". Type a colon (:) and then add the "Database Port" number, which in this case is 3306. It should look something like this when you're done.

[Minecraft_luckperms_configsettings2]

Set the Database Name

Navigate to line #101 and replace the default text "minecraft" with the database name from the "MySQL Database" page. Note: you must use the information to the right of "Database Name", not "Database Username". It should look something like this when you're done.

[Minecraft_luckperms_configsettings3]

Set the Database Username and Password

Navigate to lines #104 and #105 in the configuration file and replace the default text "root" with the "Database Username" information and then enter the password between the two side-by-side quotes. When you're done, it should look like the example below.

[Minecraft_luckperms_configsettings4]

The rest of the configuration file contains settings used by different storage methods or advanced settings for the LuckPerms configuration itself, and you probably won't need to change them at this time.

Save your changes to the configuration files and you should be done. Your MySQL database is set up and ready to be used by LuckPerms for permissions management on your Minecraft server.

Configuration and Setup Are Complete

And that's the end of LuckPerms Installation, Configuration, and Setup. If everything has been done correctly, the MySQL database is now running in parallel with your server and is ready for the next step, which is data entry for groups, players, and allowed commands. If you want to test access to your MySQL database at this point, just to make sure it's working correctly, refer to the following section.

Database Access

There are two ways to access the database, now that it's set up and configured.

One is built into the control panel under the "MySQL Database" tab of the Holy control panel, and the second method is actually a feature built into LuckPerms (another reason to recommend LuckPerms over some other permissions plugins).

Holy "MySQL Database" Database Access

Access to your MySQL database is done by clicking the "MySQL Database" button in the control panel, and then clicking the blue "PHPMyAdmin" hyperlink to the right of "Web-based Admin Panel".

You will see the following page open in your browser. Use the information on the "MySQL Database" page for "Database Username" and "Database Password" to access the database.

[Minecraft_luckperms_phpadmin]

LuckPerms Built-in Editor

LuckPerms can also access the database from in-game commands (while playing in your Minecraft world) and by using a "/lp editor" command in your Minecraft server console, which will open a browser-based editor for LuckPerms in the console window. It will result in a link in the console window that will look something like the example below:

[2018-07-14 21:37:37] [pool-4-thread-1/INFO]

[net.minecraft.server.dedicated.DedicatedServer]: https://luckperms.github.io/editor/-identifier-

The -identifier- at the end is randomly generated for each session.

Click the link and you should see the following open in your browser:

[Minecraft_luckperms_lpeditor]

You are now connected to the MySQL database and can edit the information in it.