GriefPrevention lets players claim and protect their own land without needing any help from staff. Players use a golden shovel to mark out an area, and once claimed, nobody else can build, break, or take items from inside that area. It is an easy way to stop griefing on a server without having to manually protect every base yourself.
Installing GriefPrevention
The easiest way to install GriefPrevention is through the built-in Plugin Installer in the Game Panel:
- Log in to the Game Panel
- Select your server
- In the left menu, click Game then Plugins
- Search for GriefPrevention and click install
- Restart your server
Alternatively, you can download GriefPrevention manually from Hangar or SpigotMC and upload the .jar file to your plugins folder.
No other setup is required. The default configuration works well for most servers and GriefPrevention will start protecting areas as soon as players begin claiming them.
How Claims Work
GriefPrevention uses a real golden shovel as its claiming tool. Players need to craft or obtain one to start claiming land.
Making a Claim
- Hold a golden shovel
- Right-click one corner of the area you want to claim
- Right-click the opposite corner
The area between the two corners becomes a protected claim. GriefPrevention will show a temporary visual outline made of gold and glowstone blocks to indicate the borders. Only you (and players you trust) can build, break, or interact with things inside the claim.
The First Chest Trick
When a new player places their first chest, GriefPrevention automatically creates a small claim around it (9x9 by default). This protects new players from getting griefed before they even know about the shovel. They can still use the shovel to expand or make additional claims later.
Minimum Claim Size
By default, claims must be at least 10x10 blocks. Very small areas cannot be protected.
Claim Blocks
Claims are not free. Each block of area inside a claim costs one claim block from the player's balance. The default settings are:
- New players start with 100 claim blocks
- Players earn 100 more claim blocks per hour of active play
- The maximum a player can passively earn is 80,000 claim blocks
Admins can adjust all of these values in the config file.
Trust Commands
By default, only the claim owner can build inside a claim. To let other players help, the owner can use trust commands while standing inside the claim.
/trust <player>- Full trust (can build, break, and use anything)/containertrust <player>- Can use containers, buttons, and interact with animals, but cannot build or break blocks/accesstrust <player>- Can use doors, buttons, and beds, but nothing else/permissiontrust <player>- Can share their own trust level with other players/untrust <player>- Remove all trust for that player/trustlist- See who is trusted on the current claim
You can also use public instead of a player name to trust everyone - for example, /accesstrust public makes a shop open to everyone without letting them take items.
Subdivisions
If you want different trust levels for different parts of a claim (like a shared base with a private vault), you can create subdivisions.
- Stand inside your main claim
- Run
/subdivideclaims(or/sc) to switch your shovel into subdivision mode - Right-click two corners to create a smaller area inside the main claim
- Use
/basicclaims(or/bc) to switch your shovel back to normal mode
By default, subdivisions inherit the trust settings of the parent claim. To make a subdivision private (so only the owner can enter), run /restrictsubclaim while standing inside it.
Managing Your Claims
/abandonclaim- Delete the claim you are standing in (refunds the claim blocks)/abandonallclaims- Delete all of your claims at once/claimslist- See a list of all your claims and remaining claim blocks/claiminfo- See information about the claim you are standing in
Admin Commands
If you are an admin, you have access to extra commands for managing claims across the server.
/adminclaims(or/ac) - Switch your shovel to admin mode, letting you create ownerless claims that do not use claim blocks (useful for protecting spawn)/basicclaims(or/bc) - Switch your shovel back to normal claim mode/ignoreclaims(or/ic) - Toggle bypassing all claim protections (useful for moderation)/deleteclaim- Delete the claim you are standing in regardless of owner/deleteallclaims <player>- Delete all claims owned by a specific player/adjustbonusclaimblocks <player> <amount>- Give or take bonus claim blocks/gpreload- Reload the GriefPrevention config without restarting
Key Config Options
The config file is at plugins/GriefPrevention/config.yml. These are the settings most admins adjust:
Claims.InitialBlocks- How many claim blocks new players start with (default 100)Claims.BlocksAccruedPerHour- How many claim blocks players earn per hour (default 100)Claims.MaxAccruedBlocks- Cap on passive earning (default 80000)Claims.AutomaticNewPlayerClaimsRadius- Size of the auto-claim around a new player's first chest (set to -1 to disable)Claims.MinimumWidth- Minimum claim width (default 5)Claims.MinimumArea- Minimum claim area (default 100)Claims.ExtendIntoGroundDistance- How far claims extend below the lowest claimed point (default 5)
After making changes, run /gpreload to apply them.
Common Use Cases
Protecting Spawn
- Stand at spawn
- Switch to admin mode:
/adminclaims - Right-click two corners to create an admin claim covering the whole spawn area
- This claim is not owned by any player and does not cost claim blocks
A Shared Base with a Private Vault
- Make a claim covering the entire base
- Trust your friends:
/trust FriendName - Go inside where you want the vault
- Switch to subdivision mode:
/subdivideclaims - Create a subdivision around the vault area
- Lock it down:
/restrictsubclaim
Only you will be able to enter the vault, but your friends can still access the rest of the base.
Making a Public Shop
- Claim the shop area
- Trust everyone to use containers but not build:
/containertrust public
Players will be able to use your shop chests without being able to break or steal your blocks.
Common Issues
Claims Do Not Protect Diamonds Below My Base
By default, claims only extend 5 blocks below the lowest claimed point. Your diamond stash deeper underground is not protected. Raise Claims.ExtendIntoGroundDistance in the config if you want deeper protection.
I Cannot See My Claim Borders Anymore
The visual outline is temporary and disappears after a short time. To see it again, right-click a corner of the claim with your golden shovel, or run /claiminfo inside the claim.
I Cannot Make Small Claims
The default minimum is 10x10. Very small areas cannot be claimed without changing the Claims.MinimumWidth and Claims.MinimumArea settings in the config.
I Ran Out of Claim Blocks
New players only start with 100 claim blocks. Either wait to earn more by playing, ask an admin for more with /adjustbonusclaimblocks, or raise Claims.InitialBlocks in the config for future players.
The First-Chest Auto-Claim Is in the Way
When a new player places their first chest, GriefPrevention creates a 9x9 claim around it automatically. If this overlaps with where they wanted to build, they need to abandon it first with /abandonclaim and then manually claim the right area.
Having Trouble Setting Up GriefPrevention?
Feel free to reach out to us and we can help:
- Support Ticket
- Discord Server - use the
/supportcommand - Email: [email protected]