Getting Started
Install Lightning, style your first message, and upgrade from an older version.
Lightning takes about two minutes to set up, and there's nothing else to install alongside it.
Requirements
PacketEvents is downloaded for you on first start. PlaceholderAPI is optional, and only needed if you want %placeholders% in your text.
One feature needs a newer version
Everything works from 1.21 up, except faces. <face>, and MiniMessage's own <head> and <sprite>, need 1.21.9 or newer. On older versions, <face> shows the fallback from config.yml instead.
Installing
Download the jar
Grab Lightning for free from Modrinth or the DenizenMC Store.
Add it to your server
Stop your server, drop the jar into plugins/, and start it again. Lightning downloads PacketEvents on that first start, so give it a moment.
Restart, don't reload
Always fully restart when adding or updating Lightning. Plugin reloaders and /reload aren't supported.
Look around the new folder
Everything in sparks/, rewires/ and commands/ loads, subfolders included, so organize it however reads best to you: one file per plugin, one per theme, anything. You won't need to touch data/ or backups/.
Style your first message
Open any plugin's messages file and write MiniMessage into it, exactly like you would in a plugin that supports it:
welcome: "<gradient:#FFE259:#FFA751>Welcome back, %player_name%!</gradient>"Reload that plugin the way you normally would, and the message arrives fully styled.
Preview it first
Want to see a line before it goes live? /lightning parse shows you exactly what players would see:
/lightning parse <sc><gradient:gold:yellow>hello</gradient></sc> <face>Mixing old and new is fine
A line like &8&m-----<yellow> Shop <dark_gray>&m----- works as is. The plugin handles its & codes, and Lightning handles the tags.
Coming from an older version
Lightning 0.2.0 was a complete rewrite. The engine, the config layout and most of the names changed, so old files can't be read or upgraded automatically. We know that's a pain, and we're sorry about it. The good news is you only do this once.
Move the old folder out
Stop your server and move plugins/Lightning somewhere outside your server, like your desktop. Don't delete it, you'll want it for reference.
Start with a fresh folder
Put the new jar in place of the old one and start your server. Lightning creates a fresh folder with the new layout and examples.
Bring your settings over by hand
Open your old files side by side with the new ones and move your colors, prefixes and messages across. The Sparks, Rewires and Custom commands pages show the new format for each.
Don't paste old files into the new folder
Configs from before 0.2.0 won't load. Always start from the freshly generated files and copy your values into them.
It's a beta
Lightning is still in beta, so a few things may still change before 1.0. If something breaks or feels off, tell us on Discord. That's exactly what the beta is for.
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