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Better MOTD

Better MOTD

Lightweight Paper plugin for dynamic server MOTD and server icons

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668
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Compatibility

Minecraft: Java Edition

26.1.x
1.21.x

Platforms

Links

Report issues View source Visit wiki

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Creators

Details

Licensed MIT
Published 4 months ago

BetterMOTD is a lightweight and flexible plugin for Paper Minecraft servers that allows you to fully customize your server MOTD and server icon.

The plugin is designed with performance and simplicity in mind:

  • no NMS usage
  • no external dependencies
  • minimal overhead during server list ping

BetterMOTD uses MiniMessage for modern text formatting, including HEX colors, gradients, and formatted MOTD frames. All configuration is handled through a clean and readable config.yml.

Features

  • Dynamic server MOTD using MiniMessage
  • HEX colors, gradients, and formatting
  • Frame-based animated MOTD
  • Static server icon per preset
  • Weighted random and sticky-per-IP preset selection
  • Automatic icons/ directory creation
  • Default placeholder icon on first startup
  • Safe fallbacks and config validation

Compatibility

  • Minecraft: 1.21 - 1.21.11
  • Server: Paper
  • Java: 21+

Installation

  1. Download the latest version from the Versions tab
  2. Place the JAR file into the plugins/ directory
  3. Start the server
  4. Edit plugins/BetterMOTD/config.yml
  5. Restart the server

Using /reload is not recommended.

Server Icons

  • Format: PNG
  • Resolution: 64×64
  • Path: plugins/BetterMOTD/icons/

If the folder is empty, a default placeholder icon will be generated automatically.

Performance

BetterMOTD does not affect gameplay or server tick performance. All operations are lightweight and safe even for large public servers.