Installation

Installation

Requirements

Requirement	Version
Minecraft	1.21 – 26.3
Java	21 or newer
Server software	Spigot, Paper or Purpur
Optional	PlaceholderAPI, Vault (+ an economy plugin), Essentials

The plugin is compiled against Spigot API 26.3 and declares api-version: '1.21', so one JAR works on 1.21.x and 26.x.

Fresh install

1. Stop the server. Do not hot-swap the JAR.
2. Download customdeathmessages-1.6.1.jar from Modrinth.
3. Delete any older copy from plugins/ (for example customdeathmessages-1.5.jar or customdeathmessages-1.6.jar). Two versions installed at the same time cause command conflicts.
4. Copy the new JAR into plugins/.
5. Start the server.
6. Check the console. You should see lines like these:

[CustomDeathMessages] Loading server plugin CustomDeathMessages v1.6.1
[CustomDeathMessages] Enabling CustomDeathMessages v1.6.1
[CustomDeathMessages] ✓ Plugin initialized successfully

7. On first start the plugin creates:

plugins/CustomDeathMessages/
├── config.yml
└── messages.yml

8. Edit the files and run /cdm reload, or restart the server.

Updating

1. Back up plugins/CustomDeathMessages/config.yml and messages.yml.
2. Stop the server.
3. Replace the old JAR with the new one.
4. Start the server.

Existing configuration files are never overwritten. New versions may add keys; missing keys fall back to the bundled defaults, so an old file keeps working.

Updating from 1.6 to 1.6.1

1.6.1 is a drop-in replacement. It only changes api-version from 26.3 to 1.21 so 1.21.x servers can load it. No configuration keys changed.

Optional integrations

All three are optional and detected at runtime.

Plugin	What it adds	Notes
PlaceholderAPI	%placeholder% expansion inside death messages, titles, action bars and feedback	Any installed expansion works
Vault	Charges cost-per-death-message through your economy plugin	Requires Vault and an economy plugin
Essentials	Uses player nicknames for the victim and killer names	Nicknames are read automatically

Verifying the install

/cdmhelp
/cdm test FALL
/cdm config validate

• /cdmhelp lists the commands.
• /cdm test FALL previews a fall death message.
• /cdm config validate checks sounds, particles, broadcast modes and condition syntax.

Uninstalling

1. Stop the server.
2. Delete plugins/customdeathmessages-1.6.1.jar.
3. Optionally delete plugins/CustomDeathMessages/. This removes your configuration.

Minecraft 1.20.x and older

This build does not load on 1.20.x or older. api-version: '1.21' is a minimum, so older servers reject the plugin with an "Unsupported API version" error.

A separate legacy build for 1.16.5–1.20.x is planned. Do not install 1.6.1 on those versions.