diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index c0166b26a53..262edfc6801 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ RUN easy-add --var os=${TARGETOS} --var arch=${TARGETARCH}${TARGETVARIANT} \
   --var version=${MC_SERVER_RUNNER_VERSION} --var app=mc-server-runner --file {{.app}} \
   --from ${GITHUB_BASEURL}/itzg/{{.app}}/releases/download/{{.version}}/{{.app}}_{{.version}}_{{.os}}_{{.arch}}.tar.gz
 
-ARG MC_HELPER_VERSION=1.48.14
+ARG MC_HELPER_VERSION=1.49.0
 ARG MC_HELPER_BASE_URL=${GITHUB_BASEURL}/itzg/mc-image-helper/releases/download/${MC_HELPER_VERSION}
 # used for cache busting local copy of mc-image-helper
 ARG MC_HELPER_REV=1
diff --git a/docs/configuration/misc-options.md b/docs/configuration/misc-options.md
index 068ee997b28..d8032c6b10d 100644
--- a/docs/configuration/misc-options.md
+++ b/docs/configuration/misc-options.md
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 ## Running with a custom server JAR
 
 If you would like to run a custom server JAR, set `-e TYPE=CUSTOM` and pass the custom server
@@ -142,6 +141,37 @@ To enable support for optimized SIMD operations, the JVM flag can be set with th
 
 SIMD optimized operations are supported by Pufferfish and Purpur.
 
+## Downloading extra configuration files
+
+You can download additional configuration files or other resources before the server starts by using the `DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS` environment variable. This is useful for downloading configs that you want to patch or modify during the startup process.
+
+The format uses a `<` separator between the destination path and the source URL:
+
+```
+DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS=destination<source_url[,destination2<source_url2,...]
+```
+
+For example, to download configuration files for plugins:
+
+```yaml
+environment:
+  DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS: |
+    plugins/WorldEdit<https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EngineHub/WorldEdit/refs/heads/version/7.3.x/worldedit-bukkit/src/main/resources/defaults/config.yml
+    plugins/EssentialsX<https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EssentialsX/Essentials/refs/heads/2.x/Essentials/src/main/resources/config.yml
+```
+
+Or as a single line:
+
+```yaml
+environment:
+  DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS: "plugins/WorldEdit<https://example.com/worldedit.yml,config<https://example.com/another.yml"
+```
+
+The files will be downloaded to `/data/` relative paths, so `plugins/WorldEdit` will be saved as `/data/plugins/WorldEdit/config.yml`.
+
+!!! note 
+    The downloaded files can be further processed using [environment variable replacement](interpolating.md) or [patch definitions](interpolating.md#patching-existing-files)
+
 ## Enable timestamps in init logs
 
 Before the container starts the Minecraft Server its output is prefixed with `[init]`, such as
diff --git a/scripts/start-setupEnvVariables b/scripts/start-setupEnvVariables
index f62ef1b8348..9fb1aa08952 100755
--- a/scripts/start-setupEnvVariables
+++ b/scripts/start-setupEnvVariables
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ handleDebugMode
 : "${DOWNLOAD_DEFAULTS:=}"
 : "${DOWNLOAD_DEFAULT_CONFIGS:=}"
 : "${SKIP_DOWNLOAD_DEFAULTS:=false}"
+: "${DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS:=}"
 
 if isTrue "${REPLACE_ENV_IN_PLACE}"; then
   log "Replacing env variables in ${REPLACE_ENV_PATHS} that match the prefix '$REPLACE_ENV_VARIABLE_PREFIX' ..."
@@ -54,6 +55,15 @@ if isFalse "$SKIP_DOWNLOAD_DEFAULTS"; then
   fi
 fi
 
+if [[ $DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS ]]; then
+  mc-image-helper mcopy \
+    --to /data \
+    --skip-existing \
+    --skip-up-to-date=false \
+    --quiet-when-skipped \
+    "$DOWNLOAD_EXTRA_CONFIGS"
+fi
+
 if [[ ${PATCH_DEFINITIONS} ]]; then
   log "Applying patch definitions from ${PATCH_DEFINITIONS}"
   mc-image-helper patch \