Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

IllegalStateException: ChatGames isn't enabled

ChatGamesAPI.get() was called before ChatGames enabled, or without it on the server.

• Add depend: [ChatGames-Premium] (or softdepend) to plugin.yml. The name must be exactly ChatGames-Premium.
• Call the API from onEnable or later, never from a constructor, a static initialiser or onLoad.
• Check that the console shows ChatGames enabling without errors.

NoClassDefFoundError: org/nsider/chatgames/api/...

ChatGames isn't on the server, and your plugin uses the API in a class that loaded anyway. With softdepend, keep every API call in a separate class that you only touch after checking isPluginEnabled("ChatGames-Premium") (Getting Started).

Strange errors, or my game "doesn't exist" for ChatGames

You probably shaded the API into your jar. Your plugin then has its own copy of GameType, and ChatGames never sees your registrations. Use provided (Maven) or compileOnly (Gradle), and check that your jar has no org/nsider/chatgames folder.

IllegalArgumentException when registering

• "is a /chatgames command": the id is a sub-command like top, menu or stop. Pick another.
• "already ... exists" / "already taken": another plugin (or a built-in game) uses that id, or your plugin registered it twice. On /reload your old registrations are removed first, so this is usually two registrations in one onEnable.
• "must be 2-32 lower-case letters...": ids use a-z, 0-9 and _, start with a letter, and are 2 to 32 characters long.

My game never runs in the rotation

• Is enable: true in its games.yml (or races.yml) section? Owners can turn it off.
• Is weight above 0?
• Is a preset active (presets.yml active:)? The rotation then only picks the preset's games.
• Races only run when enable-races: true is set at the top of races.yml.
• /chatgames <id> starts it right away, which helps you test the game alone.

The game starts but nobody can win

• Check the answers: players type them, so they must be plain text without colour codes. Spaces and capitals are ignored, accents aren't.
• case-sensitive: true in games.yml makes capitals matter.
• Answers faster than min-answer-ms (400 ms) are ignored as bots. Test like a player would.
• For a click-to-answer game, the click command must be exactly "/chatgames " + answer (Hover and click).

My race never counts

• Keep the GameType that registerRace returned and pass that one.
• The target you pass must match the running race's target (case doesn't matter), or be null.
• Players in creative don't count unless creative-enabled: true, and players in disabled worlds or with games turned off never count.
• Use /chatgames <race> <target> <amount> to start the exact race you are testing.

"Unknown reward action" in the console

A reward line uses an action no plugin registered: a typo in the owner's file, or your plugin isn't enabled. Names are case-insensitive, and written with brackets: [coins] 100.

Console warnings about my game at startup

ChatGames holds back "unknown game" and "unknown type" warnings until the server has finished starting, because your plugin enables after it. Warnings after startup mean the name really doesn't exist: a typo in a config, or your plugin failed to enable.

My generator's exception is in the console

When a generator throws, the round doesn't start, and the message is logged. Throw IllegalStateException with a message the owner can act on, like "no questions in games.yml capitals.questions".

Still stuck?

Compare with the example plugin, which is tested on Spigot 1.8.8, Paper 1.21 and Folia, or open an issue on the ChatGames-API repository.