This guide shows you how to integrate the Paper API into your Maven-based plugin project.
Add the Paper Repository
Add the Paper Maven repository to your pom.xml file:
<repositories>
<repository>
<id>papermc</id>
<url>https://repo.papermc.io/repository/maven-public/</url>
</repository>
</repositories>
repo.papermc.io.
Add the Paper API Dependency
Add the Paper API as a provided dependency:
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>io.papermc.paper</groupId>
<artifactId>paper-api</artifactId>
<version>1.21.11-R0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
The provided scope is essential because the Paper server already includes the API at runtime. Including it in your plugin JAR would cause conflicts and increase file size unnecessarily.
Version Selection
The Paper API uses version numbers that correspond to Minecraft versions:
1.21.11-R0.1-SNAPSHOT - Latest development version for Minecraft 1.21.11- Replace with your target Minecraft version
- The
-SNAPSHOT suffix indicates this is a development build
Check the Paper downloads page to find the latest version for your target Minecraft release.
Java Version Requirement
Paper requires Java 21 or later. Configure your Maven compiler plugin:
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.11.0</version>
<configuration>
<source>21</source>
<target>21</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
Complete Example
Here’s a minimal pom.xml configuration for a Paper plugin:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>my-paper-plugin</artifactId>
<version>1.0.0</version>
<packaging>jar</packaging>
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>21</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>21</maven.compiler.target>
<project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
</properties>
<repositories>
<repository>
<id>papermc</id>
<url>https://repo.papermc.io/repository/maven-public/</url>
</repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>io.papermc.paper</groupId>
<artifactId>paper-api</artifactId>
<version>1.21.11-R0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</project>
Next Steps
After setting up Maven integration:
- Create your plugin main class extending
JavaPlugin
- Add a
paper-plugin.yml or plugin.yml file
- Build your plugin with
mvn clean package
- Test your plugin on a Paper server
For testing local Paper API changes, see the Publishing guide.