How to Configure Anti-Cheat on Your Minecraft Server

Anti-cheat plugins monitor player behavior and detect cheats such as speed hacks, fly hacks, kill aura, reach, and X-ray. Installing one is recommended for any public-facing Minecraft server.

Popular Anti-Cheat Plugins

Installing an Anti-Cheat

Anti-cheat plugins are installed the same way as any other plugin:

1. Download the plugin JAR file from its download page.
2. Navigate to the Wabbanode Control Panel and Stop your server.
3. Click Files, navigate to the plugins folder, and upload the JAR file.
4. Start your server. The plugin will generate its configuration files on first run.

For more detailed plugin installation steps, see our guide on How to Install Plugins on Your Minecraft Server.

Configuration Best Practices

Start with default settings. Most anti-cheat plugins ship with well-balanced defaults. Don't immediately increase strictness, monitor your server for a few days first.

Use escalating punishments. Configure your anti-cheat to respond progressively rather than instantly banning players:

1. First violations: Warning message to the player
2. Repeated violations: Kick from the server
3. Persistent violations: Temporary ban (30 minutes to 24 hours)
4. Severe offenses: Permanent ban

Exempt staff permissions. Staff using commands like /fly, /teleport, or /vanish will trigger anti-cheat detections. Add bypass permissions (e.g., grim.exempt or vulcan.bypass) to your staff ranks in your permissions plugin.

Adjust for high-latency players. Players with high ping (200+ ms) can trigger false positives due to delayed packet delivery. Most anti-cheat plugins have a ping compensation or tolerance setting you can increase.

Common False Positives

Certain legitimate gameplay mechanics can trigger anti-cheat detections:

• Elytra flight with fireworks: Can trigger fly or speed checks. Most plugins handle this by default, but verify exemptions are configured.
• Slime block launchers: Redstone contraptions that launch players can trigger velocity checks.
• Teleportation plugins: EssentialsX /tp, /home, and /warp commands may trigger movement checks if the anti-cheat doesn't recognize the teleport.
• Custom items with speed boosts: Plugins that modify player speed can trigger speed hack detections.

If legitimate players are being kicked, check the anti-cheat's log or verbose output to identify which check is triggering and increase its tolerance threshold.

Troubleshooting

• Legitimate players getting kicked. Check which check triggered the kick in the plugin's logs and increase its sensitivity threshold. High-latency players are the most common source of false positives.
• Anti-cheat conflicts with other plugins. Teleportation, flight, and speed-modifying plugins commonly conflict. Add exemptions in the anti-cheat config for actions triggered by other plugins.
• Performance impact. Anti-cheat plugins use CPU to analyze player packets. If you notice TPS drops, disable checks you don't need (e.g., disable creative mode checks on survival-only servers) or try a lighter plugin.
• Plugin not detecting cheats. Ensure the plugin is up to date. Older versions may not detect newer cheat clients. Also verify the checks are enabled in the configuration file.