GriefPrevention & Claims Plugin Setup for Minecraft (2026)
GriefPrevention is the most popular land protection plugin for Minecraft servers. Players claim land with a golden shovel. Claimed land cannot be modified by other players. No commands to memorize, no complex regions to set up. It just works.
How It Works
- Player gets a golden shovel
- Right-click two corners to create a claim
- The claim area is protected from griefing
- Claim blocks are earned by playing (1 block per hour by default)
- Players can trust friends to build in their claims
Installation
- Download GriefPrevention from SpigotMC or GitHub
- Place in
plugins/ - Restart the server
- Default configuration works out of the box
Trust Levels
Players manage their own claims:
/trust [player]- Full build access/containertrust [player]- Open chests and use buttons/accesstrust [player]- Use doors and switches/permissiontrust [player]- Can trust others in your claim/untrust [player]- Remove access
Configuration
Key settings in config.yml:
Claim Blocks
Claims:
InitialBlocks: 100
BlocksAccruedPerHour: 100
MaxAccruedBlocks: 80000
Claim Limits
Claims:
MinimumWidth: 5
MinimumArea: 100
MaxClaimsPerPlayer: 0 # 0 = unlimited
PvP Settings
PvP:
ProtectFreshSpawns: true
PunishLogout: true
CombatTimeout: 15
Alternatives to GriefPrevention
| Plugin | Style | |--------|-------| | GriefPrevention | Golden shovel claiming | | Lands | GUI-based with nations | | Towny | Town-based territories | | WorldGuard | Admin-defined regions | | FLAN (Fabric) | Fabric equivalent | | FTB Chunks | Modpack chunk claiming |
Why GriefPrevention Over Others
- Zero learning curve for players
- Visual claim boundaries (glowstone/gold blocks)
- Automatic initial claim on first chest placement
- Built-in anti-grief for unclaimed areas
- Siege mode for PvP servers
- Extremely lightweight
Admin Commands
/adminclaims- Create admin-owned regions/adjustbonusclaimblocks [player] [amount]- Give extra claim blocks/deleteclaim- Remove a claim/deleteallclaims [player]- Remove all claims for a player/claimslist [player]- View a player's claims
Tips
- Give VIP players bonus claim blocks as a perk
- Use admin claims for spawn and public areas
- Set up a claim block shop if you have an economy
- Enable explosion protection in claims for PvP servers
- Subdivide large claims into plots for player towns
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