Minecraft Server Useful Plugins

If you run a Minecraft server and use Spigot / Paper that supports plugins, here's a list of plugins that we can recommend that might be helpful in certain situations.

1.) CIDRblacklist (Author: Strahan)

SpigotMC Resource Page: https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/cidrblacklist.72216/

Details: CIDRblacklist lets you ban specific IP blocks / ranges in CIDR format from connecting, this can be very useful for banning large amounts of IPs that are used for bots, such as VPN and proxy networks. This is sometimes better than using plugins to block VPN/proxy networks automatically, since you can make your own list from scratch, as well as it running more efficiently with the login checks than some others that cause lag when players log on. Tested on 1.14.4.

Permissions:
cidrblacklist.admin
(alternatively, set yourself as Operator status to use the commands)

Commands:
/cidr add <cidr> - This will add an IP range in CIDR format to the block list. Example: "/cidr add 66.96.80.0/20" (This will ban a /20 block of IPs, from 66.96.80.1 - 66.96.95.254, total of 4096 IPs)
/cidr del <cidr> - Delete and IP range from the block list
/cidr list - Lists all current IP ranges in your block list
/cidr test <ip> - Checks if an IP is on your block list in any blocked CIDR
/cidr reload - Reloads the plugin configuration file
/cidr calc - Provides a link to an online IP CIDR calculator

2.) MaxBans Plus (Author: netherfoam)

SpigotMC Resource Page: https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/maxbans-plus.41392/

Details: Popular kick/ban plugin with customizations. Kick or ban users for a duration with a message, warn users, IP ban or IP mute users.

3.) Spark

SpigotMC Resource Page: https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/spark.57242/

Details: Popular plugin with profiling to help diagnose issues that cause tickrate loss or memory usage on servers.

3.) LagGoggles (Author: Terminator_NL)

CurseForge: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/laggoggles

Details: This is a SpongeForge / Mixin mod (not a server plugin) that can be useful for troubleshooting lag on modded servers, including showing visuals in-game of what is causing tickrate loss.

4.) BungeeGuard

Github: https://github.com/lucko/BungeeGuard

Details: Plugin that supports various server software to protect backend proxy servers from direct connections, keeping your servers behind a proxy secure.