Set up DecentHolograms on your server

DecentHolograms is a plugin that floats text, items and small models in the world, which is handy for spawn signs, rules boards and leaderboards. It is a plugin, not a mod, so it goes in the Plugins tab on a Paper or Purpur server, and players don't install anything.

Checked against DecentHolograms 2.10.2 on Paper 26.3, October 2026.

What it needs

DecentHolograms has no required dependencies. Two optional plugins add features if they are installed and enabled:

• PlaceholderAPI lets hologram lines show live values such as a player's name.
• HeadDatabase lets lines use custom heads.

Its holograms are packet based, so they exist only on the player's screen and are not entities on your server. Modrinth lists it as server side only, with no client install.

Look for Plugins under Content in the panel menu. If your server shows Mods instead, or no add-on tab, open JAR Manager under More and switch to Paper or Purpur. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader has the steps, and a backup from the Backups tab first is wise.

Install it

1. Open Plugins, keep the Store view and the Modrinth chip selected.
2. Search for DecentHolograms and press Install.
3. Restart the server from the Console tab. The install toast says "Restart the server to load it".

DecentHolograms then creates a DecentHolograms folder inside plugins, holding its config.yml and a holograms folder. Check Installed in the store: the plugin should be listed without a Failed to load badge. In the Console, dh version prints the version.

Make your first hologram

Run these in-game as an operator, or from the Console tab. The main command is /dh, and h is short for hologram:

/dh h create welcome
/dh l set welcome 1 1 &aWelcome to the server
/dh l add welcome 1 Read the rules at spawn

create makes a hologram called welcome at your position. l is short for lines: set replaces line 1 on page 1, and add puts a new line at the bottom. Pages and lines count from 1. From the Console tab there is no position, so add one with -l:<world>:<x>:<y>:<z>:

/dh h create welcome -l:world:0:100:0 First line

Other commands you will use: /dh list shows every hologram with its location (players only; the Console answers "This action can only be executed by player."), /dh h movehere welcome moves one to you (players only), /dh l remove welcome 1 2 deletes line 2, and /dh h delete welcome removes the whole hologram. Text lines take &a style colour codes and #rrggbb hex colours.

Permissions

Operators get everything by default. For other staff, dh.admin or dh.command grants all commands, and a single command has its own node, for example dh.command.holograms.create for /dh h create and dh.command.lines.add for /dh l add. A permissions plugin assigns them; Set up LuckPerms on your Minecraft server shows how.

Settings worth knowing

In plugins/DecentHolograms/config.yml, the defaults section sets the text of a new line (Blank Line), the display range in blocks (48) and the update interval in ticks (20). After editing a file by hand in the File Manager, run /dh reload to reload it.

Since 2.10.0 there is a second kind, Display Entity holograms, made with /dh displays create. They use a separate folder and command set, and pages are not available for them.

Moving from another hologram plugin

/dh convert HolographicDisplays imports holograms from that plugin's database.yml. The same command converts CMI, FutureHolograms, GHolo and Holograms. Support may be limited, so check the result.

Common problems

• No /dh command: the plugin didn't load. Check Installed for Failed to load, then the Console log.
• A hologram is missing for a player: the display range defaults to 48 blocks, so stand closer.
• Edits to a file didn't apply: run /dh reload.