Set up ChestSort on your Minecraft server

ChestSort sorts the contents of chests, barrels, shulker boxes and a player's own inventory, either automatically when a container closes or with a click. Players need nothing on their own computers.

Checked against ChestSort 14.2.0, the newest build on its Spigot page, and the plugin's current config.yml, October 2026. The page says it works with every Minecraft version from 1.8 to the latest, and lists 1.21 as the newest version it was tested on.

Pick the right ChestSort

Several plugins use this name. This guide covers ChestSort (+ API) by mfnalex, the one with the /sort and /invsort commands. Results called ChestSort or Chestsort+ on Modrinth and Hangar are different plugins from other authors, so they may not match the commands below. Check the author before you install anything.

What you need

• A Paper or Purpur server. Vanilla servers have no Plugins tab, so switch software in JAR Manager first (see Change your Minecraft version or mod loader).
• A way to give players permissions, such as LuckPerms. Without one, you can switch permission checks off in the config (see below).

Install it

The current ChestSort builds are published on Spigot, which the Plugins tab does not search, so you add the jar by hand.

1. On your own computer, download the jar from the plugin's Spigot page.
2. In the File Manager, open the plugins folder. Paper only loads jars that sit directly in that folder, not in a subfolder.
3. Click Upload and pick the jar.
4. Restart from the Console tab (or click Start if the server is stopped), then type plugins. ChestSort should appear in the list.

Let players use it

Sorting is switched off for new players by default, and players need a permission before they can switch it on.

• chestsort.use allows chest sorting, the /sort command and the hotkeys.
• chestsort.use.inventory allows sorting a player's own inventory with /invsort.
• chestsort.reload allows /sort reload.

The plugin's page also mentions a use-permissions setting in config.yml. Set it to false and every player can use ChestSort without any permission.

What players type

• /sort opens a settings menu, and /sort on or /sort off turns automatic chest sorting on or off.
• /sort hotkeys opens a menu where each player picks which hotkeys are active.
• /invsort sorts the inventory, /invsort hotbar sorts the hotbar and /invsort all sorts both.

Hotkeys sort without a command: shift and left-click on an empty slot, a double-click on an empty slot, or shift and right-click on an empty slot. The plugin's page notes that middle-click does not work on Minecraft 1.18 and newer.

Change the settings

After the first start, ChestSort writes its files into plugins/ChestSort. Open config.yml in the File Manager and edit it. The plugin's own command list describes /sort reload as reloading the config, and a restart from the Console tab also applies it. These keys cover most changes:

• sorting-enabled-by-default and inv-sorting-enabled-by-default both default to false.
• sort-time defaults to close, which sorts when a container is closed.
• disabled-worlds lists worlds where automatic chest sorting is off.
• sorting-method sets the sort order. The default is '{category},{itemsFirst},{name},{color},{customName}'.

Common problems

• Nothing sorts. The player is missing chestsort.use, or has not turned sorting on with /sort on.
• A chest in a protected area stays unsorted. ChestSort only sorts chests the player can open. If a protection plugin blocks access, ChestSort leaves the chest alone. It also skips spectators and players in adventure mode.
• The console says players only. /sort and /invsort are player commands, so run them in the game rather than the Console.