Set up MCRealistic on your Minecraft server

MCRealistic turns survival into something harsher. Players get thirsty and tired, freeze in the rain without armour, break their bones in long falls and catch colds. Builds fall down unless they are supported, and trees fall as you chop them. Almost every feature can be switched off in the config.

Checked against MCRealistic 3.1.7 on Paper 1.20.1, October 2026.

Read this before you install

The last release of MCRealistic, 3.1.7, came out in August 2023 and targets Minecraft 1.20.1. The SpigotMC page lists 1.17 to 1.20 as tested, and the author says updates will be rare and no new features are coming. The page asks for 1.17 or newer but lists only 1.17 to 1.20 as tested, and the last update targets 1.20.1, so run 1.20.1.

To move to it, open JAR Manager, pick Paper and 1.20.1, then click Apply change and confirm. The panel sets Java 17 for that version, which is what the plugin needs. See Change Minecraft server version or loader.

What it needs

• A Plugins tab, so Paper or Purpur.
• Java 17 and Minecraft 1.17 or newer, as the SpigotMC page states. In practice, stay on 1.20.1 for the reason above.
• A manual install. MCRealistic is downloaded from SpigotMC, which the store in the Plugins tab does not search.

Install it

1. Download the current jar from the plugin's SpigotMC page, spigotmc.org/resources/mcrealistic.21628.
2. Create a backup in the Backups tab.
3. Open File Manager, open the plugins folder and click Upload. Choose the jar.
4. Open the Console tab and click Restart, or Start if the server is stopped.

Set up the config

Once the plugin has started, open its config.yml in File Manager, in the plugin's folder under plugins. Edit it, click Save and restart. The plugin's page shows this file with comments, and these are the options you will change most. Check each against your own file:

• Worlds lists the worlds it applies to, and the page's example holds only world. If your world folder has another name, add it. The name is the World folder setting in Config Editor.
• Thirst has Enabled and Require_Purify. With purifying on, water must be purified in a furnace.
• Immune_System has Enabled and Req_Players. With enough players online, it gives a random player a cold.
• Allow Fatigue switches the fatigue system on or off. The 3.1.7 jar's built-in default is true, although the example on the page shows false, so read your own file.
• Allow Chop Down Trees With Hands is false by default, so players need an axe.
• Building has Realistic_Building, which makes unsupported blocks fall. Set it to false to build normally.
• Setting Type under GameMode to PRE_ADVENTURE switches on an old adventure mode where blocks can only be broken with the right tool. The author calls it alpha and hard for new players.

Commands and permissions

mcr.getcolds allows a player to catch a cold. MCRealistic.gravity makes a player affected by block gravity. Hand these out through a permissions plugin (Set up LuckPerms).

Common problems

• Players find their builds collapsing. Blocks need support from logs or fences. Tell players, or set Realistic_Building to false.
• Nothing happens in my world. Check Worlds in the config.
• Items stopped working after an update. Version 3.1.7 broke every existing item and needs updated language files, as the update notes warn.
• The plugin fails on a newer Minecraft version. It has not been tested there. Go back to 1.20.1 on a new world.