Set up NametagEdit on your Minecraft server

NametagEdit puts a prefix or suffix around a player's name above their head and in the tab list. You can give one player a tag, or make a group with its own tag that anyone with the right permission wears. It does not rename or re-skin anyone. It adds text next to the name.

Checked against NametagEditX 5.0.1 on Paper 26.2, October 2026.

Which NametagEdit to install

The original NametagEdit by sgtcaze is on SpigotMC. Its last update was in December 2023, and the page lists versions up to 1.20 as tested. NametagEditX is a maintained fork that declares it provides NametagEdit, so plugins that look for NametagEdit find it. It adds Folia support, MiniMessage support, almost no limit on prefix and suffix length, and better LuckPerms handling. It is published on Modrinth, so the store in the Plugins tab can install it. This guide uses NametagEditX.

What it needs

• A server that loads plugins. You need a Plugins tab, so Paper or Purpur.
• The right Minecraft version. NametagEditX 5.0.1 is built for Minecraft 26.2 and needs Java 25. Version 5.0.0 covers 1.21.4 to 26.1.2. Choose your version in JAR Manager (Change Minecraft server version or loader). The panel picks Java 25 for 26.x servers itself.
• Nothing on the players' side. Modrinth lists it as server-only.
• Optional extras. LuckPerms and PlaceholderAPI are optional. With LuckPerms, a player's tag updates by itself when their groups or permissions change (Set up LuckPerms).

Install it

1. Open the Backups tab and click Create backup.
2. Open the Plugins tab and stay on the Store view. Leave the Modrinth button selected and search for NametagEditX.
3. Click Install on the row. The version filter starts on your server's Minecraft version, so you get a build that matches. If the store shows no build, none of the releases lists your Minecraft version.
4. Open the Console tab and click Restart.

Give a player a tag

Make yourself an operator with Operators in the Players tab (Whitelist players and set operators). The command is /ne, and /nte and /nametagedit also work. The plugin's documentation uses /nte, so this guide does too. In game:

• /nte player <name> prefix '[Admin] ' sets a prefix. The quote marks are removed, so you can end with a space.
• /nte player <name> suffix <text> sets a suffix.
• /nte player <name> clear removes both.
• /nte reload reloads the configuration and the nametags.

Use & colour codes in the text, such as &c for red.

Make a group tag

A group is a tag that anyone holding a chosen permission wears. Build it step by step:

1. /nte group add Staff creates the group.
2. /nte group Staff permission nte.staff sets the permission that earns the tag.
3. /nte group Staff prefix '&c[Staff] ' sets the prefix.
4. /nte group order Owner Staff Default sets the order the groups are checked in. The first one named is checked first. It then prints "Type /ne reload for these changes to take effect", so run /nte reload.

The /nte group commands need nametagedit.groups. Run /nte with no arguments, or /nte group, to see the plugin's own list of subcommands, because its written documentation spells some of them differently. Grant nte.staff to a group in your permissions plugin and its members get the tag.

Files you can edit

The plugin writes config.yml, groups.yml and players.yml in its folder under plugins. Open them in File Manager. In groups.yml and players.yml, Prefix and Suffix are both required, even if one is blank. SortPriority sets the position in the tab list, with 1 first. In config.yml, Tablist.Enabled decides whether the name in the tab list changes too. Run /nte reload after editing.

Common problems

• The command says you lack permission. /nte needs nametagedit.use. Editing others needs nametagedit.edit.others, and nametagedit.edit.self limits a player to their own tag.
• The client crashes with "Cannot remove from ID#". The plugin uses scoreboard teams, and a player can only be on one team. Another plugin that sets team prefixes or suffixes conflicts with it, and the author says there is no way around that.
• An NPC shows the wrong tag. Plugins that make NPCs sharing a name with a real player can conflict.