Set up NoCheatPlus on Minecraft

NoCheatPlus is an anti-cheat plugin. It watches movement, fighting, block breaking and block placing, and acts on players who break the rules of vanilla Minecraft, for example by flying or hitting from too far away. Before you install it, know that its newest official release only supports Minecraft up to 1.12.2.

Checked against NoCheatPlus 3.16.0-RC-sMD5NET-b1134 for Minecraft 1.12.2, October 2026.

Read this first

The project's own Notable Builds page lists 3.16.0-RC-sMD5NET-b1134 as the current release, with support for Minecraft 1.4.5 to 1.12.2 and a focus on 1.12.2. The file was uploaded in January 2018, and the project's master branch has had no commits since August 2018. The project lists no support beyond Minecraft 1.12.2 and says the Minecraft version must match the build, so do not expect it to work on a current server. Two ways forward:

• Run Minecraft 1.12.2. This suits a classic-style server.
• Use a different anti-cheat on a modern version. This guide does not cover that.

Use JAR Manager to pick the software and version, as Change Minecraft server version or loader shows. Choose Paper and 1.12.2. Purpur's own version list starts at 1.14.1, so it has no 1.12.2 build, and the panel does not offer Spigot. PaperMC lists 1.12.2 as an unsupported version, with a last stable build (1620) from December 2021. The panel offers 1.12.2 in its version list, and in a test the reinstall finished and the server booted on Java 8. Then click Apply change, then Confirm & reinstall. The panel runs Java 8 for versions this old and switches it for you.

What it needs

• A server that loads plugins. NoCheatPlus is a Bukkit and Spigot plugin, and the project names Spigot and CraftBukkit as its servers. Paper is built on Spigot and gives you a Plugins tab, but the project does not mention Paper. In a test NoCheatPlus loaded and enabled on Paper 1.12.2.
• ProtocolLib, optional. Its Net checks and the full fight checks need it. The project says to use a ProtocolLib version that NoCheatPlus supports, or some checks switch off.

Install it

1. Open the Backups tab and click Create backup.
2. Download the jar from the project's BukkitDev file page. Take the file named 3.16.0-RC-sMD5NET-b1134.
3. Open File Manager, open the plugins folder and click Upload files. Choose the jar.
4. Open the Console tab and click Restart.
5. Run ncp version in the console. It shows the plugin version and its compatibility modules.

Do not use the Plugins tab for this one. On Paper 1.12.2 a CurseForge search for NoCheatPlus finds nothing at the default version filter. With Any version it lists a plugin of that name, but Install answers that no plugin file is available for your Paper 1.12.2 setup. Upload the jar as above.

Try it safely

Operators and players with bypass permissions are not checked. The FAQ says that if NoCheatPlus appears to block nothing, you probably have operator rights. To test, remove your operator status in the Players tab (Whitelist players and set operators) and use a second account.

Commands

The root command is nocheatplus, and ncp is the alias.

• /ncp info <player> shows a player's violation levels.
• /ncp notify on or off toggles the in-game alerts.
• /ncp exempt <player> [check_type] exempts a player, and /ncp unexempt undoes it.
• /ncp lag shows server lag, which the checks use to adjust.
• /ncp reload re-reads the configuration.

The matching permissions are nocheatplus.command.info, .notify, .exempt, .lag and .reload. nocheatplus.shortcut.bypass exempts a player from every check.

Configure it

Settings are in config.yml in the plugin's NoCheatPlus folder under plugins. Open it in File Manager. Most checks have an active switch and an actions list that decides what happens at which violation level: log, cancel, run a command and so on. Do not use tabs when you edit the file. Run /ncp reload or restart from the Console tab afterwards.

Common problems

• It does not load. A Minecraft version that does not match the build is the first thing to check, because the project's FAQ says to make sure your Minecraft version matches the version NoCheatPlus was compiled for. Open Download Log in the Console tab and check the version lines.
• Players are set back when they move normally. Check /ncp lag first, because the checks adapt to server lag. If it carries on, exempt that player with /ncp exempt <player> [check_type] while you look into it.
• Another plugin's feature is flagged. A plugin that changes how players move can trip the checks. The project's Compatibility wiki page lists plugins that work with NoCheatPlus.