In this article, we will cover the basics of the Craftbukkit (this also applies to Spigot servers) permission system, permission nodes and permission plugins. By using Craftbukkit permissions, you can allow groups and players access to specified commands and other abilities that require permissions.
Permission nodes
By default, while players do not have access to most commands on the server, you can grant players Minecraft OP status. However, this is not an ideal situation for most servers, because it will grant player access to all commands on the server such as kick, ban, etc. YIKES! As a replacement for Minecraft OP, Craftbukkit has a permission system that is implemented by most plugins.
Permission nodes are a method of defining what commands/abilities a player can perform on the server. Different permission nodes are assigned to different commands and actions by the plugin developer. For example, permission node bukkit.command.kick allows a player to use the Craftbukkit /kick command.
Permission nodes can also be used to allow players to perform different actions such as entering a certain area. For example, permission node worldguard.region.bypass.* allow players to bypass WorldGuard protection for regions and permission node essentials.signs.use.buy allows players to use Essentials buy signs.
You can find a complete list of the Craftbukkit permission nodes here: http://wiki.bukkit.org/CraftBukkit_Commands
Plugins have their own permission nodes for different commands and different actions, it can typically be found on the plugin pages published by their developers. Permission nodes for plugins will generally use the following format: <plugin>.<command>
Summary nodes
Most permission plugins will allow you to use summary nodes. Summary nodes uses the wildcard “*” to enable all sub-permission nodes. For example,
- worldguard.region.* - Allows access to all permission nodes that starts with worldguard.region.
- essentials.* - Allows access to all permission nodes that starts with essentials.
- ‘*’ - Allows access to all permission nodes.
Permission plugin
Although Bukkit has a permission system built-in, it does not have built-in system to manage permissions. There are multiple permission plugins such as PermissionsEx, GroupManager and others that can be used to manage permissions on your server.
GroupManager is one of the easiest permission plugins to setup as it comes with a pre-made set of groups that will work out of the box for most servers. You can also edit the default groups to work with your exact server needs.
If you would like us to install your permissions setup for you, then you will need to open a ticket with our Addon Department. Please note that you will need to have purchased the Permissions Setup Addon for your server for us to be able to install the permissions for you.
