Installation

This guide will walk you through the installation and initial setup of AnnouncementGUI.

📋 Prerequisites

Before installing AnnouncementGUI, ensure you have:

• Minecraft Server: Paper 1.21+ or Folia

• Java Version: 17 or higher

• Server Access: Ability to restart the server and edit configuration files

Optional Dependencies:

• PlaceholderAPI: For using placeholders in announcements (highly recommended)

📥 Download

1

Visit the Releases page:

https://github.com/dumbo-the-developer/AnnouncementGUI/releases

Download the latest AnnouncementGUI-X.X.X.jar file.

2

Alternatively, build from source (see the "Building from Source" section).

🚀 Installation Steps

1

Install the Plugin

• Stop your server if it's running.

• Place the downloaded AnnouncementGUI-X.X.X.jar file into your server's plugins/ folder.

• Start your server.

The plugin will automatically create necessary files and folders.

2

Verify Installation

Check your server console for a message similar to:

[AnnouncementGUI] Initializing AnnouncementGUI on Paper...
[AnnouncementGUI] Using lightweight announcement change polling for MySQL multi-server sync...

3

Generated Files

After the first startup, you should see the following directory structure:

plugins/
└── AnnouncementGUI/
    ├── config.yml
    ├── gui-messages.yml
    ├── announcements.db (SQLite file, created on first use)
    └── guis/
        ├── maingui.yml
        ├── creategui.yml
        ├── editgui.yml
        ├── listgui.yml
        ├── listgui_delete.yml
        ├── linesgui.yml
        └── confirmdeletegui.yml

⚙️ Initial Configuration

Basic Setup

1. Open plugins/AnnouncementGUI/config.yml

2. Configure your server ID:

localServerId: "server-1"

1. Add known server IDs (for multi-server setups):

servers:
  - "server-1"
  - "server-2"
  - "server-3"

1. Configure storage type (SQLite or MySQL):

storage:
  type: sqlite  # or mysql

1. Save the file and reload/restart your server

For detailed configuration options, see the Configuration Guide.

🔧 Building from Source

Requirements

• Git

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 17+

• Gradle (included via wrapper)

Build Steps

Build (Unix/macOS/Linux)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dumbo-the-developer/AnnouncementGUI.git
cd AnnouncementGUI

# Build with Gradle
./gradlew clean shadowJar

# The JAR will be in: build/libs/AnnouncementGUI-X.X.X.jar

(Windows users can run the equivalent using the Gradle wrapper: gradlew.bat clean shadowJar)

✅ Post-Installation

1

Install PlaceholderAPI (Optional but Recommended)

• Download PlaceholderAPI

• Place in plugins/ folder

• Restart server

2

Grant Permissions

Grant the announcegui.admin permission to administrators:

# In your permissions plugin (e.g., LuckPerms)
/lp user <username> permission set announcegui.admin true

See Permissions Guide for more details.

3

Test the Plugin

1. Join your server with an account that has the announcegui.admin permission

2. Run the command: /announcegui

3. The Announcement Manager GUI should open

🔄 Upgrading

To upgrade to a newer version:

1. Stop your server

2. Backup your plugins/AnnouncementGUI/ folder (especially config.yml and announcements.db)

3. Replace the old JAR file with the new one

4. Start your server

5. Check the console for any migration messages or warnings

Important Notes:

• Configuration files are usually preserved across updates

• Database schema updates are handled automatically

• Always backup before upgrading

⚠️ Troubleshooting Installation

Plugin doesn't load

• Check Java version: java -version (must be 17+)

• Check server version (Paper 1.21+ or Folia required)

• Look for errors in logs/latest.log

Permission errors

• Ensure you have announcegui.admin permission

• Check your permissions plugin configuration

Database errors

• For SQLite: Ensure the plugin folder is writable

• For MySQL: Verify connection credentials in config.yml

For more troubleshooting tips, see the Troubleshooting Guide.

📚 Next Steps

• Configuration Guide - Configure the plugin

• Commands Guide - Learn available commands

• GUI Guide - Use the graphical interface

• Multi-Server Setup - Set up for multiple servers

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Need Help? Check the FAQ or open an issue.

FAQ

See the full FAQ: FAQ

If you still need help, open an issue:

https://github.com/dumbo-the-developer/AnnouncementGUI/issues