Plugin channels

Plugin channels allow client mods and server plugins to communicate without cluttering up chat. This post by Dinnerbone is a good introduction and basic documentation.

Reserved channels

REGISTER

Two-way

Allows the client or server to register for one or more custom channels, indicating that data should be sent on those channels if the receiving end supports it too. Payload is a null (0x00) separated list of strings.

UNREGISTER

Two-way

Allows the client or server to unregister from one or more custom channels, indicating that the receiving end should stop sending data on those channels. Payload is a null-separated list of strings. This is only useful if plugins are disabled/unloaded while the client is connected.

Channels internal to Minecraft

Since 1.3, Minecraft itself uses several plugin channels to implement new features. These internal channel names are prefixed by MC|. They are not formally registered using the REGISTER channel. The vanilla Minecraft server will send these packets regardless, and the vanilla client will accept them.

MC|AdvCmd

Client to server

Sets the contents of a command block or command block Minecart. The Notchain client only uses this for command block minecarts and uses MC|AutoCmd for blocks, but the Notchian server still accepts it for either.

In 1.8 and earlier the name of this channel was incorrectly spelled as MC|AdvCdm. This was fixed in snapshot 15w34a.

The packet starts with a single byte, which determines the type of thing being edited (block or minecart). If it is 0, then it is a block and the location is 3 ints; if it is 1, then it is a minecart and the location is the entity's EID as an int.

type = 0

Type	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x00	X	Int
	Y	Int
	Z	Int
	Command	String
	Track Output	Boolean

type = 1

Type	Field Name	Field Type	Notes
0x01	Entity ID	Int
	Command	String
	Track Output	Boolean

MC|AutoCmd

Client to server

Sets command block contents. This can only be used to edit command blocks; command block minecarts cannot be used with it. To edit a command block minecart, use MC|AdvCmd.

Field Name	Field Type	Notes
X	Int
Y	Int
Z	Int
Command	String
Track output	Boolean	If false, the output of the previous command will not be stored within the command block.
Mode	String enum	One of "SEQUENCE", "AUTO", and "REDSTONE"
Is conditional	Boolean
Automatic	Boolean

MC|BEdit

Client to server

When a player edits an unsigned book.

This payload is simply a set of bytes corresponding to a Slot.

The NBT section of the Slot contains

 TAG_Compound(''): 1 entry
 {
   TAG_List('pages'): 2 entries
   {
     TAG_String(0): 'Something on Page 1'
     TAG_String(1): 'Something on Page 2'
   }
 }

MC|BOpen

Server to client

When a player right clicks with a signed book. This tells the client to open the book GUI. This payload is empty.

MC|BSign

Client to server

When a player signs a book.

This payload is simply a set of bytes corresponding to a Slot.

The Item ID in the Slot should be a Written Book

The NBT section of the Slot contains

 TAG_Compound(''): 3 entires
 {
   TAG_String('author'): 'Steve'
   TAG_String('title'): 'A Wonderful Book'
   TAG_List('pages'): 2 entries
   {
     TAG_String(0): 'Something on Page 1'
     TAG_String(1): 'Something on Page 2'
   }
 }

MC|Beacon

Client to server

Two integers corresponding to the 2 effects a user wishes to have active.

MC|Brand

Two-way

Announces the server and client implementation name right after a player has logged in. For the Notchian client and server server, this is "vanilla" (encoded as a protocol string: a UTF-8 string with the length prefixed as a VarInt).

These brands are used in crash reports and a few other locations; it's recommended that custom clients and servers use changed brands for the purpose of identification (for the Notchian client, the class used to get the brand is one of the few non-obfuscated classes). The brand is not processed in any other way, and Notchian clients will connect to servers with changed brands with no issue (the brand is not used to validate).

The Notchian server sends a MC|Brand packet right after it sends a Join Game packet, and the Notchian client sends it right after receiving a Join Game packet. However, some modified clients and servers will not send this packet (or will take longer to send it than normal), so it is important to not crash if the brand has not been sent. Additionally, the brand may change at any time (for instance, if connected through a BungeeCord instance, you may switch from a server with one brand to a server with another brand without receiving a Join Game packet).

MC|DebugPath

Server to client

Never sent, but does something with pathfinding debugging. The client reads the data and stores it, but does not render anything with it.

Name	Type	Notes
?	Int
?	Float	?
Entity	PathEntity	See below

PathEntity structure:

Name	Type	Notes
Path index	Int
?	PathPoint

PathPoint structure:

Name	Type	Notes
?	Float
?	Float
?	Float
Has been visited	Boolean
Node type	Int enum	See below
Distance to target	Float

Values for node type:

• 0: BLOCKED
• 1: OPEN
• 2: WALKABLE
• 3: TRAPDOOR
• 4: FENCE
• 5: LAVA
• 6: WATER
• 7: RAIL
• 8: DANGER_FIRE
• 9: DAMAGE_FIRE
• 10: DANGER_CACTUS
• 11: DAMAGE_CACTUS
• 12: DANGER_OTHER
• 13: DAMAGE_OTHER
• 14: DOOR_OPEN
• 15: DOOR_WOOD_CLOSED
• 16: DOOR_IRON_CLOSED

MC|ItemName

Client to server

When a player uses an anvil to name an item. The payload is just a string: the item's new name.

MC|PickItem

Client to server

Swaps out an item at the given inventory index(?) with an item on the hotbar. The server sends back several packets. TODO: Document them.

Payload is a single varint.

MC|PingHost

Client to server

Sent after a Server list ping in Minecraft 1.6. More information on Server List Ping#1.6. In 1.7 and above, the Request (Status, 0x00, serverbound) packet is instead sent before the ping.

Since this plugin channel is only sent for the legacy server list ping, it uses the older packet structure. }

MC|Struct

Client to server

Does something with the (inaccessible) Structure block.

Field Name	Field Type	Notes
X	Int	Tile entity location
Y	Int	Tile entity location
Z	Int	Tile entity location
Action	Byte	See below
Mode	String enum	One of "SAVE", "LOAD", "CORNER", "DATA".
Name	String
Position X	Int	?
Position Y	Int	?
Position Z	Int	?
Size X	Int	?
Size Y	Int	?
Size Z	Int	?x
Mirror	String enum	One of "NONE", "LEFT_RIGHT", "FRONT_BACK".
Rotation	String enum	One of "NONE", "CLOCKWISE_90", "CLOCKWISE_180", "COUNTERCLOCKWISE_90".
Metadata	String	?
Ignore entities	Boolean

Possible modes:

• 2 - Save the structure
• 3 - Load the structure
• 4 - Detect size

MC|TrList

Server to client

The list of trades a villager NPC is offering.

Field Name		Field Type		Notes
Window ID		Int		The ID of the window that is open; this is an int rather than a byte.
Size		Byte		The number of trades in the following array
Trades	Input item 1	Array	Slot	The first item the villager is buying
	Output item		Slot	The item the villager is selling
	Has second item		Boolean	Whether there is a second item
	Input item 2		Optional slot	The second item the villager is buying; only present if they have a second item.
	Trade disabled		Boolean	True if the trade is disabled; false if the trade is enabled.
	Number of tool uses		Int	May actually be the number of times this trade has been used; MCP may be misleading me
	Maximum number of trade uses		Int	Number of times this trade can be used

MC|TrSel

Client to server

When a player selects a specific trade offered by a villager NPC. It contains a single int id corresponding to the selected slot int the players current (trading) inventory.

Notable community plugin channels

Channels listed in this section are not used by the vanilla Minecraft client or server. This is just a likely-incomplete list of channels used by mods/plugins popular within the Minecraft community.

BungeeCord

See here

FML|HS, FML

Two-way

Used by Minecraft Forge to negotiate required mods, among other things. FML|HS FML

For more information, see Minecraft Forge Handshake.

ML|OpenTE

Server to client

Used by ModLoader to support custom GUI windows. Does not use the REGISTER channel.

WECUI

Two-way

Used by the server-side WorldEdit and the client-side WorldEditCUI to coordinate selections.