How to install a protected Minecraft plugin
ModForge-protected plugins ship encrypted. The loader decrypts your plugin in memory on every server boot — nothing usable is ever written to disk. Follow these steps to get up and running in under five minutes.
What you need before starting
- A Paper or Spigot server (1.16+)
- Your licence key — copy it from Dashboard → My Purchases
- Your loader token — shown below the licence key on the same card
- ModForgeLoader.jar — download it with the Loader button on your purchase
- bundle.enc — download it with the Bundle button on your purchase
Download your files from the Purchases page
Go to Dashboard → My Purchases. Find your plugin order and click:
- Loader — saves
ModForgeLoader.jar - Bundle — saves
bundle.enc(your encrypted plugin)
Also copy your Licence key and Loader token — you'll need both in step 3.
Place the files on your server
Your server's plugins/ folder should look like this after copying:
plugins/
ModForgeLoader.jar ← rename from ModForgeLoader-obfuscated.jar if needed
ModForgeLoader/
bundle.enc ← your encrypted pluginModForgeLoader.jar in place (no bundle.enc yet) so it generates the config.yml. Then stop it before continuing.Fill in config.yml
Open plugins/ModForgeLoader/config.yml in any text editor and paste in your credentials:
license-key: "MF-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" # from My Purchases loader-token: "a3f9bc..." # 64-char token from My Purchases api-base: "https://modforge.xyz" # leave as default
Start your server
Start the server normally. In the console you should see:
[ModForgeLoader] Licence OK — decrypted protected plugin (XXXXX bytes). Loading… [ModForgeLoader] Protected plugin 'PluginName' enabled.
The plugin is now running. The decrypted jar is held in memory only and deleted on shutdown.
Every restart
The loader contacts ModForge on every boot to verify your licence is still active. Your server needs internet access to modforge.xyz. No internet = no start.
The licence is permanently bound to this server after first activation. Running the same key on a second server will be rejected — a second purchase is needed.
Common errors
Licence check failed: invalid_or_revoked
Your licence key or loader token is wrong, or the licence was revoked. Double-check both values in config.yml. Contact support if you believe this is an error.
Licence check failed: already_used
This licence is already bound to a different server. Licences are single-use. You need a new purchase to use it on another machine.
bundle.enc not found
You forgot to place bundle.enc in plugins/ModForgeLoader/. Download it again from My Purchases → Bundle.
Set your loader-token (64 hex chars) in config.yml
The loader-token field in config.yml is blank or still the placeholder. Copy the full 64-character token from My Purchases.
Licence valid but seller hasn't packaged an encrypted build yet
The seller hasn't uploaded and encrypted the plugin file yet. Contact them directly or wait — this resolves itself once they finish packaging.
Still stuck?
Open a support ticket and include the full error from your server console.
Contact Support