Anticheat Options#

No anticheat is perfect, but choosing the right one significantly reduces cheating on your server.

Important Principles#

Never Auto-Ban#

Caution

Configure anticheats to flag and notify, not automatically ban. False positives happen due to lag, high ping, client mods, or anticheat errors.

Staff should manually review flagged players before taking action.

Single Anticheat Only#

Run only one anticheat at a time. Multiple anticheats conflict with each other and cause more problems than they solve.

Recommended Options#

Vulcan (Paid)#

Price: One-time purchase on SpigotMC

The most reliable anticheat currently available with very low false positive rates.

Features:

Detects movement, combat, and utility cheats
Discord webhook integration for staff alerts
User-friendly configuration
Regular updates

Best for: Servers prioritizing accuracy over cost.

Grim (Free)#

Download: SpigotMC or GitHub

A highly effective free option using 1:1 player movement simulation.

Features:

Accurately detects movement and combat cheats
Simulates what players should be doing
Discord webhook system
Active development

Best for: Servers wanting strong protection without cost.

Paper Anti-Xray#

For survival servers, enable Paper's built-in Anti-Xray before adding other anticheats.

In config/paper-world-defaults.yml:

anticheat:
  anti-xray:
    enabled: true
    engine-mode: 2

Engine mode 2 sends fake ores to clients, making x-ray ineffective.

When Investigating Cheaters#

Use these tools to verify before taking action:

Check Server Health#

spark tps

Low TPS can cause false positives from lag.

Check Player Ping#

High latency causes rubber-banding that anticheats may misinterpret.

Review Context#

Are they using known client mods?
Is the behavior consistent or occasional?
Could lag explain the flags?

Anticheat Configuration Tips#

Vulcan#

Start with default settings
Gradually tighten detection thresholds based on your server's behavior
Enable Discord webhooks for real-time alerts

Grim#

Configure max-ping to account for your player base
Review predictions settings for your server's typical TPS
Set up Discord alerts for high-violation players

What Anticheats Detect#

Cheat Type	Detection
Speed/fly hacks	High accuracy
Kill aura	Moderate-high accuracy
Reach/hitbox	Moderate accuracy
Auto-clickers	Lower accuracy
X-ray	Requires Anti-Xray

Limitations#

Anticheats cannot reliably detect:

Texture pack x-ray (use Anti-Xray engine)
Minimaps with radar
Client-side information mods
Very subtle modifications