LuckPerms Chat Formatting with the Free LPC Plugin
By PM2, the developer behind these plugins ·
If you already run LuckPerms, chat formatting is mostly a solved problem: the prefixes, suffixes and groups exist, and a formatter only has to read them. LPC is the free plugin that does exactly that, in one config line. This guide installs it, walks through the configuration examples the plugin ships with, and explains where the free version stops and LPC Pro begins.
What LPC is, and what it is not
LPC (formerly LuckPermsChat) is a free chat formatter that connects to LuckPerms and reads the prefixes, suffixes, groups and contexts you already have, so a formatted chat is one config line away instead of three plugins wired together. It runs on Spigot and Paper 1.7.10 through 26.2 and requires LuckPerms; PlaceholderAPI is optional. LPC is an independent plugin and is not affiliated with the LuckPerms project.
The feature list is short on purpose: LPC formats chat and stays out of the way. It does not moderate, bridge to Discord or draw chat bubbles; those live in LPC Pro, the paid continuation from the same author. The free version keeps receiving compatibility and security updates, and new features go into Pro. The code is public at github.com/ThePM2/LPC under The Unlicense, so you can inspect it, file issues and contribute fixes.
Installation in five steps
Installation is the usual drop-in. There is nothing to register and no database to create; the plugin generates its config on first start.
- 1. Stop the server — Never drop a chat plugin into a running server.
- 2. Add the jar — Drop the LPC .jar into the plugins folder next to LuckPerms.
- 3. Start once — The first start generates config.yml; stop again or edit it live, your choice.
- 4. Edit config.yml — The chat-format line below is the whole configuration for most servers.
- 5. Reload — Run /lpc reload (permission lpc.reload) and the new format applies to the next message.
The one line that does the work
Everything hangs off a single chat-format string in config.yml. The placeholders are built in: {world}, {prefix}, {prefixes}, {name}, {displayname}, {suffix}, {suffixes}, {username-color} and {message-color}. Prefixes and suffixes come straight from LuckPerms, so a rank change in LuckPerms changes the chat immediately, with nothing to sync.
The examples below are the ones the plugin documents; each is a complete configuration on its own. Any PlaceholderAPI placeholder can be dropped into the same string when PlaceholderAPI is installed.
| Goal | chat-format line |
|---|---|
| Only the prefix | "{prefix}{name}&r: {message}" |
| Message colour per group | "{prefix}{name}&r: {message-color}{message}" |
| Username colour per player | "{prefix}{username-color}{name}&r: {message}" |
| PlaceholderAPI in the format | "%player_gamemode% {prefix}{name}&r: {message}" |
Group, world and server formats
A single format is enough for many servers, but LPC also takes a different format per LuckPerms group under group-formats. That is where custom Unicode prefixes go: a group format can start with a glyph written as a Unicode escape such as \uEffa, followed by the usual name and message placeholders. The glyph itself comes from a resource pack, so players without the pack see a placeholder character; the plugin only puts the code point in the line.
Per-world and per-server formats work through LuckPerms context rather than through LPC settings. Give a world or a server its own prefix through a LuckPerms context, and the format follows, because LPC reads whatever LuckPerms resolves for the player where they are standing. If you run a network, that is also how the same jar shows a different prefix on each backend server.
Colours and who may use them
Standard and RGB colour codes work inside messages, but only for players who hold the matching permission: lpc.colorcodes allows standard colour codes and lpc.rgbcodes allows RGB codes. Grant them per group in LuckPerms with the usual command, for example /lp group vip permission set lpc.colorcodes true, and leave them off the default group if you want plain messages from new players.
The format string itself is not gated by those permissions; {message-color} and {username-color} apply the colours you configure, regardless of what the player may type.
Adding DeluxeTags and other PlaceholderAPI placeholders
PlaceholderAPI is optional, and it is the route to anything LuckPerms does not know about. The documented example is DeluxeTags: install PlaceholderAPI, download the expansion with /papi ecloud download DeluxeTags, run /papi reload, add the placeholder you need to config.yml (for a standard tag, %deluxetags_tag%), then run /lpc reload. The same steps work for any other expansion with a placeholder you want in the chat line.
When to move to LPC Pro
Stay on LPC as long as a formatted chat is all you need; it remains supported and it costs nothing. Move when you want what the free version deliberately leaves out: MiniMessage formatting with gradients, hover and click actions, AI moderation, a Discord bridge, chat bubbles, six chat games, achievements, staff tools and a chat shop. LPC Pro is a one-time purchase with free lifetime updates, and it covers what LPC does, so run one or the other per server rather than both.
The free vs Pro comparison lists exactly what the paid tier adds, and the chat plugins hub puts both products side by side with their Minecraft ranges and current versions.