Which Plugins Need Vault, ProtocolLib or PlaceholderAPI
By PM2, the developer behind these plugins ·
A dependency you did not expect is the fastest way to turn a ten-minute install into an evening. This is the whole catalogue in one table: what each plugin requires before it will start, what it merely uses when it finds it, and which downloads are add-ons that need a base plugin first. Every entry is what that product page states, and nothing more.
The short answer: most of them need nothing
Five of the plugins here state plainly that they run standalone: Advanced Crates ("no PlaceholderAPI, no ProtocolLib, nothing required"), InfiniteCrates, SpecializedCrates ("the plugin runs on its own"), InfiniteVehicles and InfiniteFishing. Drop the jar in, start the server, configure it.
Three have a real requirement you need to satisfy first. InfiniteShops needs ProtocolLib and Vault. LPC is a LuckPerms chat formatter, so LuckPerms is required by definition. InfiniteCrops needs InfiniteCropsRegions, which ships inside the InfiniteCrops download — so a normal install already has it.
The rest are add-ons: they extend a plugin you already run, and that plugin is the requirement.
Every plugin, and what it asks for
Required means the plugin states it needs this to work. Uses when present means the record lists it as an optional integration that is auto-detected — nothing breaks without it, and the related feature simply stays off.
| Plugin | Required | Uses when present | Minecraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPC Pro | None — PlaceholderAPI only if you use placeholders | LuckPerms, Vault, PlaceholderAPI, ViaVersion, DiscordSRV, ItemsAdder, Oraxen, Geyser, BungeeCord, Velocity, Essentials | 1.17-26.2 |
| LPC (free) | LuckPerms | PlaceholderAPI | 1.7.10-26.2 |
| InfiniteShops | ProtocolLib and Vault | ItemsAdder, Nexo, Oraxen, RealisticSeasons, WorldGuard, EssentialsX, Citizens for NPC shops | 1.13-26.2 |
| Advanced Crates | None | ItemsAdder, Oraxen, Nexo, MMOItems, HeadDatabase, Citizens, PlaceholderAPI | 1.8-26.2 |
| InfiniteCrates | None — the model animations need the included texture pack on the client | ItemsAdder, Oraxen, Nexo, MMOItems, HeadDatabase, Citizens, PlaceholderAPI | 1.20.6-26.2 |
| SpecializedCrates | None | DecentHolograms or CMI for holograms, Citizens v2 for NPC crates, PlaceholderAPI for placeholders, ItemsAdder, Oraxen, AdvancedEnchantments, MMOItems, Head Database | 1.8-26.2 |
| InfiniteVehicles | None — resource-pack free for the included models | A resource pack only for vehicles imported from .bbmodel files | 1.19.4-26.2 |
| InfiniteFishing | None — the texture pack ships with the plugin | Vault, PlaceholderAPI, WorldGuard, ProtocolLib, Geyser-Spigot, mcMMO, AuraSkills, Parties, ItemsAdder | 1.17-26.2 |
| InfiniteCrops | InfiniteCropsRegions, bundled with the download | ItemsAdder, Oraxen, Nexo, AdvancedSeasons, Vault for the currency features, PlaceholderAPI, ViaVersion | 1.17-26.2 |
| GUIPlus | None stated | Your economy plugin for money conditions and events, ItemsAdder, Oraxen, Nexo, AdvancedEnchantments | 1.16-26.2 |
| AntiAFKPlus (free) | None stated | PlaceholderAPI, BungeeCord and Velocity for cross-server AFK sync | 1.7-26.2 |
| Crates & Keys Pack | Advanced Crates | — | 1.8-26.2 |
| InfiniteVehicles Premium Pack | InfiniteVehicles, plus the resource pack it generates | — | 1.19.4-26.2 |
| InfiniteVehiclesBuilder (free) | InfiniteVehicles | — | 1.19.4-26.2 |
| InfiniteCropsRegions (free) | It is itself the dependency InfiniteCrops requires | — | 1.17-26.2 |
What the three usual suspects are for
Three names account for nearly every dependency question on a Minecraft server, and it helps to know which of your plugins would actually use them before you install anything.
- Vault — The bridge between a plugin and whatever economy plugin you run. InfiniteShops requires it; InfiniteCrops needs it for the currency features (Money Trees and the market); InfiniteFishing uses it for the fish market.
- ProtocolLib — Packet-level access. Only InfiniteShops requires it; InfiniteFishing lists it as an optional hook for packet features. The crate plugins send their animations as packets without it.
- PlaceholderAPI — Exposes plugin values to scoreboards, holograms and other plugins. No plugin here requires it outright — LPC Pro needs it for placeholders specifically, and SpecializedCrates needs it for its placeholders. Everything else registers with it when it is installed.
Add-ons are not plugins you can install alone
Four downloads in the catalogue extend something else, and installing one on its own does nothing. The Crates & Keys Pack is a library of pre-configured keys and reward packs for Advanced Crates, and the product page says so: it is not a standalone plugin. The InfiniteVehicles Premium Pack adds models to InfiniteVehicles and needs the resource pack InfiniteVehicles generates from them on start-up.
InfiniteVehiclesBuilder is free and is the design tool for InfiniteVehicles: you build and animate models with it, and InfiniteVehicles runs them. InfiniteCropsRegions is free and is the dependency InfiniteCrops needs; it already ships inside the InfiniteCrops download, so download it separately only to update it on its own.
Reading a requirement before you buy
Every product page states its own requirements in the frequently asked questions, in the plugin's own words rather than a summary. If you are comparing options inside one category, the crates, economy, gameplay, chat and utilities hubs put the members of each side by side with their Minecraft ranges and current versions.
If a required plugin is the blocker, the table above is the short list of what to install first: ProtocolLib and Vault for InfiniteShops, LuckPerms for LPC, and nothing at all for the five that run standalone.