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Resources / Plugins / SimpleNicks

SimpleNicks

Simple, minimessage-based nickname plugin.

PluginsFree1.19 – 26.x
by Rhythmic · listed from Modrinth
Download ›

Opens Modrinth · 32,179 downloads there

What it does

Simple, minimessage-based nickname plugin.

SimpleNicks is a plugin for Paper / Spigot servers, made by Rhythmic. It supports Minecraft 1.19 – 26.x. It has been downloaded 32,179 times on Modrinth. That puts it at #52 of the 108 cosmetic and display plugins listed here. The last update came out on May 10, 2026.

Supported versions

26.x1.211.201.19

Release history

SimpleNicks has had 17 releases on Modrinth since Dec 5, 2022. 4 of them came out in the past year. The newest is 3.2.2, released on May 10, 2026. It is made for Minecraft 1.21.5 – 26.3. It runs on Paper. The download is 334 KB.

VersionReleasedMinecraftType
3.2.2May 10, 20261.21.5 – 26.3Release
3.2.1Apr 25, 20261.21.5 – 26.1.2Release
3.2.0Apr 12, 20261.21.5 – 26.1.2Release
3.1.0Mar 29, 20261.21.5 – 1.21.11Release
3.0.0Sep 9, 20251.21.5 – 1.21.11Release

Commands

The commands named on the Modrinth page of SimpleNicks:

/nick

Permissions

Permission nodes named there, to give with a plugin like LuckPerms:

simplenick.nick.setsimplenick.nick.resetsimplenick.nick.deletesimplenick.nick.whosimplenick.color.basicsimplenick.color.gradientsimplenick.color.rainbowsimplenick.color.resetsimplenick.format.boldsimplenick.format.italicsimplenick.format.underlinesimplenick.format.strikethroughsimplenick.format.obfuscatedsimplenick.admin.setsimplenick.admin.resetsimplenick.admin.delete

Latest release on GitHub

SimpleNicks is open source. Its newest release on GitHub is Attempt 2 at a geyser fix, different way, published on Aug 11, 2025.

This reverts the previous fix, Packet Events no longer required. This adds a new placeholder - %simplenicks_nickname% which should fix the issue, as it does not rely on the display name API. Also adds a Cache so that Placeholder API is not constantly reading from the YML

There are known issues with the /nick save command in this version, will be fixed on the next major release

Before that: Attempt at a geyser fix, have not tested (Aug 10, 2025), 2.1.1 (Jul 31, 2025).

Description from the author on Modrinth

SimpleNicks

A standalone nickname plugin so you don't need to get a plugin with tons of other stuff.

Just want nicknames? Go with SimpleNicks!
 

Features

Set Nicknames With MiniMessage

Use MiniMessage formatting in nicknames.

Allow Nicknames in Tab List

Display player nicknames in the tab list.

Save Nicknames

Nicknames can be saved for future use, like in roleplaying.

Nickname Protection

Prevent confusion with username / nickname copying.

"Who Is That?"

Find out a player's secret identity.

And More

  • Permissions support, use something like LuckPerms.
  • SQL-based storage, choose between MySQL (Server) or SQLite (Local, default).
  • No, you do not need any SQL setup to run this plugin.
  • Control whether specific nickname functionality requires permissions.
  • Control how long a username or nickname is protected for.
  • Nickname prefixing, so you know who is hiding their identity.
  • PlaceholderAPI expansion, so you can put the nicknames wherever you need to.

Commands

Player Commands

Command · Description
/nick help · Displays help text.
| /nick set | Sets your nickname.
Supports MiniMessage formatting. |
| /nick save [nickname] | Saves your current nickname for later use.
You can also provide a nickname to save directly. |
/nick delete · Deletes one of your saved nicknames.
/nick reset · Resets your nickname to your original username.
/nick who · Displays the username of the player with the supplied nickname.

Admin Commands

Command · Description
| /nick admin set | Sets another player’s nickname.
Uses the admin’s permissions for formatting. |
/nick admin reset · Resets another player’s nickname.
/nick admin delete · Deletes a saved nickname from a player’s list.
/nick admin lookup · Displays a player’s current nickname and all saved nicknames.
/nick reload · Reloads the configuration and locale.

Permissions

Player Permissions

Permission · Description · Default
simplenick.nick.set · Set your own nickname. · op
simplenick.nick.reset · Reset your own nickname. · op
simplenick.nick.delete · Delete one of your saved nicknames. · op
simplenick.nick.who · Use /nick who to look up usernames. · true

Color Permissions

Permission · Description · Default
simplenick.color.basic · Use color tags (`, ). · op`
simplenick.color.gradient · Use gradient tags (`). · op`
simplenick.color.rainbow · Use `. · op`
simplenick.color.reset · Use `. · op`

Format Permissions

Permission · Description · Default
simplenick.format.bold · Use `/. · op`
simplenick.format.italic · Use `/. · op`
simplenick.format.underline · Use `/. · op`
simplenick.format.strikethrough · Use `/. · op`
simplenick.format.obfuscated · Use `/. · op`

Admin Permissions

Permission · Description · Default
simplenick.admin.set · Set another player’s nickname. · op
simplenick.admin.reset · Reset another player’s nickname. · op
simplenick.admin.delete · Delete a saved nickname from another player. · op
simplenick.admin.lookup · Lookup a player’s current and saved nicknames. · op
simplenick.reload · Reload plugin configuration and locale. · op

Bypass Permissions

Permission · Description · Default
simplenick.bypass.username · Use another player’s username as a nickname. · false
simplenick.bypass.length · Set nicknames longer than the configured max length. · false
simplenick.bypass.regex · Set nicknames that don’t match the configured regex. · false
simplenick.bypass.nick-protection · Bypass nickname protection (online/offline/expires). · false

PlaceholderAPI

All placeholders now start with simplenick for consistency.

Placeholder · Description · Example
%simplenick_nickname% · Player’s parsed nickname.
%simplenick_mininick% · Player’s raw MiniMessage nickname.
%simplenick_prefixed-nickname% · Nickname with configured prefix applied.
%simplenick_prefixed-mininick% · Raw MiniMessage nickname with prefix.

Configuration

MySQL

Plugin uses a local .db SQLite by default. This requires no additional setup but cannot be shared between a network of servers.

If you would like to use MySQL, you can do so by enabling it and filling out the information in the configuration.

mysql:
enabled: false
ip: "localhost:3306"
name: simplenicks
username: username1
password: badpassword!

Nickname Length

This is the max length that someone's nickname can be after the colors and formats have been figured out.

So, if you're doing a nickname like

    ThisIsAConvolutedExample

the text that will be checked will be ThisIsAConvolutedExample.

⚠️ ℹ️
It's not recommended to set the value below 3, as there may be unintended side effects.

The max amount of characters a nickname should be, not including formatting

(so a name like BillyBob would only count 'BillyBob' - and would be 8 characters)

Setting this number to any number below "3" could cause unintended side effects

max-nickname-length: 30

Nickname Regex

This is the allowed characters in a nickname. The default allows only alphanumeric characters and underscores [A-Za-z0-9_]+ - you can add additional characters into this, use a resource like regexr.com/ to make sure your regex properly parses.

⚠️ ℹ️
Using non-alphanumeric characters is generally unsupported and can have unintended side effects.

The regex of valid final nickname characters.

Be warned that putting non-alphanumeric characters may result in issues with other plugins and other unintended side effects

nickname-regex: "[A-Za-z0-9_]+"

Require Permission

These set whether or not specific functionalities require a permission. If you don't know what a permissions plugin is, and you just want the plugin to work, you can set the functions you want to 'false'. If you do know what permissions are and how to use them, you probably don't need this section.

Nick

Gives functionality for:

  • /nick set
  • /nick reset
  • /nick save

Allows a player to change the name they appear as.

Color

Gives functionality for color tags, like `, , , , and `
Allows a player to change the name they appear as, and the color of their name.

Format

Gives functionality for formatting tags, like ` (underline), (italic), (bold), (strikethrough), and ` (ō̵̬b̵̧̛f̷̩̋u̵̳͂ş̸̓c̷̥̈́a̵͇͂t̸̯͋e̸͎̚d̷̟͝)

Who

Gives access to /nick who which shows which username is associated with a specific nickname.

What should require permission set by a permission plugin?

require-permission:
nick: true
color: true
format: true
who: false

Nickname Protection

Allows protecting nicknames that are already in use. This does not protect saved nicknames or protect nicknames from being saved.

Online Protection

Only prevents a player from taking the nickname of someone who is currently online. Allows people to use nicknames of people who are offline.

Offline Protection

Prevents players from using nicknames that someone else is actively using, regardless of if they're online or offline, provided the nickname expiry has not been reached.

Offline Protection Expires

Time in days someone needs to be away before their nickname protection expires, set to -1 if you do not want nickname protection to ever expire, but I wouldn't recommend that.

Username Protection

Prevents players from nicknaming themselves someone's username. Only checks against players who have actually logged into the server.

Username Protection Expires

This value controls the number of days someone needs to be offline before their username is considered allowed to be used as a nickname. Use -1 if you do not want the protection ever to expire

Blocks certain names from being used as nicknames

Expiration times are in days, setting to -1 will make it so it never expires

nickname-protection:
username:
enabled: true
expires: 30
online:
enabled: false
offline:
enabled: false
expires: 30

Max Saves

Controls how many nicknames players can save, there is not currently an override permission for this, it is applied for all players with save permissions

How many nicknames can be saved?

max-saves: 5

Tablist Nick

Alters the tab list to use the current nicknames of players. If you have any plugin that already can handle this, I would suggest you use that, or use my other plugin Simple Custom Tab List because this option is very limited and prone to issues with other plugins. If you have a very simple server setup and you just want nicknames to show on tab list this will work, but if you have geyser, or other plugins that might alter scoreboard and other random stuff, you're gonna want a separate plugin to handle the tablist

Should names be changed in tablist?

(Keep this false if you use any other tablist plugin, there are placeholder API placeholders to use on those)

tablist-nick: false

Nickname Prefix

Sets what the prefix of nicknames should be.

Used in the display name of the player and placeholders %simplenick_prefixed-nickname% and %simplenick_prefixed-mininick%.

What prefix should be given for players who have a nickname? put "" if you want no prefix

nickname-prefix: ""

Debug Mode

Enables development debug logging for this plugin.

⚠️ ℹ️
This will flood your logs and can make it virtually unreadable.
Do not enable unless advised to.

Development option, this will flood your logs, discouraged from enabling unless asked

debug-mode: false


Migration from Older Versions

If you are upgrading from a version of SimpleNicks before SQL support:

  • Data Storage:
  • Old versions stored nicknames in YML or using the PersistentDataContainer (PDC).
  • New versions use MySQL or SQLite. Existing data will be migrated automatically.
  • Commands:
  • Admin commands now live under /nick admin instead of sharing player command structure.
  • /nick save can now accept arguments (/nick save ).
  • Permissions:
  • Color and format permissions were moved into their own nodes (simplenick.color.* and simplenick.format.*).
  • Color and format can now be allowed without permissions, check new config options
  • simplenick.admin.restrictive, simplenick.admin.basic and simplenick.admin.full were removed. The permission is now simplenick.admin.set
  • Admin nickname setting always uses admin’s own permissions now. (Previously 'admin basic' functionality)
  • simplenick.admin.save was removed - since this is now using brigadier, you can use
  • PlaceholderAPI:
  • Placeholders were renamed for consistency.

Written by Rhythmic. Read it with pictures on Modrinth.

How to install SimpleNicks

  1. Make sure your server runs Paper and Spigot on Minecraft 1.19 – 26.x.

  2. Download the .jar file from Modrinth and put it in the plugins folder of your server.

  3. Restart the server. Avoid /reload, many plugins do not handle it well.

  4. Type /plugins in the console: SimpleNicks should be listed in green. Its config files are created in the plugins folder on the first start.

Compatibility

Minecraft versions
26.x, 1.21, 1.20, 1.19
Runs on
Paper, Spigot
Edition
Java
Needs
Nothing else
License
MIT
Price
Free
Upkeep
Actively updated (Nov 10, 2026)

SimpleNicks compared with similar ones Compare all alternatives

ResourceDownloadsVersionsLast updatePrice
SimpleNicksthe one you looked at32K1.19 – 26.xMay 10, 2026Free
squaremapjpenilla182K1.19 – 26.x24 days agoFree
TabListPingBobcat0043K1.18 – 26.xDec 13, 2025Free
LuckPrefixezTxmMC39K1.8 – 1.21Mar 13, 2026Free

Questions

Does SimpleNicks work on Minecraft 26.x?

Yes. SimpleNicks supports Minecraft 26.x. All supported versions: 26.x, 1.21, 1.20, 1.19.

Is SimpleNicks free?

Yes. SimpleNicks is free to download from Modrinth.

Which server software does SimpleNicks run on?

SimpleNicks runs on Paper and Spigot servers.

Is SimpleNicks still updated?

Yes. The last update came out in the past day.

What are the best alternatives to SimpleNicks?

The closest ones are squaremap, TabListPing and LuckPrefix. Compare all alternatives

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