OneBlock Servers: Setup and Best Practices

Install BentoBox and AOneBlock

1. Make a backup: Backups → Create Backup.
2. Open Minecraft Plugins, search BentoBox and install it. Install plugins
3. Start the server, wait for Done, then Stop. BentoBox creates plugins/BentoBox/addons/.
4. On your computer, download AOneBlock from download.bentobox.world (also published on Modrinth by the BentoBox team), plus the addons you choose below.
5. Files → plugins/BentoBox/addons/ → Upload the jars (or Pull from URL with a download link).
6. Start once more, wait for Done, and Stop. AOneBlock creates plugins/BentoBox/addons/AOneBlock/ with config.yml, phases_index.yml and a phases/ folder, and the worlds oneblock_world, oneblock_world_nether and oneblock_world_the_end.

Choose your addons

Keep BentoBox and every addon on matching versions, and update them together.

Configure AOneBlock before players join

Open plugins/BentoBox/addons/AOneBlock/config.yml. The settings that matter:

aoneblock:
  command:
    island: ob oneblock
    admin: obadmin oneblockadmin oba
    new-player-action: create
    default-action: go
    bossbar: true
    actionbar: true
world:
  friendly-name: OneBlock
  world-name: oneblock_world
  difficulty: NORMAL
  holograms: true
  starting-safety-duration: 10
  mobs-clear-blocks: true
  distance-between-islands: 400
  protection-range: 50
  island-height: 80
  nether:
    generate: true
    islands: false
  end:
    generate: true
    islands: false
island:
  drop-on-top: true
  mob-warning: 5
  water-mob-protection: true
  save-every: 10
  max-team-size: 4
  max-coop-size: 4
  max-trusted-size: 4
  max-homes: 1
  reset:
    reset-limit: 3
    leavers-lose-reset: true

Further down, create-island-on-first-login makes an island the moment a player joins. Turn it on for a dedicated OneBlock server; leave it off if a spawn or lobby explains things first.

If you changed anything in world:, delete the three oneblock_world folders in Files while the server is stopped, so they regenerate with your settings. Then Start.

Check it worked

1. Join and run /ob. You should land on a grass block with a hologram above it.
2. Break a few blocks and run /ob count: it shows your block count and phase.
3. Run /bentobox version in the console to see every addon loaded.

Understand how phases work

The phase index

phases_index.yml is the source of truth for which phases run, in what order and for how long. Each entry points at a phase file:

phases:
  - file: 0_plains
    section: '0'
    name: Plains
    length: 700
  - file: 700_underground
    section: '700'
    name: Underground
    length: 1300
  - file: 2000_winter
    section: '2000'
    name: Winter
    length: 1000
gotoAtEnd: 0

The shipped index has about 20 phases (Plains through Cherry Grove, Jagged Peaks and newer biomes), a little over 15,000 blocks in total. Phases that need a newer Minecraft version than yours are skipped automatically.

You can also reorder phases and change lengths in game with /oba phases. Once you do, adminLengths: true is written to the index.

A phase file

Each phase file in phases/ (for example 0_plains.yml) holds:

Weights, not percentages

The numbers in blocks: and mobs: are weights: tickets in a raffle. Each break, AOneBlock adds up every weight in the phase (blocks and mobs together) and picks one entry:

chance = entry's weight ÷ total of all weights in the phase

The shipped Plains phase totals 12,115, so GRASS_BLOCK: 2000 is 16.5% of breaks, CHEST: 200 is 1.7%, DIAMOND_ORE: 30 is 0.25% and COW: 150 is 1.2%. To make something twice as common, double its weight. To add a rare block without disturbing everything else, give it a small weight. Weights must be whole numbers of 1 or more.

Chests are a second roll. When CHEST comes up, AOneBlock picks a rarity (Common 62%, Uncommon 25%, Rare 9%, Epic 4%; fixed in the code), then a random chest of that rarity from the phase's _chests.yml.

Tune and customise phases

Change an existing phase

Example: Plains gives too few iron ores and you want a guaranteed water bucket earlier.

1. Stop the server (or edit live and reload; stopping is safer for big changes). Lock a backup.
2. Open plugins/BentoBox/addons/AOneBlock/phases/0_plains.yml.
3. Change weights under blocks:, e.g. IRON_ORE: 300 → IRON_ORE: 500.
4. Under fixedBlocks:, move CHEST_WITH_WATER_BUCKET to an earlier position, e.g. 150: CHEST_WITH_WATER_BUCKET.
5. Save, Start (or run /bbox reload), then run /oba sanity in the console (add a phase name to check just one). It prints the phase's probabilities and flags mistakes such as misspelt block names.

Add your own phase

1. In phases/, create my_mushroom.yml:

'my_mushroom':
  name: Mushroom Island
  icon: RED_MUSHROOM_BLOCK
  biome: MUSHROOM_FIELDS
  fixedBlocks:
    0: MYCELIUM
    1: CHEST_WITH_BOWL
  holograms:
    0: "<light_purple><bold>Mushroom Island!"
  start-commands:
    - 'broadcast [player] reached the Mushroom Island phase!'
  end-commands-first-time:
    - 'eco give [player] 500'
  requirements:
    level: 40
  blocks:
    MYCELIUM: 1500
    RED_MUSHROOM_BLOCK: 600
    BROWN_MUSHROOM_BLOCK: 600
    MUSHROOM_STEM: 400
    STONE: 800
    IRON_ORE: 200
    GOLD_ORE: 80
    CHEST: 150
  mobs:
    MOOSHROOM: 120

2. Make its chest file: copy 0_plains_chests.yml, rename the copy my_mushroom_chests.yml, and change its top line from '0': to 'my_mushroom':. The phase now has working chests from day one. Add your own with /oba setchest (step 4 below), then delete the copied Plains chests from the file once you have enough.

3. Start the server. New files in phases/ are added to the end of phases_index.yml automatically. Open /oba phases to move the phase where you want it and set its length (for example 500).

4. Add chests: place a chest in the world, fill it, look at it and run /oba setchest my_mushroom RARE (or COMMON, UNCOMMON, EPIC). Repeat for a few chests of each rarity. This is far easier than writing item data by hand.

5. Run /oba sanity and fix anything it reports for the new phase.

6. Test: /oba setcount <yourname> <block count just before the phase> and break blocks.

Commands in phases run as the console; prefix one with [SUDO] to run it as the player. Placeholders: [player], [owner], [island], [phase], [blocks], [level] (Level addon), [bank-balance] (Bank addon), [eco-balance] (Vault).

Custom blocks and mobs

custom-blocks: entries join the same weighted pool with a probability: value (also a weight). Types include block (full block data and NBT, e.g. a working spawner), mob-data (a mob with NBT such as a custom name or size), mythic-mob (needs MythicMobs), and itemsadder, nexo or craftengine blocks. The shipped 0_plains.yml has commented examples of each; copy from there. If a custom-block plugin isn't installed, its blocks fall back to stone.

Balance progression

The default phases go from Plains to the End in roughly 15,000 blocks. An active player breaks several hundred blocks an hour, so a dedicated player sees every phase in a few days. That's too fast for a server meant to last a season.

Phase requirements

Requirements hold a player at the end of the previous phase until they're met:

requirements:
  level: 50
  economy-balance: 10000
  bank-balance: 5000
  permission: oneblock.phase.nether
  cooldown: 3600

A good pattern: Challenges reward a permission (lp user [player] permission set oneblock.phase.nether true), and the Nether phase requires it. Players must complete a challenge level to progress.

Other levers

• Longer phases: raise length in phases_index.yml or in /oba phases.
• Rarer ores and chests: lower their weights. Epic chests are the main source of high-value items; check what's in them.
• What happens at the end: gotoAtEnd: 0 loops back to Plains. Set it to the start of a late phase if you'd rather players loop through end-game content.
• Island level values: Level's blockconfig.yml decides what blocks are worth. See Skyblock: island levels.

Commands and flags

Player commands (/ob, also /oneblock)

Admin commands (/oba, also /obadmin)

Flags

Other protection flags (who may open chests, hurt animals, use doors) work exactly as on Skyblock; set defaults under default-island-flags in config.yml. Rank numbers: 0 visitor, 200 coop, 400 trusted, 500 member, 900 sub-owner, 1000 owner.

Placeholders

With PlaceholderAPI: %aoneblock_my_island_phase%, %aoneblock_my_island_count%, %aoneblock_my_island_next_phase%, %aoneblock_my_island_blocks_to_next_phase% and %aoneblock_my_island_percent_done%. Use them in a scoreboard or tab list.

Ranks and permissions with LuckPerms

Install LuckPerms and run these in the console. Number permissions use the highest number the island owner has, and are read while they're online.

lp group default permission set aoneblock.phases true
lp group default permission set aoneblock.island.warp true
lp group default permission set aoneblock.island.addwarp true

lp creategroup vip
lp group vip parent add default
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.team.maxsize.6 true
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.coop.maxsize.6 true
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.island.maxhomes.3 true
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.island.range.75 true
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.island.limit.hopper.48 true
lp group vip permission set aoneblock.island.setcount true

lp creategroup mod
lp group mod permission set aoneblock.mod.info true
lp group mod permission set aoneblock.mod.tp true
lp group mod permission set aoneblock.mod.bypassprotect true
lp group mod permission set aoneblock.mod.bypasslock true

lp creategroup admin
lp group admin parent add mod
lp group admin permission set aoneblock.admin.* true
lp group admin permission set bentobox.admin.* true

Give a rank with lp user <name> parent add vip. /bentobox perms lists every permission your addons register.

Economy, generators, limits and shops

Economy and shop

Install VaultUnlocked (or Vault) and EssentialsX, then a shop GUI such as EconomyShopGUI (free; Premium is paid). On OneBlock, items arrive fast and in bulk early on, so keep sell prices for common blocks (dirt, logs, cobblestone, sand) very low or zero, and let money come from ores, mob drops and challenges.

Generators

OneBlock players build cobblestone generators too, once they have lava and water. MagicCobblestoneGenerator tiers can be gated by AOneBlock phase or block count as well as island level, so generator ores unlock in step with the phases. Configure it as in the Skyblock guide, with aoneblock. in place of bskyblock. in the permissions.

Limits

The Limits addon covers AOneBlock out of the box (AOneBlock is in its gamemodes: list), and ignore-center-block: true keeps the magic block itself out of the counts. Mob phases make entity limits more important than on Skyblock:

gamemodes:
- AOneBlock
ignore-center-block: true
blocklimits:
  HOPPER: 32
  OBSERVER: 32
  PISTON: 32
  SPAWNER: 10
entitylimits:
  VILLAGER: 20
  ARMOR_STAND: 20
  CHICKEN: 30
  COW: 30
entitygrouplimits:
  Monsters:
    icon: ROTTEN_FLESH
    limit: 120
    entities:
    - ZOMBIE
    - SKELETON
    - CREEPER
    - SPIDER
    - ENDERMAN
    - WITCH
    - BLAZE

Performance

OneBlock is heavier than Skyblock: every block break is a database update, every so often a mob spawns, and players build mob farms from spawners and phases.

The full Paper block is in the Skyblock performance step. Check with spark tps and spark profiler start --timeout 300 during your busiest hour. Fix lag

Backups, resets and seasons

Backups

BentoBox stores islands in its database (owners, teams, levels and AOneBlock's block counts in the OneBlockIslands data) and in the world files. Restore them together, from the same moment, or players end up with the wrong count or island.

• Keep BentoBox's default JSON database on a single server: it lives in plugins/BentoBox/database/, so panel backups capture it at the same moment as the worlds. If you use MariaDB, remember panel backups don't include databases. Databases
• Schedule a backup every 6 hours: Send Command save-all, then Create Backup 10 seconds later. Backup schedules
• Lock a backup on launch day and before every phase edit or addon update.

Resets

• A player resets their own island with /ob reset, within reset-limit.
• /oba delete <player> removes an island; /oba resets add <player> 1 gives an extra reset.
• /oba purge <days> deletes the region files of islands nobody has touched in that many days.

A season wipe

1. Announce it two weeks ahead. Lock and download a backup.
2. Stop the server.
3. Delete oneblock_world, oneblock_world_nether and oneblock_world_the_end in Files.
4. In plugins/BentoBox/database/, delete Islands, Players, OneBlockIslands, IslandLevels and ChallengesPlayerData. Keep Challenge and ChallengeLevel (your challenge definitions). Your phase files and configs are untouched.
5. Reset the economy if you want a fresh start, then Start.

Updates

AOneBlock regularly adds phases for new Minecraft biomes. After an update, new shipped phases are added to your index once (listed under shippedPhases); delete a phase's entry and files if you don't want it. Update BentoBox and all addons together, after a locked backup.

Anti-grief

Install CoreProtect to log and roll back block changes, and teach players that the MAGIC_BLOCK flag decides who can break their block: coop and above by default, which means a coop helper can mine through your progress.