Server Admin / Protection

How to Set Up Grief Protection

Griefing kills servers. GriefPrevention gives every player a golden shovel to claim their own land, two right-clicks and the build is locked from outsiders, no admin commands needed.

game chat,  survivalGriefPrevention 16.18
steve@survival:~$ /claim info
> right-click the ground with a golden shovel
[GriefPrevention] Claim corner set! Use the shovel again to set the opposite corner.
> right-click the opposite corner
[GriefPrevention] Claim created! Use /trust to share it.
You have 284 blocks remaining.
✓ This claim is protected. Other players cannot build, break, or open containers here.
9 × 9 claimed

Why golden-shovel claims beat WorldGuard regions

WorldGuard needs an admin to define every region by hand. GriefPrevention lets each player protect their own builds: right-click two corners with a golden shovel and the land is locked, no commands, no coordinates. Players earn claim blocks just by playing, so the system scales without you babysitting it. Run /adminclaims for spawn and server builds, and set the per-hour block rate in config.yml.

Quick answers

How do players claim land?

They hold a golden shovel and right-click two opposite corners of the area. GriefPrevention auto-protects everything between them, including the ground below and air above.

What are claim blocks?

A budget that limits how much land a player can own. Everyone starts with a pool and earns more per hour played. Set the starting amount and rate in config.yml under 'Claims'.

How do I let friends build in my claim?

Stand in the claim and run /trust <player>. Use /containertrust for chest-only access, /accesstrust for doors and buttons, and /permissiontrust to let them manage trust themselves.

Can admins override claims?

Yes. Give staff the griefprevention.adminclaims permission, or use /ignoreclaims to bypass protection entirely for moderation and cleanup.

Does it protect chests and farms?

Yes. Inside a claim, only trusted players can open containers, trample crops, use buttons, or break blocks. TNT, pistons, and fire damage from outsiders are blocked too.

What if someone griefs before I claim?

Run /claimexplosions to toggle TNT, and use the built-in /restorenature near unclaimed griefing. For claimed land, GriefPrevention logs nothing was changed by outsiders.

Claims, roles and the parts players forget

A claim protects blocks, not everything in them

Most protection plugins stop block breaking and placing first, and containers, doors, buttons and mob damage are separate flags. A player who reports that someone emptied their chest inside a claim usually has container access left open, not a broken claim.

Trust levels matter more than claim size

Giving a friend full trust on a claim is the same as giving them the claim, because full trust usually includes deleting it. Container trust for shared storage and access trust for doors cover the normal case, and the difference is worth explaining in the same message that tells players how to claim.

The wilderness needs a rule too

Protection inside claims pushes griefing outside them, so a server with unclaimed spawn surroundings gets a ring of holes. Either set a global build restriction near spawn or accept that the first thing new players see is the damage, because claims alone never cover the ground between them.