NationCrest

Works out which country each player is connecting from and puts it next to their name, as placeholders, a tab list prefix or a nametag prefix. The lookup happens before they join, so it never slows the server down.

Read the docs Get it

Paper 1.21.4 and newer
Java 21
249 countries
PlaceholderAPI optional

Features

What is in the box

Every card goes to the page that documents it, config keys and all.

Country detection

A local database or a lookup website, worked out while the player is still connecting.

Display modes

The two letter code, your own glyph per country, or the regional indicator pair.

Country colours

Plain, hex, gradient or rainbow colour per country, in every display mode.

Placeholders

Five placeholders for whatever tab list or nametag plugin you already run.

Tab list and nametags

Built in output for servers with nothing else doing the job.

Commands

Toggle, look up, override, reload, and a debug command built for support.

Messages and language

English, French and Spanish ship with it. Add any other language yourself.

Storage

Each player’s country, toggle and override kept between restarts.

Why this one

Built around how Minecraft actually works

The country is ready before they join

The lookup runs while the player is still connecting, before they exist in the world. Nothing waits on it and nothing runs on the thread that drives your server.

Read from a local MaxMind database with no rate limits, or from a lookup website you choose. Results are cached and stored, so a returning player has their flag straight away.

How detection works

Honest about flag emojis

Flag emojis do not render on a vanilla client. The characters sit outside the vanilla font, so they come out as missing boxes.

So the default is the two letter code, which works everywhere. Running a resource pack with a flag font? Map your own glyph per country, or use the regional indicator pair.

Pick a display mode

The three display modes side by side: code shows US on any client, custom shows a glyph from your resource pack font, unicode shows missing character boxes without a pack

Works with the plugins you already run

Already have a tab list or nametag plugin? Put %nationcrest_display% into it. That is what the placeholders are for.

Nothing else doing the job? Turn on the built in output. If another plugin is also writing there, NationCrest says so once in the log rather than fighting it.

See the placeholders

Placeholders: Five, through PlaceholderAPI
Tab list: Built in, on by default
Nametags: Built in, off by default
Clashes: One clear warning, nothing changed

Inside the docs

Drawn, not just described

The pages carry diagrams of the parts that are easier to see than to read.

Display modes

What each mode shows, and which ones need a resource pack.

Open the page

Getting help

The /flag debug output, and which lines answer most support questions.

Open the page

Quick start

Running in about two minutes

1
Drop in the jar
Stop the server and put the NationCrest jar into plugins.
2
Start it once
That writes out the config, the country list and the language files.
3
Pick a lookup
Keep the lookup website, or add a free MaxMind key for the local database.
4
Check it
Restart, join and run /flag info. If it names your country, you are done.

Full installation guide

No database needed to start, the lookup website works out of the box.

Everything is documented

Every config key, every command and every permission has a page. If something is still unclear, ask in the Discord.

Read the docs Download Get support

NationCrest is by zArrowTan. The Discord is the only support channel, there is no public issue tracker.