What Citizens works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Bukkit, Spigot, Paper |
| Minecraft versions | 1.21, 26.1, 26.2 |
Citizens is a server-side NPC plugin and API for Bukkit, Spigot, and Paper, first released in 2011 and still under active development, with over 28,000 downloads recorded on its SpigotMC listing. It spawns non-player characters that greet, trade, guard, or run scripts on click, and it is built for server admins and developers rather than for players installing something themselves. The current release, 2.0.43 (26.2 BUILD #2), lists 1.21, 26.1, and 26.2 as tested major versions.
What Citizens adds to a Minecraft server
Every NPC starts with a /npc create command and can be reshaped from there: any mob type as its model, a player skin or a custom one, armor in every slot, a floating name, and dialogue that only nearby players hear. Movement is where Citizens goes further than lighter alternatives. A built-in pathfinder and waypoint system let an NPC patrol a route or walk to a destination instead of standing fixed in one spot.
- Movement and waypoints: a built-in A* pathfinder, or Minecraft's own, moves NPCs along routes rather than leaving them stuck in place.
- Extensions: Sentinel adds combat NPCs, Denizen adds full scripting, and dtlTraders adds merchant behavior, each as a separate addon plugin.
- Built-in shop trait: an NPC can buy, sell, or run commands through an in-game GUI editor, with no config file to hand-edit.
- Skins, armor, and display names are editable per NPC through commands, and NPC dialogue supports PlaceholderAPI values.
Server software Citizens runs on
Citizens targets Bukkit, Spigot, and current stable Paper builds. There is no Fabric or Forge version, so a modded server cannot load it, and the wiki never documents Folia support, so treat Folia as unconfirmed rather than assume it behaves the same as Paper. A current, non-outdated build of Spigot or Paper is required; running an old sub-version within a Minecraft release is the most common cause of load failures.
Free download or a premium purchase on SpigotMC
SpigotMC lists Citizens as a premium resource, asking players for a price to help fund development across every new Minecraft release. The developer also publishes the identical builds without charge through the project's own Jenkins build server, and says so directly on the SpigotMC listing itself.
Installing Citizens and setting permissions
- 1.Place the Citizens jar in your server's plugins folder and restart it.
- 2.Citizens creates a plugins/Citizens folder with a config.yml on first load.
- 3.Edit config.yml for pathfinding, waypoints, chat range, and skin behavior, then reload.
- 4.Grant citizens.npc.talk so players can hear NPCs, and citizens.npc.create plus the other citizens.npc.* nodes to whoever manages NPCs.
Every subcommand carries its own permission node under citizens.npc. and citizens.admin., and access defaults to server operators until a permissions plugin grants nodes out individually. LuckPerms, or any other Bukkit permissions plugin, can hand a builder citizens.npc.create and citizens.npc.remove without also giving them admin access.
The built-in shop system
Typing /npc shop edit turns any NPC into an editable shop with no config file involved. An admin sets a cost and a result item per slot, chooses between a chest-style menu or a villager-style trader window, and can gate the shop behind a permission node or a right-click trigger. It is a lighter option than running a dedicated economy plugin like QuickShop-Hikari purely to give one NPC something to sell.
Setup walkthrough
Setting up Citizens NPCs on a Spigot or Paper server
Questions about Citizens.
5 questions
How do I install Citizens on my server?
Download the jar from the SpigotMC listing, either through the paid purchase or the free link to the project's own build server that the listing points to, then drop it into your server's plugins folder and restart. Citizens creates a config.yml on first load; edit that file and reload to adjust pathfinding, chat range, and skin behavior.
Is Citizens free to download?
SpigotMC lists Citizens as a premium resource, but the developer publishes the same builds without charge through the project's own Jenkins build server, linked directly from the SpigotMC page. Paying on SpigotMC supports ongoing development; it is not required to run the plugin.
Does Citizens work on Paper and Folia?
Citizens targets Bukkit, Spigot, and current stable Paper builds. Folia is not documented anywhere in the wiki or the changelog, so treat it as unconfirmed rather than assume it behaves the same as Paper. Running an outdated Spigot or Paper sub-version is the most common cause of the plugin failing to load.
Can Citizens NPCs walk and follow waypoints?
Yes. Citizens includes a built-in pathfinder, either its own A* implementation or Minecraft's default, plus a waypoint system, so NPCs can patrol a route or navigate to a destination instead of staying fixed in place. That native movement is one of the bigger differences from lighter NPC plugins that only spawn characters that stand still.
Which Minecraft version does Citizens support?
The current release, 2.0.43 (26.2 BUILD #2), lists 1.21, 26.1, and 26.2 as tested major versions. Citizens has tracked new Minecraft releases since 2011, so the version history on its SpigotMC listing reaches back much further for anyone running an older server.
