Nicky: managing player nicknames

What Nicky is

Nicky is a free plugin that lets players change their display name on the server. The new nickname shows up in chat, in the tab list, above the player's head and everywhere else Minecraft displays a name. The real username stays unchanged: it's a cosmetic change only.

Nicknames are a popular feature on RPG, roleplay and community servers. Players want to stand out with colored names, and roleplay servers need names that fit the character (for example "Sir_Lancelot" instead of "xXgamer2005Xx"). Nicky handles these cases and leaves the admin in full control.

The plugin is available on SpigotMC. It runs on Spigot and Paper, versions 1.8+.

Commands

Colors and formatting

Nicky supports Minecraft color codes in nicknames. You control which colors are available through permissions:

• nicky.color.<code> - permission for a specific color (for example nicky.color.a for green)
• nicky.color.* - all colors
• nicky.format.bold - bold (&l)
• nicky.format.italic - italic (&o)
• nicky.format.underline - underline (&n)
• nicky.format.strikethrough - strikethrough (&m)
• nicky.format.magic - obfuscated ("magic") text (&k)
• nicky.hex - hex colors (1.16+, for example &#x123456)

Example: a player with the nicky.color.c permission can set a nickname with /nick &cSir_Lancelot, and it shows up as a red "Sir_Lancelot". It makes a natural reward for VIP ranks: higher ranks unlock more colors and formatting.

Restrictions and blacklist

Nicky gives you several ways to control nicknames:

• Word blacklist - a list of banned words in nicknames (profanity, offensive phrases). A player can't set a nickname that contains a blocked word
• Uniqueness - an option to enforce unique nicknames. Two players can't have the same nickname
• Length - minimum and maximum nickname length (3-16 characters by default)
• Allowed characters - a regex that defines which characters are allowed in nicknames (letters, digits and underscore by default)
• Approval - an optional approval mode where a nickname change needs staff acceptance
• Cooldown - limits how often a nickname can be changed (for example once every 24h)

The blacklist supports regex, so you can block patterns (for example admin.* blocks every nickname that starts with "admin").

Configuration

The main file is plugins/Nicky/config.yml:

# Database
database:
  type: SQLITE    # SQLITE or MYSQL
  mysql:
    host: "localhost"
    database: "nicky"

# Restrictions
nicknames:
  min-length: 3
  max-length: 16
  unique: true
  allowed-characters: "[a-zA-Z0-9_]+"
  change-cooldown: 86400  # 24h in seconds

# Display
display:
  tab-list: true    # change the nickname in the tab list
  name-tag: true    # change the nickname above the head
  chat: true        # change the nickname in chat

# Prefix before the nickname
prefix: "~"  # players with a nickname get ~ before their name

A prefix (for example "~") before the nickname lets you quickly tell players with a changed name from those using their real one. It helps staff see that "~Sir_Lancelot" is a nickname and not a real Minecraft username.

Nicky vs EssentialsX /nick

EssentialsX already has a built-in /nick command. The differences:

• Database - Nicky stores nicknames in SQLite/MySQL (they survive a restart), EssentialsX in player files
• Blacklist - Nicky has a built-in nickname blacklist, EssentialsX needs additional configuration
• Approval - Nicky has an optional approval mode, EssentialsX doesn't
• /realname - both offer a real-name lookup

If you already use EssentialsX and only need basic nickname changes, the built-in /nick is enough. If you need more control (a database, a built-in blacklist, approval mode), Nicky is the better choice.

Related plugins: EssentialsX, LuckPerms (color permissions), TAB (tab list formatting).