Leaf
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Leaf, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
The facts
Each one read from Leaf's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- Leaf provides an API dependency through its Maven repository for Gradle and Maven projects.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Audience
- The documentation describes Leaf as designed for large-scale networks in high-load environments.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Benchmarking
- The FAQ says more detailed and reliable performance benchmarks will be provided in the future.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Build requirements
- The latest experimental build listed is Leaf 26.3 Build #2, released October 3, 2026, and requires Java 25 or later.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Compatibility caveat
- The Leaf optimization guide says OptimizeNonFlushPacketSending is known to be incompatible with ProtocolLib and potentially other network-heavy plugins.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- Leaf uses a YAML global configuration and supports hot reload for most settings, while hot reload for async modules is unsupported.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Download
- Leaf is distributed as a Minecraft server JAR; the download page says the listed 26.3 builds are experimental and not recommended for production.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Download format
- Leaf is distributed as a server JAR, and the site documents downloading builds through a v2 API for scripts and CI.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The project README says Leaf integrates with Sentry to track server errors in detail.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Intended servers
- Leaf is designed for large-scale networks in high-load environments.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Known limitations
- The FAQ says the latest version has no known incompatibilities and describes compatibility issues affecting some legacy versions.checked 7 Oct 2026
- License
- The project license page says Leaf binaries are licensed under GPL-3.0-only, while patches generally use MIT unless otherwise indicated.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Paper compatibility
- Leaf is built on Paper, inherits the full Paper API, and runs Paper plugins natively.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Paper plugins
- Paper plugins work natively on Leaf, which inherits the full Paper API.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Performance features
- Leaf lists asynchronous pathfinding, mob spawning, and entity tracking among its features.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Product
- Leaf is high-performance Minecraft server software built on Paper, designed to balance performance, vanilla behavior, and stability.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Production status
- The download page says no stable builds are available and advises against using the available experimental builds in production.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Protocol support
- Leaf lists support for mod protocols, including configurable protocol options in its global configuration.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Leaf is high-performance Minecraft server software designed to preserve vanilla behavior and plugin compatibility.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Purpur patches
- Leaf includes all Purpur patches, though some Purpur options are configured through Gale and Leaf settings.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- The latest experimental build shown on the download page requires Java 25 or newer.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Security-related option
- The configuration includes an optional secure-seed setting, which is disabled by default in the documented configuration.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- The docs direct users to the Leaf Discord server for contact and support.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Supported client protocols
- Optional protocol support settings include Jade, AppleSkin, Xaero Map, Syncmatica, and other client mod protocols.checked 5 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Leaf
- 1

SpigotMC Resources
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS7.6Free plan - 2

Cuberite
Free planAndroidAPILinuxmacOS7.0Free plan - 3

Fabric
Free planAPILinuxmacOSSelf-hosted6.8Free plan - 4
PocketMine-MP
Free planAPILinuxmacOSSelf-hosted6.6Free plan - 5
Allay
Free planLinuxSelf-hostedWindows6.4Free plan - 6
Leaves
Free planAPISelf-hosted6.2Free plan
