Overview

GroupManager lets administrators organize permissions into groups, assign players to them, and define inheritance and promotion or demotion paths. That makes it useful for servers with distinct authority levels, such as default players, builders, moderators, and administrators. It is a permission-management tool, not a complete server moderation or protection system.

Administrators can manage users and groups in configuration files, from the console, or with in-game commands. Permissions can include wildcards, denials, and exceptions, while timed assignments can expire. This range gives operators fine control, though it also means the permission structure needs deliberate administration.

Key features

Groups, rules, and variables

Group inheritance and promotion or demotion hierarchies let operators structure ranks rather than assign every permission individually. Wildcard, negative, and exception nodes provide flexibility when a rank needs broad access with selected restrictions. User and group variables include prefixes, suffixes, and build status; chat plug-ins can use the prefix and suffix values, and other plug-ins can read build status.

GroupManager itself does not enforce antigrief behavior. Servers that need build protection must use another plug-in, so the build-status variable should not be mistaken for a protection system.

Integration and data

PlaceholderAPI placeholders expose groups, subgroups, prefixes, suffixes, and permission checks for compatible plug-ins. Developers can declare GroupManager as a provided Maven dependency through JitPack. These integrations help it fit into a wider Bukkit or Spigot setup, but their value depends on the other plug-ins a server uses.

Storage options include YAML, H2, MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB. The breadth supports different server arrangements, from file-based configuration to database-backed storage. By default, user data is purged at server start after 90 days without a login; setting lastplayed to 0 protects an account from that purge.

Installation and support

Installation involves placing GroupManager.jar in the server's plugins folder, starting and stopping the server, and editing config.yml. The project directs users to GitHub issues and a GroupManager Discord for help. It is released under the GNU General Public License version 3.

Pricing

GroupManager is free: the GroupManager plan costs 0.00 USD per free and is GPL-3.0 licensed. There is no paid plan listed, so there is no lower-cost tier with reduced features to weigh against an upgrade.

Platforms

GroupManager is self-hosted and supports Bukkit and Spigot. The v3.2 release is labeled for Minecraft 1.8 to 1.20+; server owners should match that compatibility range to their own server version.

Who it's for

Choose GroupManager if you run a Bukkit or Spigot server and need configurable ranks, inherited permissions, expiring access, or group data that other plug-ins can consume. Its multiple storage backends can also suit operators who want a choice between YAML and database storage.

Look elsewhere if you need antigrief functionality built into the permissions tool, or if you want one plug-in to handle build protection as well as access control. GroupManager supplies a build-status variable for other plug-ins; it does not provide the protection itself.

Pros and cons

Pros: Inheritance, promotion and demotion hierarchies, and wildcard, negative, and exception nodes support detailed rank structures.
Pros: Expiring permissions and variables such as prefixes, suffixes, and build status let administrators manage access and share group context with other plug-ins.
Pros: YAML, H2, MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB provide a broad choice of storage backends.
Cons: It does not provide antigrief behavior, so servers need another plug-in for build protection.
Cons: User data is purged after 90 days without login by default unless the account is protected with lastplayed set to 0.

Alternatives

Minecraft Permissions Plugins is a category list for comparing permissions tools. Among the named options, LuckPerms is another free choice, with API, Linux, self-hosted, and web platforms. ServerRoles and ThunderPerms are also free options for self-hosted use.

BungeePerms is free and described as a permissions plug-in for BungeeCord or Velocity and Spigot or PaperSpigot. For Nukkit, Multipass is a free permissions plug-in. The free PermissionManager is another option.

Nimbus AntiCheat and ReducedX-Anti Cheat are free self-hosted alternatives in the anticheat category rather than permission-management options. Nimbus is specified for Paper 1.21.8, Java 21, and Java-edition players, with PacketEvents required. Taskbar Customization Software is a separate category list.

Verdict

GroupManager is a sound fit for Bukkit and Spigot owners who want free, configurable rank permissions with hierarchy, timed access, and flexible storage. Its main reason to choose it is that combination of permission controls and integration points; its main reason to look elsewhere is that antigrief protection must come from another plug-in.

	GroupManager	SpaceMonger
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	self-hosted	Windows
Free plan	Yes	No
Platform	—	windows
Transparency controls	—	Yes
App grouping controls	—	Yes
Multi-monitor support	—	Yes
Taskbar sizing	—	Yes

GroupManager vs SpaceMonger

GroupManager

SpaceMonger