Comparison: SoapsAdmin · EssentialsX · CMI

SoapsAdmin-first page for choosing a primary admin suite. EssentialsX and CMI are the usual alternatives.

Use one plugin for homes, warps, kits, and economy. Running two doubles commands, doubles data, and confuses staff.

Legend (matrix only): ✅ yes · ❌ no · ◐ partial / different scope · soft = soft-depends on another plugin

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What SoapsAdmin is in play

Free Paper/Spigot admin suite under one /sa tree. Staff and players work mostly from menus. Owners turn feature groups off in /sa modules so unused systems stop running.

Typical use:

1. Owner opens /sa admin for hub pages (Duty, Server, Content, Travel, Punish, Staff Tools) with TPS, staff online, and open reports/tickets.
2. Staff use /sa staffmode, inspect with /sa playerinfo (or shift-right-click), then freeze, spectate, history, or a claimed report/ticket.
3. Owner builds /hub or a wrapped /spawn in the custom-command GUI (type, steps, settings, optional block bind).
4. Builders place Paper mannequins for lobby NPCs: skin, name, text under the name, gear, poses, presets, placement wand.
5. Players use kits, shop, trade, waypoints, vaults, mail, and rules from GUIs. Menu icons, titles, and lore live in gui.yml.

Install SoapsCommon as well. Paper is recommended (mannequins and item editor are Paper-only). Folia is not supported. See Introduction and Getting Started.

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Who each plugin is for

	SoapsAdmin	EssentialsX	CMI
Best when	You want one free suite with staff dashboards and queues, in-game command/content editors, and built-in shop, kits, trade, vaults, waypoints, and mail.	You want a free, familiar baseline and will add separate plugins for shops, staff queues, NPCs, and deep command builders.	You want one paid all-in-one and already build around holograms, portals, and Interactive Commands.
Strength	Suite-wide menus, GUI custom commands (not only aliases), Paper mannequins with gear/presets, refund-safe kit claims, modules that stop background work, Mythic/Crucible hooks, claim-aware teleports.	Small install, large community guides, classic homes/warps/TPA/kits/jail/vanish.	Breadth: holograms, portals, Interactive Commands, kit editor, recipes, item scan, ground clean.
Trade-off	Mannequins and the full item editor need Paper.	A full server still needs other plugins for shops, tickets, lobby NPCs, and deep custom-command builders.	Paid product plus CMILib. Steeper learning curve. Vault economy may need rebuilt Vault or CMIEInjector.

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Why owners pick SoapsAdmin

Menus for almost everything

Most features open a menu. Restyle item, title, lore, slot, and actions in gui.yml, then run /sa guiconfig reload. Extra button binds use F.

Area	Opens
Server	/sa admin, health + performance scans, plugin monitor, gamerules, modules
Staff	Staff panel, Support Hub (reports/tickets), audit, player info, staff mode
Economy	Shop hub (balance/worth), economy manage, BalTop, daily rewards (daily.yml)
Content	Kits, item editor, recipes, spawners, mannequins, attributes
Players	Dashboard, homes, warps, friends, trade, vaults, mail, waypoints, rules
Presentation	MOTD, announcements, broadcasts
Commands	Custom-command list, type wizard, builder, settings

Guide: GUIs and Menus.

Custom commands in-game

Pick a type (run commands, message, alias, or wrap/replace a built-in), build steps in a menu, set cooldown/warmup, bind to a block, or run on join/respawn/death. Own success text can hide the built-in /sa line. Teleport shortcuts only play success FX when the teleport starts.

Guide: Custom Commands.

Mannequin editor (Paper)

Uses Minecraft Mannequin entities. Two-page editor: skin, name, text under the name, glow, poses (including sit), move/rotate wand, armor and held items, clone, role presets. Persist after restart; listed for staff edits.

Guide: Fake Players.

Staff queues and punish flow

Reports and tickets: claim, assign, reply, close, delete, clear CLOSED state, mail to offline ticket creators. /sa admin opens hub pages with open counts on Duty. Punish hub picks an action then a searchable player list. /sa playerinfo opens overview plus Inspect/Actions hubs (invsee, spectate, notes, alts, punish history with rollback, inventory snapshots). Warn-escalation runs at configured warn counts; /sa qp applies named punish templates. /sa staffmode swaps to a duty inventory; each tool still needs its own permission.

Guides: Staff Workflow · Moderation.

MythicMobs and MythicCrucible

When those plugins are present: Mythic spawner types, Mythic-only mob drop tables, mythic: / crucible: / mm: in recipes, kits, shop prices, give, and daily rewards.

Guide: Integrations.

Claim-safe teleports and currency regions

Soft hooks for WorldGuard, Lands, and GriefPrevention: block RTP into foreign claims, block set home/warp where the player cannot build, and check destinations (friends can be allowed). With WorldGuard, region flag soapscurrency can deny SoapsAdmin mob currency drops in a region.

Guide: Teleportation · Integrations.

Economy, kits, trade, vaults

Multi-currency (Vault for other plugins), buy/sell shop, cheques, daily rewards (daily.yml + claim actions; not a separate showcase menu file), physical mob money (Mythic tables supported), player trade (items, money, XP, shulkers, dual Ready). Vaults include autopickup modes (direct / overflow) and a target vault. Waypoints track on boss bar and compass; the world marker hides when far. RTP preloads the landing chunk. Kits re-check paid warmups and refund if the inventory cannot hold the kit.

Guides: Economy and Shop · Kits · Trade · Player Vaults · Teleportation.

Modules that turn systems off

/sa modules disables a feature group: commands stop and background work stops. Keep economy and turn the shop off. Keep moderation and turn mining audit or lag scanners off.

Guide: Modules.

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Side-by-side: what changes in play

Situation	SoapsAdmin	EssentialsX	CMI
Staff starts a shift	Staff mode, admin overview, report/ticket menus, warn escalation, quick punish	Mostly chat; help pings in chat	Many commands; chat-style help; strong if staff already know CMI
Owner adds /hub or wraps /spawn	Custom-command menus; optional block bind	Aliases or another plugin	Alias editor + Interactive Commands (best with holograms)
Lobby NPC with skin and gear	Paper mannequin editor, presets, wand	❌ built-in	◐ armor stands
Mythic mobs in economy/content	Spawner types, exclusive drop tables, crucible/mythic item refs in shop/kits/recipes	Separate plugins	DIY / other plugins
Teleport near claims	Claim checks on RTP, set, and go-to; optional friends pass	Usually another plugin	Partial / other plugins
Player buys a paid kit	Shop + kit menus; failed claim refunds	Sign shops or another shop; lighter kit editor	Strong kit editor; shops often via holograms
Extra storage	Vaults + autopickup into a chosen vault	Ender chest / other plugin	Soft / other plugin
Destination marker	Waypoints (boss bar + marker hides when far)	Homes and warps only	Homes and warps; other plugins for markers
Server list branding	MOTD menu, icon, shown player min/max	Basic MOTD or another plugin	Partial built-in
Turn unused features off	Modules stop commands and listeners	Config flags or separate jars	Config toggles

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Feature matrix

Column order: SoapsAdmin · EssentialsX · CMI.

Suite pillars

Feature	SoapsAdmin	EssentialsX	CMI
GUI coverage (most features have panels)	✅ suite-wide + reskins	◐	✅ many
Custom commands (typed + GUI builder)	✅	◐ aliases	✅ alias + IC
Interactive binds	✅ blocks	◐ powertool	✅ /ic
Mannequin / NPC presentation editor	✅ Paper Mannequin	❌	◐ armor stands
Item editor (full GUI)	✅ Paper	◐ rename/lore	✅
Attributes GUI	✅	❌	◐
Reports + tickets queues	✅	❌ chat help ping	◐ chat help ping
Admin cockpit	✅ /sa admin	❌	❌
Staff mode (duty inventory)	✅	❌	❌
Player info inspect panel	✅	◐	◐
Audit / rollback + inventory snapshots	✅	❌	◐
Warn escalation + quick punish templates	✅	◐	◐
Multi-currency economy	✅	◐	◐*
Buy/sell shop GUIs	✅	❌ signs	❌ DIY/holo
Economy mob drop items	✅	❌	❌
MythicMobs / MythicCrucible hooks	✅ soft	❌	❌
Daily rewards (daily.yml + claim)	✅	◐	✅
Kits (editor + claim safety)	✅ refund-safe	✅ ◐	✅
Player trade (GUI + money/XP)	✅	❌	◐
Player vaults + vault autopickup	✅	◐ ender	◐ soft
Waypoints	✅	❌	❌
Claim-aware teleports (WG/Lands/GP)	✅ soft	◐	◐
WorldGuard soapscurrency flag	✅ soft	❌	❌
World manager	✅	❌	❌ Multiverse soft
Modules (turn features fully off)	✅	◐ jars/config	✅
Custom recipes (incl. Crucible refs)	✅	◐ view	✅
Spawner editor (vanilla + Mythic)	✅	❌	◐
Mining / xray audit	✅	❌	◐
MOTD editor (min/max players)	✅	◐	◐
Scheduled announcements (modes + GUI)	✅	◐	✅
Chat rooms (+ filter, mutechat, staff chat)	✅	◐ Chat mod	✅
Free core	✅	✅	❌ paid

Shared basics

Feature	SoapsAdmin	EssentialsX	CMI
Homes (incl. invite/share) / warps / TPA / spawn	✅	✅	✅
RTP	✅	✅	✅
Jail	✅	✅	✅
Kick / ban / mute	✅	✅	✅
Warns / notes	✅	◐	✅
Freeze	✅	❌	✅
Vanish / invsee / spy	✅	✅	✅
Worth / sell prices	✅	✅	✅
Money cheques	✅	❌	✅
Clearlag / seek item / backups	✅	◐	✅

*CMI Vault economy needs rebuilt Vault or CMIEInjector. Companion jars: SoapsAdmin needs SoapsCommon; CMI needs CMILib.

PlaceholderAPI: %soapsadmin_*% when PAPI is present (Placeholders). Storage: flatfile, sqlite, or mysql (use MySQL if several servers must share punishments and balances).

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Migration notes

1. Pick one plugin for homes, warps, kits, and economy before opening to players.
2. Export old homes and warps. Set storage (flatfile, sqlite, or mysql). Use mysql when a network must share punishments and economy.
3. Disable unused modules in modules.yml.
4. Rebuild aliases and overrides in the Custom Commands GUI or YAML.
5. Staff path: /sa admin, reports, tickets, player info, staff mode (Staff Workflow).
6. Customize panels in gui.yml when defaults are settled (GUIs and Menus).

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Introduction · GUIs and Menus · Custom Commands · Fake Players · Staff Workflow · Kits · Modules · Integrations · FAQ · Getting Started