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Chest Trade v1.0

Standalone Barter Economy for Minecraft

No dependencies. No virtual currency. Just items for items.

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11 downloads
Overview
Getting Started
For Players
For Admins
Configuration
Troubleshooting

What is Chest Trade?

Chest Trade is a standalone bartering economy plugin that enables cheat-proof player-to-player trading using chests and barrels. Unlike traditional economy plugins, Chest Trade uses a direct barter system—players trade items for items, creating a natural, immersive economy that feels right at home in vanilla Minecraft.

No Dependencies! Chest Trade works completely standalone. No Vault, no economy plugins, no protection plugins required.
🔒

Cheat-Proof Trading

Secure item swaps prevent duplication exploits and theft. Your trades are always safe.

💎

Direct Bartering

Trade items for items with no virtual currency. Set any item as your price.

⭐

Dual XP Rewards

Earn Trade XP from sales to unlock higher-tier books. Plus, collect real Minecraft XP when picking up rewards! (Standard Mode)

📦

Multiple Containers

Use Chests, Trapped Chests, or Barrels as trade stations to fit your build style.

🍃

Pure Vanilla Feel

No player commands, no custom GUIs. Players interact with real chests using real items. Feels native to Minecraft.

🛡️

Full Protection

All Trade Chests are protected from explosions, hoppers, pistons, and theft.

Two Operating Modes

Standard Mode (Default)

Tiered progression with Tradability books. All tiers have full protection. Tiers unlock features:

  • I Single chests only (1 per area)
  • II + Barrels & Trapped Chests (5 per area)
  • III + Double chests* (10 per area)
  • IV + Sell bundles (25 per area)
  • V + Sell shulker boxes (unlimited)

*Double chests count as 2 toward density limits (e.g., 10 per area = 5 double chests).

Simple Mode

No tiers, no books—just craft and trade:

  • All chests have Tier V (full) protection
  • Simple recipe: Emerald + Chest
  • Perfect for servers wanting straightforward trading
  • No progression system to manage

Great for casual servers or quick setup!

⬇️ Download Chest Trade V1.0

Installation & Requirements

Requirements

  • Minecraft 1.21+ (built for Paper API 1.21.10+)
  • Paper server (functionality on Spigot is not guaranteed)
  • Java 21 or higher
Note: This plugin is built specifically for Paper servers using the latest Paper API.

Installation Steps

  1. Download the Plugin

    Get the latest ChestTrade.jar from this page

  2. Install on Your Server

    • Stop your server (to avoid config conflicts)
    • Place ChestTrade.jar into your server's plugins/ folder
    • Start the server—ChestTrade will generate a default config.yml in plugins/ChestTrade/

  3. Verify Installation

    • Check the server console for: "ChestTrade enabled!"
    • The operating mode (SIMPLE or STANDARD) will be logged

  4. Configure (Optional)

    • Edit plugins/ChestTrade/config.yml to customize settings
    • Use /ctadmin reload to apply changes without restart

Crafting Recipes

Standard Mode Recipes

Tradability Book I:

Emerald
Lapis Lazuli
Book

Higher tier books (II-V) are earned through trading XP, not crafted.

Trade Chest:

Emerald
Tradability Book
Chest

Trade Barrel / Trapped Chest: (requires Tier II+ book)

Emerald
Tradability Book (II+)
Barrel or Trapped Chest

Simple Mode Recipe

Trade Chest:

Emerald
Chest

That's it! All Trade Chests have full (Tier V) protection in Simple Mode.

Player Guide

Chest Trade makes trading with other players simple and secure. Here's everything you need to know.

Setting Up Your Shop (Sellers)

  1. Craft a Trade Chest using the appropriate recipe for your server's mode
  2. Place the Trade Chest where you want your shop
  3. Set your price by placing the payment item in Slot 0 (top-left corner)
    • The item type AND quantity matter (e.g., 5 Emeralds means buyers pay exactly 5 Emeralds)
  4. Stock your items in the middle slots (1-25 for single chest, 1-52 for double)
  5. You're open for business!
Chest Layout:
  • Slot 0 (top-left): Price item
  • Middle slots: Items for sale
  • Last slot (bottom-right): Reserved for reward books (Standard Mode)
Tip: Leave Slot 0 empty to temporarily close your shop. Buyers won't be able to purchase anything.

Making Purchases (Buyers)

  1. Find a Trade Chest - look for the particle effects!
  2. Look at it to see the price in your ActionBar (e.g., "Steve's Trade Chest [III] - Price: 5x Emerald")
  3. Hold the exact payment in your hand (must match type AND quantity)
  4. Right-click any item in the chest to purchase it
  5. The payment is taken from your hand, and you receive the item!
Important: You must hold the exact payment amount. If the price is 5 Emeralds and you're holding 10, split your stack first.

Understanding the ActionBar Display

When looking at a Trade Chest, you'll see information in your ActionBar:

  • Owner's name and container type
  • Tier shown in brackets (e.g., [III])
  • Price or status (SOLD OUT if nothing to buy)

If you're the owner, you'll see your XP progress toward the next Tradability book instead of the price.

Earning Tradability Books (Standard Mode)

In Standard Mode, successful trades earn you Trade XP that accumulates toward higher-tier books:

  • Trade XP is earned based on the value of items received (common items = less XP, rare items = more XP)
  • When you reach the XP threshold, a Tradability book appears in your chest's reward slot (bottom-right)
  • Pick up the book to claim it and reset your Trade XP counter
  • Use higher-tier books to craft better Trade Chests with more features!
Bonus Minecraft XP: When you collect a reward book, you also receive real Minecraft experience points!
Toast Notifications: You'll see achievement-style popups when you earn a new book or when someone purchases from your shop (if you're online).

Login Notifications

When you log in, you'll see a summary of your trade activity while you were away:

  • Number of trades completed
  • Total XP earned
  • Pending reward books waiting to be collected

Trading & Ownership

Trade Chests and Tradability Books are regular items that can be freely traded between players. Here's how ownership and upgrades work:

  • Trade Chests and Tradability Books are tradeable — you can give, drop, or sell them to other players through your shop or any other means
  • Ownership locks on placement — whoever places a Trade Chest becomes its owner, regardless of who crafted it
  • Chests cannot be upgraded — to get a higher-tier Trade Chest, you must craft a new one using a higher-tier Tradability Book
  • Keep or trade lower-tier chests — when you earn a higher-tier book, your existing lower-tier chests remain functional. You can continue using them or trade them to other players
Tip: Selling Trade Chests and Tradability Books is a great way to help newer players get started with trading!

Server Administration

Chest Trade provides powerful admin tools to manage your server's economy.

Admin Commands

Command Description
/ctadmin reload Reload configuration without restart
/ctadmin info Show plugin information and stats
/ctadmin list [player] List all trade chests (or a specific player's)
/ctadmin lookup Show info about the chest you're looking at
/ctadmin remove Remove the trade chest you're looking at
/ctadmin setowner <player> Transfer chest ownership
/ctadmin settier <1-5> Change chest tier
/ctadmin jail <player> [minutes] Temporarily ban a player from trading
/ctadmin unjail <player> Remove trading ban

Permissions

chesttrade.admin - Access to all admin commands

Default: op only

Choosing an Operating Mode

When to Use Standard Mode

  • You want progression and player engagement
  • Players should unlock features over time
  • You want to limit Trade Chest density per area
  • XP-based rewards fit your server's economy

When to Use Simple Mode

  • You want quick, easy setup
  • All players should have equal protection
  • No need for tier management
  • Casual or creative-focused servers

Abandonment System

The abandonment system prevents world clutter from inactive players:

  • When enabled, Trade Chests from players who haven't logged in for X days become "abandoned"
  • Abandoned chests lose their break protection (anyone can break them)
  • Trading rules still apply—buyers must pay to purchase items
  • If the owner logs back in, their chests are immediately reactivated

This creates a community-friendly approach where friends can choose to leave abandoned shops intact.

Density Limits (Standard Mode)

Control how many Trade Chests players can place within a radius:

  • Prevents shop spam in popular areas
  • Higher tiers allow more chests in the same area
  • Encourages players to progress for better shop placement

Configuration Guide

The config.yml file in plugins/ChestTrade/ controls all plugin features.

Operating Mode

# "simple" - No tiers, all chests have full protection
# "standard" - Full tier system with Tradability books
mode: standard

Visual Settings

display:
  # Enable particle effects above Trade Chests
  particles-enabled: true

  # Particle type (HAPPY_VILLAGER, END_ROD, ENCHANT, etc.)
  particle-type: HAPPY_VILLAGER

  # Show chest info in ActionBar when looking at Trade Chest
  actionbar-enabled: true

Entity Protection

entities:
  # Allow Copper Golems to deposit items (Paper 1.21.10+)
  allow-copper-golems: false

Density Settings (Standard Mode)

density:
  # Radius in blocks for density calculations
  radius: 100

  # Max chests per tier within radius (0 = unlimited)
  tier-1: 1
  tier-2: 5
  tier-3: 10
  tier-4: 25
  tier-5: 0

Experience & Rewards (Standard Mode)

experience:
  # Maximum XP that can accumulate on a single Trade Chest
  xp-cap: 1000

  # XP earned per trade based on payment item value
  xp-per-item-tier:
    common: 0      # Dirt, cobblestone, gravel, sand
    basic: 1       # Coal, copper, leather, wood, wool
    useful: 2      # Iron, redstone, lapis, bones, paper
    valuable: 5    # Gold, quartz, blaze rods, ender pearls
    precious: 10   # Diamond, emerald, echo shards
    rare: 25       # Netherite, nether star, elytra

  # XP threshold to earn next-tier book
  xp-threshold:
    tier-1: 25     # Tier I chest -> earns Tier II book
    tier-2: 50     # Tier II chest -> earns Tier III book
    tier-3: 100    # Tier III chest -> earns Tier IV book
    tier-4: 150    # Tier IV chest -> earns Tier V book
    tier-5: 150    # Tier V chest -> earns Tier V book

  # Award Minecraft XP when collecting reward books
  minecraft-xp:
    enabled: true
    amount: 5

Global Limits

limits:
  # Maximum Trade Chests per player (0 = unlimited)
  max-per-player: 0

Abandonment Settings

abandonment:
  # Enable the abandonment system
  enabled: false

  # Days of inactivity before abandonment
  days: 30
Remember: Use /ctadmin reload after editing the config to apply changes without restarting.

Troubleshooting & Support

Problem Solution
Can't place Trade Chest Check if you've reached the density limit for that tier in Standard Mode
Buyers can't purchase Ensure they're holding the exact payment (type AND quantity must match)
No XP being earned Verify you're in Standard Mode and experience is enabled in config
Chest shows "SOLD OUT" Restock items in slots 1-26 (slot 0 is the price, not for sale)
Abandonment not working Enable it in config and set the days threshold
Config changes not applying Use /ctadmin reload or restart the server
Plugin not working Confirm you're using Paper server (not Spigot) with Minecraft 1.21+

Common Questions

Can buyers steal items without paying?

No! Chest Trade is designed to be cheat-proof. Buyers can only take items by paying the exact price. They cannot use hoppers, pistons, or other methods to extract items—all Trade Chests have full protection.

What happens if I break my Trade Chest?

Only the owner can break their Trade Chest (unless it's abandoned). When broken, it drops as a Trade Chest item that can be placed again or traded to another player. Ownership is assigned when placing the chest, so whoever places it becomes the new owner.

Can Trade Chests and Tradability Books be traded?

Yes! Both Trade Chests and Tradability Books are regular items that can be given, dropped, or traded between players. This means you can sell Trade Chests and books to other players through your own shop, helping them get started or skip tiers.

Can I have multiple price items?

No, Chest Trade uses a single-price model. Slot 0 defines ONE price that applies to ALL items in the chest. For different prices, use multiple Trade Chests.

Do double chests work?

Yes! Double chests (Tier III+) function as one large Trade Chest with 54 slots. Slot 0 is the price, slots 1-52 are for sale, and slot 53 (bottom-right) is reserved for reward books.

Support

For further assistance, bug reports, or feature requests:

Chest Trade V1.0 — Standalone Barter Economy for Minecraft!

© 2026 El Fahja. All rights reserved.

Downloaded 11 times by Minecraft server owners worldwide