What Is Staff X-Ray and Why Your Server Needs It
Running a Minecraft server means dealing with a constant stream of players, some of whom might be using illicit X-Ray resource packs or hacked clients to locate valuable ores. Traditional anti-cheat plugins can catch obvious offenders, but subtle miners often slip through the cracks. That is where Staff X-Ray comes in — a lightweight, server-side tool that gives moderators and admins a clean, glowing overlay of hidden ores around any suspicious player. No texture packs, no client mods, just pure server-side magic.
Staff X-Ray is built for modern Minecraft versions (1.20+) and leverages Paper’s advanced entity handling to display ore positions using BlockDisplay entities with colored glowing outlines. The result is a seamless, non-intrusive way to verify whether a player is genuinely lucky or secretly using X-Ray. It is not a survival advantage tool; it is a moderation instrument designed to keep your server fair.
How Staff X-Ray Works Under the Hood
Unlike older X-Ray detection methods that relied on invisible armor stands or scoreboard trickery, Staff X-Ray uses a clean, modern approach. When a staff member runs the /xray command, a simple GUI opens. From there, they can select exactly which ores to highlight — diamonds, ancient debris, emeralds, and more. The plugin then scans the chunks around the targeted player and spawns temporary BlockDisplay entities at each ore location. These entities are visible only to the staff member who activated the scan, thanks to per-player packet manipulation. Each ore type gets its own distinct glowing outline color, making it easy to distinguish diamond from iron at a glance.
Because everything happens server-side, the player being observed never sees a thing. There are no texture pack requirements, no client mods, and no performance-draining armor stand spam. The plugin is lightweight and toggles off automatically when the staff member closes the GUI or moves away. This design keeps your server running smoothly while giving moderators a powerful, discreet tool for catching cheaters.
Key Features That Set Staff X-Ray Apart
- Selective Ore Highlighting: Choose exactly which ores to track — diamonds, gold, iron, lapis, redstone, emeralds, and even ancient debris. Deepslate variants are automatically included.
- Colored Glowing Outlines: Each ore type glows in a unique color, making identification instant. No more guessing whether that blue shimmer is diamond or lapis.
- Staff-Only Visibility: The glowing outlines are rendered exclusively for the staff member who activated the scan. Other players, including the target, see nothing.
- Real-Time Updates: As the staff member moves, the highlighted ores update dynamically, showing only what is within a configurable radius.
- Multi-Language Support: The plugin ships with a fully customizable language system. You can edit the provided translation files or add your own to match your server’s locale.
- Clean GUI: The ore selection menu is intuitive and clutter-free, letting staff toggle ores on and off with a single click.
Installation and Configuration
Setting up Staff X-Ray is straightforward. Drop the plugin JAR into your server’s plugins folder, restart, and you are ready to go. The default configuration works out of the box, but you can tweak the language, message prefix, and other settings in the config.yml file. All messages are fully customizable, and you can even add new translations by editing the files inside the lang/ folder. The plugin requires Paper 1.20+ and Java 17, ensuring compatibility with the latest server software.
For server owners who prefer a streamlined experience, this plugin can be easily installed and managed via the foxygame.net launcher — a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher that lets you download and update plugins right from its menu. It simplifies the process of keeping your server tools current without digging through multiple websites.
Commands and Permissions
Staff X-Ray keeps things simple with a single command:
- /xray — Opens the ore selection GUI for the staff member. Only players with the appropriate permission can use it.
Permissions are handled through your server’s standard permission system. By default, only operators have access, but you can assign the staffxray.use permission to any group or player. This makes it easy to integrate with LuckPerms or other permission managers.
Practical Use Cases for Server Staff
Staff X-Ray is not a toy for finding diamonds faster. It is a moderation tool with specific, legitimate applications:
- Cheater Detection: Follow a player who suddenly acquires stacks of diamonds after only a few minutes of mining. If they are heading straight to ore veins through solid stone, you will see the evidence instantly.
- Suspicious Mining Investigations: When a player’s mining pattern looks unnatural — long, narrow tunnels that hit every ore pocket — activate the overlay to confirm whether they are using X-Ray.
- Staff Training: New moderators can learn to spot abnormal behavior by comparing a legitimate miner’s path with the actual ore distribution revealed by the plugin.
Because the tool is invisible to the target, investigations remain discreet. You can gather proof without alerting the player, then take action based on solid evidence rather than guesswork.
Why Staff X-Ray Beats Traditional Methods
Older X-Ray detection often involved spawning armor stands with glowing effects or using scoreboard teams to highlight ores. Those approaches had serious drawbacks: armor stands cluttered the world, caused lag, and could sometimes be glimpsed by the target. Scoreboard-based glow was unreliable and limited. Staff X-Ray’s BlockDisplay entities are purely visual, exist only for the staff member, and vanish without a trace when the GUI is closed. The rendering is handled entirely by the server, so there is zero client-side footprint. It is cleaner, faster, and far more accurate.
Additionally, the plugin automatically accounts for deepslate ore variants. In Minecraft 1.18+, most valuable ores generate in deepslate layers. Staff X-Ray includes both regular and deepslate versions in its scans, so you never miss a hidden diamond block just because it is the deepslate type.
Customization and Language Options
Every message in the plugin can be changed to fit your server’s tone. The config.yml file lets you set a custom prefix, adjust the scan radius, and even modify the default ore selections. The lang/ folder contains a default English translation file that you can duplicate and edit for any language. Whether your server is German, French, Spanish, or uses a custom fantasy dialect, Staff X-Ray adapts easily.
Performance and Compatibility
Staff X-Ray is optimized for Paper servers running Minecraft 1.20 and above. It uses minimal resources because BlockDisplay entities are lightweight and only spawned when a staff member actively uses the tool. The plugin does not run continuous scans — it activates on command and deactivates when the GUI is closed or the staff member moves out of range. This on-demand approach ensures your server’s TPS stays healthy even during large-scale investigations.
Final Thoughts
Staff X-Ray fills a critical gap in server moderation. It gives staff members a precise, undetectable way to verify ore locations without relying on outdated or intrusive methods. The clean GUI, multi-ore support, and per-player visibility make it a must-have for any survival server serious about fair play. Whether you are dealing with a wave of X-Ray users or simply want to keep your community honest, this plugin provides the transparency you need — literally and figuratively.
With its lightweight design, easy configuration, and modern entity-based rendering, Staff X-Ray sets a new standard for server-side ore detection. It respects both server performance and player privacy while giving moderators the tools to uphold the rules. If you are tired of guessing whether that player with a stack of diamonds is just lucky or cheating, it is time to add Staff X-Ray to your moderation toolkit.