Bringing a Full-Featured Mail System to Your Server
Communication between players on a Minecraft server often goes beyond simple chat. Whether you run a survival world, a roleplaying hub, or a massive minigame network, giving your community a way to send persistent messages and trade items offline can completely transform how they interact. Undine Mailer is a powerful Bukkit plugin that introduces a complete mail sending and receiving system, complete with item attachments, cash-on-delivery trading, group mailing lists, and deep permissions integration.
Core Features That Make Undine Mailer Stand Out
This plugin is not just a basic /mail command. It delivers a polished GUI-driven experience that feels like a native part of the game. Here is what you can expect after dropping the JAR into your plugins folder:
- Clickable Chat GUIs – All mail management happens through interactive chat menus, making it incredibly easy for players to compose, read, and organize messages without memorizing complex commands.
- Item Attachments with C.O.D. – Attach items to your mail and set a Cash on Delivery requirement. The recipient must pay money (via Vault and an economy plugin) or a requested item to open the attachment box. If they refuse, the items are safely returned to the sender.
- UUID-Based History – Even if a player changes their Minecraft username, their entire mail history remains intact and accessible. Senders and recipients are tracked by UUID, not display names.
- Mail List Groups – Create custom distribution groups, manage members, and set permissions for who can send to or modify each group. Special groups like “All”, “AllConnected”, and PermissionsEx groups are supported out of the box.
- Inbox, Outbox, and Trash – Players have separate folders for received, sent, and deleted mail, with the ability to restore messages from the trash.
- Spam Protection and Storage Limits – Configurable cooldowns prevent rapid-fire mailing, while automatic cleanup deletes mails older than a set number of days.
- Welcome Mail – Automatically send a customizable welcome package (with items!) to new players the first time they join.
How to Get Started
Undine Mailer requires CraftBukkit 1.7.2-R0.3 or later. Simply place the UndineMailer.jar file into your server’s plugins directory and restart. For those who prefer a streamlined experience, the foxygame.net launcher offers a convenient way to install Undine Mailer right from its built-in mod browser, saving you the hassle of manual file placement. Once loaded, the plugin generates a config.yml and a messages file where you can fine-tune every aspect of the system.
Players enter mail edit mode with /mail write. A chat-based GUI appears, allowing them to set recipients, type messages, and attach items. Even if a client disconnects during composition, the draft is saved and can be reopened with the same command.
Understanding the C.O.D. Trading System
The Cash on Delivery feature turns Undine Mailer into a secure trading platform. A sender can request a specific amount of money or a particular item in exchange for the attached goods. For example, if a player sets a C.O.D. of $30 on a diamond sword, the recipient will see the cost when they try to open the attachment box. Paying the fee sends the money to the sender and unlocks the items. Refusing the trade returns the entire item box to the sender’s inbox. This mechanic relies on Vault and any compatible economy plugin for money-based C.O.D., while item-based C.O.D. works independently.
Leveraging PermissionsEx Groups
Undine Mailer integrates tightly with PermissionsEx. You can add a receive-mail: true flag to any PEX group to make it appear as a mailing list target. Additionally, an optional send-mode can be set to op, member, or everyone to control who can send to that group. This makes it easy to create staff-only newsletters or faction-wide announcements without managing separate group definitions inside the plugin.
Essential Commands and Permissions
The plugin is controlled primarily through /umail or its alias /mail. Here are the most important commands available to players and operators:
/mail– View your inbox./mail outbox– View sent mail./mail trash– Check deleted mail./mail text <to> <message>– Quickly send a plain message./mail write– Enter the full mail composition GUI./mail item– Show details of the item in your hand (useful for attaching)./mail trash all– Move all read mails to trash./mail trash restoreAll– Restore all trashed mails./ugroup– Open the group management menu./mail reload– Reload the configuration (OP only).
Server console operators can also compose and send mail using a similar set of commands, making it possible to deliver system-wide announcements with attachments.
Permissions are granular and start with undine.. For example, undine.write controls access to the write command, while undine.read-all allows staff to read everyone’s mail. There are also permissions for infinite attachments, group management overrides, and bypassing spam limits. The full permission tree is well-documented in the plugin’s config.
Configuration Highlights
The config.yml is extensive, letting you tailor every behavior. You can disable self-mailing, set the maximum number of recipients per mail, adjust attachment box size, and even blacklist specific items from being attached. The mail storage term and spam cooldown are adjustable, as is the login notification delay. The welcome mail feature can be turned on and customized with a list of attachment items, such as a starter set of stone tools and bread. Tax settings for C.O.D. transactions and sending fees allow you to create a server economy sink if desired.
Why Undine Mailer Is a Must-Have Plugin
In a multiplayer environment, reliable offline communication is a cornerstone of player retention. Undine Mailer goes far beyond a simple /msg replacement by adding item trading, group newsletters, and a polished GUI that feels intuitive even for younger players. Its UUID-based storage ensures that no mail is ever lost due to a name change, and the deep PermissionsEx integration means it fits seamlessly into servers that already rely on group-based permissions. Whether you are running a small survival server or a large network, this plugin provides a professional, feature-rich mailing solution that your community will quickly come to rely on.