How to set up voting on a Minecraft server

How to set up Votifier on a Minecraft server

To set up Votifier on a Minecraft server, put a vote listener in the plugins folder and give it a port of its own, 8192 by default. There are 2 to choose from: NuVotifier, the classic one, whose last release is 2.7.3 from July 2021, and VotifierPlus, made by the author of VotingPlugin and still updated. Then take these 5 steps:

1. Start the server once, so the listener writes its config.yml and a pair of keys in its rsa folder: plugins/Votifier for NuVotifier and plugins/VotifierPlus for VotifierPlus.
2. Set the port in config.yml to the port your host gave you, and restart.
3. Add your server to vote sites with its address, the Votifier port and the contents of public.key.
4. Install a reward plugin such as VotingPlugin, because the listener itself gives no rewards.
5. Send a test vote from a vote site and watch the console for it.

NuVotifier also has /testvote for operators, which fakes a vote inside the server. That checks your rewards, but not whether a vote site can reach the port.

What port does Votifier use?

Votifier uses TCP port 8192 by default, in NuVotifier and in VotifierPlus alike, and you change it with port in the listener's config.yml. The number can be anything from 1 to 65535 that nothing else uses, and that includes the Minecraft server's own port, so 25565 is never an option.

Leave the host setting on its default unless your host says otherwise; 0.0.0.0 listens on every address of the machine. On a hosted server, the vote port is a second port next to the game port, and only the host can open it. Lodehost's port guide asks you to contact them for a plugin port and name the plugin; elsewhere, ask support. On a server at home, forward the TCP port in your router.

Votifier public key and tokens

The Votifier public key is the file public.key in the listener's rsa folder, and it is the 1 file you copy into vote sites, while private.key stays on the server. The two only work as a pair, so a new pair means updating every vote site.

The key belongs to the original Votifier protocol, version 1, which many vote sites still use. Version 2 replaces the key with a token, a secret string in NuVotifier's config.yml that you give only to a site that supports it. In VotifierPlus, token support is off until you set TokenSupport: true. Leave version 1 switched on in both plugins while any of your vote sites still sends it, or their votes are refused.

VotingPlugin setup: vote sites and rewards

VotingPlugin setup comes down to 1 file, VoteSites.yml, where each vote site gets the service name it sends, the link players use, how many hours they wait between votes, and the rewards. VotingPlugin 7.1.1, from July 2026, runs on Spigot and Paper 1.19 and newer and needs Java 21. A site for minecraftservers.org looks like this:

VoteSites:
  MinecraftServers:
    Enabled: true
    ServiceSite: MinecraftServers.org
    VoteURL: https://minecraftservers.org/vote/your-server
    VoteDelay: 24
    Rewards:
      Commands:
      - 'give %player% emerald 5'

The ServiceSite has to match the name the site sends, letter for letter, or the vote arrives without a reward. After a first real vote, /av servicesites shows the names that came in, and with AutoCreateVoteSites: true VotingPlugin adds a site by itself when an unknown name arrives. Players then use /vote for the links, /votenext to see when they can vote again and /votetop for the top voters.

Minecraft server voting sites

Minecraft server voting sites send their votes through Votifier, and VotingPlugin's wiki lists 26 of them with the exact service name each one sends. These 6 are among them:

Put the vote links where players look: in the /vote message, on your Discord and on your website. Astroworld Hosting's website builder, for one, has a Vote section for the server lists you are on, described in our guide to the free Minecraft server website.

Why is Votifier not working?

Votifier not working usually means the vote site cannot reach the port, and because most sites report a version 1 vote as sent even when it failed, your console is the only proof. Go through these 5 cases:

1. Nothing in the console at all. The listener did not start, could not bind to its port, listens on the wrong address, or the port is closed by a firewall or was never opened by your host. Check the startup log first.
2. Could not decrypt data (is your key correct?). The public key on the vote site does not match the key pair on the server. Paste public.key again.
3. The vote arrives, but nobody gets a reward. There is no reward plugin, or the ServiceSite in VoteSites.yml differs from the name the site sent. VotingPlugin logs Received a vote from service site with the name in quotes.
4. Bedrock players get nothing. On a crossplay server, Floodgate puts a period in front of Bedrock names, so they have to vote as .Name, and BedrockPlayerPrefix in VotingPlugin's Config.yml has to match.
5. Connection reset by peer. The vote site closed the connection too early. NuVotifier's makers say only the site can fix that.

Vote party and vote rewards

A vote party in VotingPlugin rewards players once the server reaches a shared vote target, 20 votes by default, and it stays off until you set Enabled: true under VoteParty in SpecialRewards.yml. By default only the players who voted toward it get the reward, and only while they are online; GiveAllPlayers: true rewards everyone, and IncreaseVotesRequired raises the target after each party.

The same file holds the other ways to keep people voting: vote streaks for daily, weekly or monthly voting, milestones at a number of votes, and awards for the top voters of the day, week or month. Keep rewards small and useful: on a server where one vote buys a stack of diamonds, diamonds soon stop being worth anything.