How to write a prompt that gets you a working Minecraft plugin

The quality of an AI-made plugin depends mostly on the description you give. The model cannot see your server, so anything you leave out it has to guess. These habits give much better results.

1. Name the commands

Tell it exactly what players type. "A way to go home" is vague. "/sethome <name> and /home <name>" is not.

2. Give numbers

Cooldowns, maximum counts, distances and prices should be stated, and you should say they belong in config.yml. Otherwise they end up hard-coded in the Java.

3. Say who is allowed

Describe the permissions: who can use it, who can use it on other players, who skips the cooldown. If you say nothing, the AI picks a default.

4. Describe the messages

If the wording matters, include it, or say that all messages should be editable in config.yml with colour codes.

5. State the version and the limits

Pick the right Minecraft version in the tool. On older versions, say if a feature needs to be simple, because some newer API does not exist there.

A weak prompt and a strong one

Weak:   make a shop plugin

Strong: A /shop command that opens a chest menu with three categories (blocks, tools, food). Each item has a buy price in config.yml. Players pay with money from a simple built-in economy (/balance, /pay). Left click buys 1, shift click buys 16. Admins with shop.admin can reload the config with /shop reload.

Build in small steps

Start with the core of the plugin and add one thing per message: "now add a cooldown", "now save the data between restarts". Each step is easy to test, and if the AI breaks something you know which request did it.

What to avoid

• Asking for several unrelated plugins in one request.
• Asking for exact behaviour of other plugins you cannot see. Describe the behaviour you want instead.
• Asking for Vault, LuckPerms or PlaceholderAPI integration on a server that does not run those plugins. Say which ones you have, or ask for a built-in version.

A prompt template you can reuse

Goal: <one sentence about what the plugin does>
Commands: <command and arguments, what each does>
Rules: <numbers, limits, cooldowns>
Permissions: <who can do what>
Config: <what must be editable in config.yml>
Data: <what must be saved between restarts>
Version: <your Minecraft version>

Filling in these lines takes two minutes and avoids most of the rework. If a line does not apply, leave it out rather than writing something vague.

Examples of changes to ask for after the first build

• "Make the cooldown different for players with the permission shop.vip."
• "Show the remaining time on the action bar instead of in chat."
• "Save the data after every change, not only when the server stops."
• "Add tab completion for the player names."

Frequently asked questions

How long should a prompt be?

Between two and eight sentences works best. Too short leaves guesses, too long mixes several plugins.

Should I write in English?

The code and config keys are English. You can describe the plugin in your own language, but say which language the messages should use.

What if the result is not what I meant?

Say what is wrong in plain words and what you expected. The AI changes the existing plugin, so you do not start over.