ElytraThorn - How To Use

What it does: any player who puts an elytra in their chestplate slot dies instantly*. Carrying one is fine. The plugin only triggers when the elytra is actually worn.

*configurable

Setup

On first start the plugin creates plugins/ElytraThorn/config.yml. Edit that file, then run /elytrathorn reload in-game or from console. No restart needed for config changes.

To check it loaded, run /elytrathorn status.

Commands

All commands require the elytrathorn.admin permission, which operators have by default. Short aliases: /et and /ethorn.

Command	What it does
/elytrathorn status	Shows current settings. Start here if something seems off
/elytrathorn reload	Applies changes you made to config.yml
/elytrathorn toggle	Turns the plugin on or off, and saves that choice

/elytrathorn toggle writes to config.yml, so the setting survives a restart. Handy for temporarily disabling the plugin during an event without editing files.

Permissions

Permission	Who has it by default	What it grants
elytrathorn.admin	Operators	Use of the commands above
elytrathorn.bypass	Nobody	Wear an elytra without being killed

Operators are killed too. Being op does not grant elytrathorn.bypass — you have to give it explicitly. This is intentional, so the rule applies to staff unless you decide otherwise.

With LuckPerms, granting it looks like:

/lp user Steve permission set elytrathorn.bypass true
/lp group admin permission set elytrathorn.bypass true

Settings

All of these live in plugins/ElytraThorn/config.yml.

Setting	Default	What it does
enabled	true	Master switch. false = plugin loaded but never kills anyone
check-interval-ticks	5	How often players are checked (20 ticks = 1 second). Raise it to reduce load
kill.bypass-totem	true	true = totems can't save them. false = a totem of undying still works
kill.remove-elytra	false	true = the elytra is destroyed. false = it drops with their other items
kill.strike-lightning	false	Cosmetic lightning bolt. Deals no damage and starts no fires
kill.play-sound	true	Thunder sound, heard only by the player who died
exemptions.bypass-permission	true	Whether elytrathorn.bypass works. false = nobody can ever be exempt
exemptions.creative	true	Don't kill players in creative mode
exemptions.spectator	true	Don't kill players in spectator mode
exemptions.disabled-worlds	[]	List of worlds where the plugin does nothing
messages.prefix	—	Shown before command and victim messages
messages.victim	—	Private message to the player who died
messages.death-message	—	Public death message. %player% becomes their name
messages.reloaded / toggled-on / toggled-off	—	Command feedback

Messages: use & colour codes (&c red, &e yellow, and so on). Set any message to "" to hide it, including death-message, which falls back to the normal vanilla death message.

Common setups

Let staff use elytras, but nobody else

Leave the defaults, then grant elytrathorn.bypass to your staff group.

Allow elytras in one world only

exemptions:
  disabled-worlds: ["elytra_course"]

Give players one escape via totem

kill:
  bypass-totem: false

Their totem will pop and save them, but the check runs again a quarter second later, so they have to actually take the elytra off. It buys a moment of panic, not immunity.

Destroy the elytra so it can't be reused

kill:
  remove-elytra: true

Make it dramatic

kill:
  strike-lightning: true

Silent mode: no messages at all

kill:
  play-sound: false
messages:
  victim: ""
  death-message: ""

Reduce load on a very large server

check-interval-ticks: 20

The plugin still reacts instantly when someone equips an elytra normally; this only slows the background check that catches unusual cases.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens when someone wears an elytra

Run /elytrathorn status. Check in order: is Enabled yes? Are they in creative or spectator (both exempt by default)? Are they in a world listed under Disabled worlds? Do they have elytrathorn.bypass?

My admins keep dying

Expected: op does not grant elytrathorn.bypass. Grant it to them explicitly, or set exemptions.creative: true and have them build in creative.

I edited config.yml and nothing changed

Run /elytrathorn reload. If it still doesn't apply, your YAML is probably malformed — check the server console on reload, and make sure you used spaces for indentation, never tabs.

The server refuses to load the plugin

Almost always a version mismatch. This build targets Minecraft 26.2; older servers reject it. Check your server version with /version.

Players can still fly around

In modern Minecraft, gliding isn't exclusive to elytras. This plugin targets the item, not flight itself, so other sources of gliding or flight are unaffected.

Someone died and got the wrong death message

The custom message is only applied to kills this plugin caused. If a player was saved by a totem and died to something else later, they'll get that death's normal message.