Installation

Try ConsentGate on a test server or proxy first.

Requirements

Use the full plugin download of each dependency, not a thin API JAR from Maven.

ConsentGate does not need GrimAC, a separate Cumulus plugin, a website, or a database server. Floodgate is not a direct dependency; whether you need it depends on your Geyser authentication setup (Geyser setup guide).

Choose where to install

• Velocity: install ConsentGate and PacketEvents on the proxy. Players accept before any backend connection. The backends need their normal forwarding and access restrictions, not another ConsentGate for the same requirement.
• Paper without a proxy: install the Paper JAR on the server. Players accept before entering the world.
• Both: for separate network and server agreements, for example scope: network on Velocity and scope: survival on the Survival server. Players can be asked at both. See scopes.

A proxy gate cannot protect a backend that players can reach directly. Keep your backends firewalled or restricted to the proxy.

Do not put Velocity's PacketEvents JAR on Paper, or the Paper ConsentGate JAR on Velocity. Do not change authentication or turn off forwarding security to make the dialog work.

First installation

1. Back up your server or proxy, then stop it.
2. Download the JAR for your platform from the releases page, or build it from source. Put it in plugins/, with only one ConsentGate JAR there. On Velocity, also add PacketEvents for Velocity.
3. Start once. ConsentGate creates its config, example documents, and message files, and starts disabled. Check the log for startup errors. It can keep running while you edit.
4. Open the plugin folder: plugins/consentgate/ on Velocity, or plugins/ConsentGate/ on Paper. Capitalization matters on Linux.
5. Edit documents/terms.yml.example and documents/privacy.yml.example. Replace every bracketed placeholder, remove sections that do not apply, review each translation, and choose your own document versions. Rename each file you want to use so it ends in .yml. Files ending in .example are not loaded. See writing documents.
6. In config.yml, set enabled: true. Keep SQLite, or fill in MySQL/MariaDB settings using the remote storage guide. Choose a scope, and give players enough reading time with gate.timeout-seconds. Keep bedrock.native-forms: false for now.
7. In the console, run consentgate validate, then consentgate reload. Reload opens storage and enables the gate. A failed reload keeps it disabled.
8. Connect with a test player that has not accepted yet. Read each document, try Leave, then accept. Rejoin: the dialog should not appear again. On Velocity, check that the player only reaches the backend after accepting.

To repeat the test, use offline reset instead of deleting the database.

Updating

1. Back up the plugin folder and stop the server or proxy.
2. Replace the old ConsentGate JAR with the new one. Remove the old file if its name is different.
3. Start again.

Your config, messages, and documents are kept. On start, missing settings are added to config.yml and missing messages are added to the bundled en-US and id-ID message files, using their default values. The server log lists what was added. Check the changelog for anything that needs action.

Bedrock

1. Set up Geyser on the same proxy or server and check that Bedrock players can connect normally.
2. Set bedrock.native-forms: true, then run consentgate validate and consentgate reload.
3. Test reading, closing forms, acceptance, and reconnect with your own Geyser and login setup.

Without native forms, Bedrock players get Geyser's translated version of the Java dialogs. A Geyser Standalone instance on another machine is not supported for native forms. See player experience.