Enable Paper’s per-world Anti-Xray setting, choose engine mode 2 or 3, include air in hidden-blocks, and keep the hidden and replacement block lists aligned with the ores in your server’s version. Mode 3 is usually the best starting point when you want stronger cave protection and lower join-time network overhead; mode 1 costs less CPU but leaves ores exposed to air or water visible. Anti-Xray stops most ordinary X-ray clients, but it is not a complete security boundary, so restrict the bypass permission, harden seeds, and use behavior-focused anti-cheat as a second layer.
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What Paper Anti-Xray actually does
Paper’s Anti-Xray system obfuscates block data sent to clients. Instead of receiving the real underground block at every location, a player receives a configured replacement until the server has a reason to reveal the real block. Configuration is per world, so a survival world, resource world, and event world can use different policies.
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Engine modes compared
| Mode | How blocks are presented | Cave and air exposure | Server and network cost | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Listed hidden blocks are replaced by dimension-appropriate fake blocks, such as stone, deepslate below Y=0, netherrack, or end stone. | Ores exposed to air or water remain visible. | Least computationally intensive of the three. | Low-resource servers or worlds where exposed-ore leakage is acceptable. |
| 2 | Hidden and replacement blocks are replaced with randomly generated hidden blocks. | With air in hidden-blocks, it can hide ores exposed in caves and other air spaces. |
Heavier than mode 1; hiding air can increase client rendering work and cause FPS drops for some players. | Strong general-purpose protection when client performance is understood. |
| 3 | Works like mode 2 but randomizes per chunk layer. | Provides mode 2’s air-exposure coverage when the lists are configured the same way. | Layer randomization can improve chunk-packet compression and reduce join-time network load. Paper describes the possible reduction as about a factor of two, not as a universal benchmark. | Preferred starting point for most current survival servers. |
Paper’s own guidance is that Anti-Xray alone prevents the majority of X-raying, while remaining fallible. Treat the mode table as a risk-and-cost choice, not a promise that every client will be defeated.
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Configure Anti-Xray step by step
1. Identify every world that needs protection
Because the setting is per world, changing the overworld configuration does not automatically protect a Nether, End, mining, or resource world. List the world folders and decide which ones contain valuable ores or player-built storage. Apply a deliberate policy to each rather than assuming a global toggle exists.
2. Back up the world configuration
Stop the server cleanly and copy the relevant Paper world configuration before editing it. A backup lets you recover from YAML indentation errors and gives you a known-good baseline for performance comparisons. Do not edit while the server is writing configuration files.
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3. Enable the feature and select a mode
In the Paper world configuration, set:
anticheat:
anti-xray:
enabled: true
engine-mode: 3Use mode 3 for the strongest normal starting profile. Choose mode 2 if you want the same broad concealment model but prefer not to use per-layer randomization. Choose mode 1 only when its lower processing cost outweighs the fact that cave-exposed ores remain visible.
4. Set the vertical range deliberately
Paper’s documented example uses max-block-height: 64. That is a template, not a universal value. Set the height high enough to cover the ore-bearing layers in the Minecraft version and world-generation rules you actually run. If your valuable ores occur below the configured range, those blocks are outside the protection you intended. If you set an unnecessarily large range, you may spend resources obfuscating blocks that players never mine.
max-block-height: 645. Build the hidden-blocks list
Add every block that should not be sent as its true type while it is hidden. Include all ore variants relevant to the server version, not just one representative block. Include container blocks if players could use their visibility to locate bases or underground storage. Paper’s example also includes air; that entry is what allows modes 2 and 3 to address ores visible through caves and other air pockets.
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hidden-blocks:
- air
- coal_ore
- deepslate_coal_ore
- copper_ore
- deepslate_copper_ore
- iron_ore
- deepslate_iron_ore
- gold_ore
- deepslate_gold_ore
- redstone_ore
- deepslate_redstone_ore
- lapis_ore
- deepslate_lapis_ore
- diamond_ore
- deepslate_diamond_ore
- emerald_ore
- deepslate_emerald_ore
- ancient_debris
- chestThe exact block names change as Minecraft adds or renames content. Treat this as a checklist to reconcile with the registry for your server version, not as a permanent copy-and-paste list. If a newly added ore is omitted, Anti-Xray cannot conceal it.
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The replacement list supplies blocks that can be used as camouflage. Paper’s documented template uses a broad selection rather than one conspicuous fake. Include ordinary terrain blocks appropriate to the dimension and depth, such as stone, deepslate, netherrack, and end stone, together with other non-valuable solid blocks you are comfortable showing as substitutes.
replacement-blocks:
- stone
- deepslate
- netherrack
- end_stone
- granite
- diorite
- andesite
- tuffDo not put valuable ores in the replacement list merely to make a client display them. The purpose is to make the block field look plausible while withholding the true block. Keep the list consistent with the dimensions and depth bands in which the world generates terrain.
7. Set update radius and permission behavior
Paper’s example uses update-radius: 2 and use-permission: false. The update radius controls how far around a relevant block the server refreshes information; the documented value is a practical starting point, not a guarantee for every plugin combination. Leaving use-permission disabled means ordinary players do not need a special permission to receive normal Anti-Xray handling.
update-radius: 2
use-permission: falseAudit the permission paper.antixray.bypass. It is specifically documented as the permission that lets a player bypass Anti-Xray. Grant it only to trusted administrators who genuinely need to inspect un-obfuscated terrain, and review inherited permissions from groups and permissions plugins.
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8. Save, restart, and verify the active world
Save the file with valid YAML indentation, restart the server, and verify that the setting loaded without configuration warnings. Repeat the check for every protected world. A successful restart proves only that the file parsed; it does not prove that the chosen Y range, block lists, or permission assignments are correct.
Why players can still see ores after Anti-Xray is enabled
Mode 1 leaves cave-exposed ores visible
This is expected behavior, not necessarily a failed installation. Mode 1 replaces hidden underground blocks, but ores already exposed to air or water remain visible. A player exploring a cave can therefore spot diamond, gold, or another listed ore on a wall even though the same ore would be obfuscated when surrounded by solid blocks.
air is missing from the hidden list
Modes 2 and 3 can conceal ores exposed to caves when air is included in hidden-blocks. Without that entry, the server has no instruction to treat the air boundary as part of the obfuscation problem. Adding air improves coverage but may reduce FPS for some clients because more visible block data is replaced and rendered.
The ore is not listed for this version
Modern worlds commonly have separate stone and deepslate ore variants. A list that contains diamond_ore but omits deepslate_diamond_ore leaves a predictable gap. Check every ore, container, and dimension-specific block you intend to hide, including content introduced by the server’s current Minecraft version or compatible world-generation plugins.
The block is outside the configured height
A max-block-height of 64 does not protect blocks above that boundary. Compare the setting with the actual vertical distribution of the ores you care about. Nether resources and custom generators may require a different range from the overworld.
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A bypass permission is reaching the player
Inspect direct permissions, inherited groups, operator status, and permissions assigned by administration plugins. Remove paper.antixray.bypass from non-administrative groups, then reconnect the test account. Testing with an operator account can produce a misleading result because it may intentionally bypass the feature.
The client is using information Anti-Xray cannot hide
Paper warns that a client may extend the range of real ores, and that a client which obtains the world seed can derive generated ore locations and bypass obfuscation. Anti-Xray changes what is transmitted; it cannot make a compromised seed or unrestricted server data secret.
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Seed hardening and anti-cheat are separate layers
Use seed-hardening measures alongside Anti-Xray. Paper recommends combining feature-seeds with Spigot structure-seed options, while explicitly noting that these measures are not complete. Their purpose is to make seed-based prediction harder, not to turn generated terrain into an unknowable secret.
Add a behavior-focused anti-cheat layer for actions Anti-Xray cannot address: improbable mining paths, repeated targeting of high-value blocks, or other patterns that remain visible in server-side events. Anti-Xray handles block-information exposure; anti-cheat evaluates what a player does. Neither replaces moderation, logging, or sensible permission management.
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Server-side cost
Mode 1 is less computationally intensive. Modes 2 and 3 perform more involved random replacement, and the size of the protected height range and block lists affects the amount of work. Do not turn a qualitative documentation statement into a promised TPS percentage: Paper does not publish a dated, independently controlled hardware-and-version benchmark establishing universal CPU costs.
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Network behavior
Paper states that mode 3’s per-chunk-layer randomization can improve chunk-packet compression and reduce network load when players join, describing a possible reduction of about a factor of two. That figure is guidance about the mechanism, not a guaranteed result for every proxy, compression setting, client, or server version.
Client FPS
Adding air to hidden-blocks can cause FPS drops for some players, particularly on weaker hardware. Test with a normal account in a representative cave system, measure whether frame rates and chunk rendering remain acceptable, and communicate the trade-off before applying the setting to a large public server.
A repeatable test checklist
- Use a non-operator account with no
paper.antixray.bypasspermission. - Test in every protected dimension and world.
- Walk through natural caves and water-filled cavities to check exposed ores.
- Mine toward known test ores in a disposable area and verify that nearby blocks do not reveal a straight line to the deposit.
- Reconnect several times to observe join-time chunk behavior.
- Repeat the test after changing mode, height, or lists; do not assume a previous result still applies.
- Ask players with lower-end hardware to report frame-rate changes when
airobfuscation is enabled.
Recommended profiles
Balanced public survival server
- Engine mode 3.
airand every current ore variant inhidden-blocks.- A broad, dimension-appropriate
replacement-blockslist. - A height range covering the world’s valuable ore layers.
paper.antixray.bypasslimited to a small administrative group.- Seed hardening and behavior-focused anti-cheat enabled as additional controls.
Hardware-constrained server
- Begin with mode 1 to minimize computational cost.
- Explain that cave-exposed ores remain visible.
- Move to mode 2 or 3 if testing shows that the stronger protection is worth the added cost.
- Keep the protected height range focused on actual mining layers.
High-security community server
- Use mode 3 with
airhidden and complete ore/container coverage. - Test client FPS before a full rollout.
- Combine seed hardening, strict bypass permissions, logging, and anti-cheat review.
- Recheck lists and vertical ranges after every Minecraft, Paper, or world-generation change.
Maintenance after the initial setup
Anti-Xray is configuration, not a one-time switch. When Minecraft adds blocks, when a Paper release changes world settings, or when a generator changes ore distribution, review the hidden and replacement lists and the protected height. Keep a written record of which worlds use which mode. Periodically test with a clean, unprivileged account so an administrator’s bypass permission does not hide a configuration regression.
When a player reports that X-ray still works, classify the observation before changing settings: was the ore exposed to air, outside the height range, omitted from the list, visible only because of a bypass, or inferred from a compromised seed? Each cause has a different fix. Increasing the mode without correcting the specific gap can add cost while leaving the real weakness untouched.
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