OpenChestSorter
!Paper plugin !Server side !No client mod !Geyser friendly !MIT License
Open an ordinary chest. It organizes itself.
OpenChestSorter is a small, fast Paper plugin that sorts ordinary chest contents the moment a player opens the chest.
No sneak-click. No command. No client mod. No resource pack. Just cleaner storage with the normal Minecraft chest experience.
It is built for servers that want quality-of-life features to feel like they belong in vanilla Minecraft, including mixed Java and Bedrock communities using Geyser/Floodgate.
Server-Side Storage Suite
OpenChestSorter works especially well with:
| Plugin | What it adds |
|---|---|
| StorageWorkbench | Craft from nearby chests through a vanilla-compatible storage crafting menu. |
| ExpandedChests | Large paged storage blocks with their own built-in sorting controls. |
Together, they give storage rooms a clear job:
| Storage problem | Plugin that handles it |
|---|---|
| Ordinary chests get messy. | OpenChestSorter sorts them the moment players open them. |
| Crafting needs too much inventory juggling. | StorageWorkbench crafts from nearby storage. |
| Bulk materials need more space than double chests. | ExpandedChests adds large paged storage with its own sort buttons. |
The plugins can be installed together or separately. No client mod or resource pack is required.
The Experience
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Players need to remember a special sneak-click action. | Players simply open the chest. |
| Materials are scattered across random slots. | Similar items merge and sort into a clean order. |
| Bedrock players can be left out by client-side mods. | Sorting runs on the Paper server with vanilla inventory behavior. |
| Visual feedback is missing. | A small player-colored particle burst appears above the chest. |
| Another player's open chest can be rearranged unexpectedly. | Sorting is skipped by default if someone else is already viewing that chest. |
Features
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Automatic chest sorting | Sorts ordinary single and double chests when opened. |
| No special interaction | Players do not need to crouch, click a button, or run a command. |
| Safe stack merging | Uses Bukkit ItemStack#isSimilar, so renamed, damaged, enchanted, and custom items do not merge with unlike stacks. |
| Practical default order | Groups common item categories, then sorts by material id. |
| Optional name sorting | Switch to name sorting in the config if that fits your server better. |
| Multiplayer-aware behavior | Multiple players can open the same chest. Sorting is skipped by default when another player is already viewing it. |
| Player-colored particles | A lightweight vanilla DUST effect appears once above the chest, with a stable color per player. |
| Admin testing command | Operators can sort the chest they are looking at with /ocs sort. |
| ExpandedChests-safe | ExpandedChests storage is intentionally left to ExpandedChests' own sorting buttons. |
| Standalone-first design | Works by itself; companion plugins are optional. |
| Server-side only | No client mod, no resource pack, no custom UI, no custom packets. |
Compatibility
| Target | Support |
|---|---|
| Platform | Paper |
| Minecraft versions | 1.21.x and 26.1.x |
| Java for 1.21.x servers | Java 21 |
| Java for 26.1.x servers | Java 25 or newer |
| Client-side install | Not required |
| Resource pack | Not required |
| Dependencies | None |
| Optional companions | StorageWorkbench, ExpandedChests |
| Geyser/Floodgate | Designed around server-side inventory changes and vanilla particles. |
OpenChestSorter is a server-side Paper plugin. It is not a Fabric, Forge, or NeoForge client mod.
OpenChestSorter sorts ordinary single and double chests only. If you also use ExpandedChests, those large paged storages keep their own built-in sort controls instead of being rearranged by this plugin. This separation is intentional: ordinary chests stay automatic, expanded storage stays page-aware.
Commands
Players do not need commands for normal sorting.
Admin commands:
| Command | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
/ocs status | openchestsorter.admin | Shows plugin status and active settings. |
/ocs reload | openchestsorter.admin | Reloads the plugin config. |
/ocs sort | openchestsorter.admin | Sorts the chest the player is looking at. Useful for testing. |
Permissions
| Permission | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
openchestsorter.use | Everyone | Allows automatic sorting when opening chests. |
openchestsorter.admin | Operators | Allows admin commands. |
Installation
- Stop the Paper server.
- Back up the server folder, especially
world,world_nether,world_the_end,plugins, and config files. - Disable other chest-sorting plugins while testing, such as SimpleAutoSort.
- Copy
open-chest-sorter-1.0.2.jarinto the serverpluginsfolder. - Start the server.
- Adjust
plugins/OpenChestSorter/config.ymlif needed.
Default configuration
enabled: true
sort-on-open: true
skip-when-other-viewers: true
notify-player: true
sort-effect:
enabled: true
particles: 14
spread: 0.35
sort-mode: category_then_name
merge-similar-stacks: true
debug-logging: false
Performance
OpenChestSorter is intentionally simple:
- No background world scanning.
- No scheduled inventory sweeps.
- No database.
- No network calls.
- No telemetry.
- Sorting only runs when a supported chest is opened.
- The default effect is one small particle burst per open.
An ordinary chest has 27 slots and a double chest has 54 slots, so sorting work stays small and predictable.
Safety
OpenChestSorter does not generate chunks, edit blocks, rewrite world files, migrate world data, use a database, or make external network calls.
It does move items inside chest inventories, so test it before installing on a valuable live world.
Recommended rollout:
- Make a full server backup.
- Test on a copied world or separate test server.
- Disable other chest-sorting plugins while testing.
- Test single chests.
- Test double chests.
- Test named, enchanted, damaged, and custom items.
- Test two players opening the same chest.
- Install on the live server only after the copied-world test looks correct.
Companion Plugin Compatibility
OpenChestSorter is designed to coexist with StorageWorkbench.
OpenChestSorter reacts to normal chest inventory opens. StorageWorkbench uses its own storage crafting menu and reads nearby chest inventories directly. The plugins do not share UI state, and opening the StorageWorkbench crafting menu does not open chest inventories through OpenChestSorter.
OpenChestSorter is also designed to sit beside ExpandedChests. It intentionally ignores expanded storage blocks because ExpandedChests owns its own paged GUI and full-storage sorting controls.
Known Limitations
- Only ordinary single and double chests are sorted.
- Other containers and custom plugin GUIs are intentionally ignored.
- Sorting while another player already views the same chest is skipped by default to avoid rearranging their open screen.
License
OpenChestSorter is released under the MIT License.