Version Numbering Converter

Multi-Platform Runtime Support

Major runtime rework: VNC now detects the platform it is running on instead of assuming Bukkit, and the library is split into modules so the version API can be used without Bukkit on the classpath.

Added

• Added runtime support for Fabric, Quilt, Forge, NeoForge, Sponge, LiteLoader, BungeeCord and Velocity, alongside the existing Bukkit/Paper support.
• Added a module split: core carries the parser, mapping tables, schemes and protocol lookup with no platform dependency, and bootstrap carries the detection plus every provider.
• Added VNC.getProvider(), VNC.getProviderOrNull(), VNC.hasRuntime() and VNC.platform() to inspect the detected runtime.
• Added VNC.SERVER_RAW_VERSION, which returns the version string exactly as the platform reports it.
• Added VNC.javaVersion(), VNC.parseMinecraftVersion(), VNC.requireMinecraftVersion() and VNC.toLegacyServerVersion().
• Added comparison overloads that take a MinecraftVersion directly, so isAtLeast, isBefore, isBetween and compare can be used without a running server.

Changed

• The consumer jar is now produced by the bootstrap module; core and the platform modules are published separately for projects that only need part of it.
• VNC no longer fails when it runs on an unsupported platform. The server constants fall back to empty values and getProviderOrNull() returns null.
• Removed VNC.player(Player). Player protocol resolution through ViaVersion is now internal to the Bukkit provider.
• Removed VNC.SERVER_FORK.
• Removed the numeric isAtLeast(int) and isAtLeast(int, int) overloads. Use the string form, which handles patch-sensitive boundaries like 1.20.5 correctly.
• Velocity does not expose one backend Minecraft version, so its provider needs the minecraft.version system property to answer version questions.
• The NeoForge module targets NeoForge 21.1.230 and only resolves at runtime when Java 21 or newer is present.

Notes / Recommendations

• Every module is still compiled as Java 8 bytecode.
• Depend on the bootstrap artifact for runtime detection. The provider implementations inside the platform modules are not public and should not be called directly.
• If you were calling VNC.player(...), move that lookup into your own plugin, or use PrismaticAPI 2.0.0, which resolves and caches the same information.
• Optional platform APIs stay compileOnly, so a missing loader never breaks startup.