Scoreboard

Scoreboard Skill — Paper

Purpose

Reference this skill when displaying scores, sidebars, nametag colours, or tab-list headers using the Paper/Bukkit Scoreboard API in Paper 1.21. Covers objectives, scores, sidebar display, and team management.

When to Use This Skill

• Showing a per-player sidebar with stats (kills, coins, time remaining)
• Colouring player nametags above their head
• Creating teams that share a colour, prefix, or collision rule
• Displaying tab-list (player-list) header and footer

API Quick Reference

Code Pattern

package com.yourorg.myplugin.scoreboard;

import net.kyori.adventure.text.Component;
import net.kyori.adventure.text.format.NamedTextColor;
import net.kyori.adventure.text.format.TextDecoration;
import org.bukkit.Bukkit;
import org.bukkit.ChatColor;
import org.bukkit.entity.Player;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.Criteria;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.DisplaySlot;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.Objective;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.RenderType;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.Scoreboard;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.ScoreboardManager;
import org.bukkit.scoreboard.Team;

public class PlayerScoreboard {

    private final Scoreboard board;
    private final Objective sidebar;
    private final Player player;

    public PlayerScoreboard(Player player) {
        this.player = player;
        ScoreboardManager mgr = Bukkit.getScoreboardManager();

        // Each player gets their own scoreboard so scores don't bleed across players
        this.board = mgr.getNewScoreboard();

        // Register a "dummy" sidebar objective (plugin-controlled scores)
        this.sidebar = board.registerNewObjective(
            "sidebar",                                           // internal name
            Criteria.DUMMY,                                      // dummy = manually set
            Component.text("★ My Server").color(NamedTextColor.GOLD)
                .decoration(TextDecoration.BOLD, true),
            RenderType.INTEGER                                   // show as number
        );
        sidebar.setDisplaySlot(DisplaySlot.SIDEBAR);

        player.setScoreboard(board);
        setupLines();
    }

    // Team-based approach: entry key is fixed; dynamic value lives in team prefix.
    // This avoids ghost lines because the scoreboard entry string never changes.
    private void registerLine(String entryKey, int slot) {
        sidebar.getScore(entryKey).setScore(slot);
        if (board.getTeam(entryKey) == null) {
            Team team = board.registerNewTeam(entryKey);
            team.addEntry(entryKey);
        }
    }

    private void setLinePrefix(String entryKey, String prefix) {
        Team team = board.getTeam(entryKey);
        if (team != null) {
            team.setPrefix(prefix);
        }
    }

    public void setupLines() {
        // Register fixed entry keys once; score = sort order (higher = top)
        sidebar.getScore(" ").setScore(7);          // blank line (static, never changes)
        registerLine("kills",  6);
        registerLine("deaths", 5);
        sidebar.getScore("  ").setScore(4);         // blank line (static)
        registerLine("coins",  3);
        sidebar.getScore("   ").setScore(2);        // blank line (static)
        sidebar.getScore("§7play.example.com").setScore(1);  // static line
    }

    public void update(int kills, int deaths, int coins) {
        // Update only the team prefix — the entry key stays constant,
        // so no old entry accumulates as a ghost line.
        setLinePrefix("kills",  "§fKills: §a"  + kills);
        setLinePrefix("deaths", "§fDeaths: §c" + deaths);
        setLinePrefix("coins",  "§fCoins: §6"  + coins);
    }

    public void remove() {
        // Reset player to main scoreboard before discarding
        player.setScoreboard(Bukkit.getScoreboardManager().getMainScoreboard());
    }
}

Common Pitfalls

• Using the main scoreboard for per-player data: All players share the main scoreboard's scores. If two players have different kill counts, put each player on their own getNewScoreboard().

• Score entry strings over 40 characters: Vanilla clients truncate scoreboard line strings at 40 characters. Keep sidebar entries short or abbreviate them.

• Duplicate sidebar entries: Each unique entry string must be distinct. If you set kills to 10 and then call getScore("§fKills: §a10").setScore(6) again, you get two lines. Use resetScores(entry) to remove the old line before setting a new value, or always construct the same key and update its score.

• Not resetting the player's scoreboard on disconnect: If you don't reset to the main scoreboard on PlayerQuitEvent, memory leaks occur because the per-player Scoreboard object is held alive.

Version Notes

• 1.21: Objective constructor using Criteria enum (e.g., Criteria.DUMMY, Criteria.HEALTH) is preferred over raw string criteria.
• RenderType.INTEGER shows integer scores; RenderType.HEARTS shows heart icons (only useful with health criteria).

Related Skills

• scoreboard-objectives.md — Team management, tab-list header/footer, nametag colours
• ../scheduling/SKILL.md — Updating scoreboards on a repeating timer