FirstHour

A guided first hour for every new player, and the retention numbers behind it.

Most new players quit in their first hour. FirstHour keeps them, and shows you the numbers.

A new player joins and gets a welcome screen with one Start button. Their first goal goes on the bossbar with a live counter and a countdown to the next reward. Every goal pays. Timed rewards drip in while they play. When they finish, they see what tomorrow pays. Then you open /firsthour stats and see how many came back and, on PRO, the goal where the rest gave up.

Get FirstHour

FirstHour PRO

Unlimited paths and steps, veterans say hi, days 2 to 7, the full dashboard, CSV export and placeholders.

FirstHour Lite (Modrinth)

Free. One path of up to 6 steps, timed rewards, a Day 2 reward and the Day-1 return rate.

FirstHour Lite (SpigotMC)

The same free Lite jar on SpigotMC.

Discord

Support, and your PRO licence key: run /verify, then /claim FIRST_HOUR.

What it does

• Welcome screen. One Start button on the first join. A native dialog on 26.1, a title and a clickable chat line on 1.21.4.
• One clear goal. The bossbar shows the current goal, live progress and the time to the next reward.
• A trail that points the way. go_to goals get a particle line and a compass target.
• A path for your server. Write goals in paths.yml or load a preset: Survival, or Economy SMP and Lifesteal on PRO.
• Rewards that keep them playing. A reward per step, plus timed rewards at 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes of playtime by default.
• A reason to come back. Come-back rewards with a login streak: day 2 on Lite, days 2 to 7 on PRO.
• Veterans say hi (PRO). Your regulars get a clickable “say hi” line, and the first to greet a newbie gets paid.
• The retention dashboard. New players and Day-1 return on every edition. PRO adds Day-7 return, first-session length, and a step funnel with the goal most players quit on in red.

Compatibility

• Server software: Paper 1.21.4 and 26.1.2. Spigot and Folia are not supported.
• Java: 21 or newer. Paper 26.1 servers need Java 25.
• Dependencies: none required. FirstHour runs on a plain Paper server.
• Optional: Vault plus an economy plugin (money rewards and earn goals), PlaceholderAPI (PRO), Stonkz or Stonkz Lite (PRO), WorldEvents PRO (PRO), Relics SMP (PRO).
• Storage: one local SQLite file, players.db. No database setup.

Lite vs PRO at a glance

Feature	Lite (free)	PRO
Welcome screen, bossbar goal, trail	✅	✅
Paths	1	Unlimited, per permission
Steps per path	Up to 6	Unlimited
Presets	Survival	Survival, Economy SMP, Lifesteal
Stonkz, WorldEvents PRO and Relics SMP steps	❌	✅
Step rewards and timed rewards	✅	✅
Come-back rewards	Day 2	Days 2 to 7
Veterans say hi	❌	✅
Dashboard	New players, Day-1 return	Adds Day-7, first session, step funnel
CSV export and cohorts	❌	✅
PlaceholderAPI	❌	✅

See Lite vs PRO for the details.

Quick commands

/firsthour
/firsthour preset survival
/firsthour stats
/firsthour reload

Documentation sections

Installation

Drop the jar, add your PRO key, pick a preset.

Lite vs PRO

What the free jar does and what PRO adds.

Welcome and goals

The first join, the bossbar, the trail and skipping.

Paths and step types

paths.yml, the 13 step types and the three presets.

Rewards

Step rewards, timed rewards and come-back days.

Veterans say hi

Buddy pings and greeting rewards (PRO).

Retention dashboard

/firsthour stats, the step funnel, cohorts and CSV export.

Commands

Every /firsthour subcommand.

Permissions

Four nodes and what they unlock.

Configuration

Every config.yml key and its default.

Placeholders

%firsthour_...% for scoreboards, tab and holograms (PRO).

FAQ

Live servers, Vault, networks, resets and the licence.