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To stop most X-ray users on a Paper Minecraft server, enable Anti-Xray in each world, use engine mode 2 or 3, and maintain complete hidden-blocks and replacement-blocks lists for the ores and containers you need to protect. Mode 1 is cheaper to run but leaves ores visible when they are exposed to cave air or water. Modes 2 and 3 hide those exposures more effectively, especially when air is included in hidden-blocks.
Anti-Xray is an obfuscation layer, not a guarantee. Players with a bypass permission, clients that extend the range of real blocks, or knowledge of the world seed can still gain an advantage. Treat the configuration below as one part of a defense that also includes permission audits, seed-hardening settings and behavior-focused anti-cheat tools.
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Paper changes the block data sent to a client before a chunk is transmitted. Blocks in your protected lists are replaced with plausible blocks, so an X-ray texture or scanner cannot simply reveal every real ore from the chunk data it receives. The setting is configurable per world; enabling it in one world does not automatically enable it in another.
The world-configuration reference lists Anti-Xray as disabled by default and engine mode 1 as the default mode. You must therefore make an explicit choice for every survival, mining or resource world where hidden ores matter.
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What it can and cannot protect
- It can obscure ores, container blocks and other entries that you place in the relevant lists.
- It can make cave-exposed ores harder to identify when you use mode 2 or 3 and hide
air. - It does not detect suspicious mining behavior by itself, remove a player’s bypass permission or invalidate information a client already possesses.
- It cannot provide a permanent defense if a player obtains the world seed and derives generated ore locations.
Choose an engine mode
Pick the mode based on the world’s player count, hardware and tolerance for client-side rendering cost. The three modes are available independently for each world.
| Mode | How blocks are obfuscated | Cave and air exposure | Resource and network considerations | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Listed hidden blocks are replaced with dimension-appropriate fake blocks, such as stone, deepslate below Y=0, netherrack or end stone. | Ores exposed to air or water remain visible. | Less computationally intensive than the other modes. | A lower-cost baseline where exposed ores are an acceptable limitation. |
| 2 | Hidden and replacement blocks are replaced with randomly generated hidden blocks. | With air in hidden-blocks, it can hide ores exposed to air; the documentation warns that this may lower some players’ FPS. |
More obfuscation work than mode 1 and potentially more client rendering work. | Most survival servers that want strong concealment without mode 3’s chunk-layer behavior. |
| 3 | Works like mode 2 but randomizes blocks per chunk layer. | Can conceal exposed ores when the same hidden-block and replacement-block coverage is used. | Layer randomization can reduce network load when players join and improve chunk-packet compression. Paper describes the reduction as about a factor of two, not as a universal benchmark. | Servers prioritizing concealment and efficient chunk transmission, after testing client FPS. |
Mode 2 and mode 3 are not magic settings that compensate for incomplete lists. A missing deepslate ore variant, container block or air entry remains a hole even when the engine itself is set to 3.
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Identify every world that needs protection
Paper stores world-specific settings separately. Apply the change to the configuration used by each world where players can mine or obtain resources. If your server has a separate Nether, End, resource or event world, review each one rather than assuming the main-world setting is inherited.
Back up before editing
Stop the server cleanly and copy the relevant Paper world configuration files before changing YAML. Keep a copy of the previous file so a malformed edit can be reversed without guessing which value changed. YAML indentation is significant: use spaces, not tabs, and keep child keys indented under their parent.
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Decide the protected Y range
Paper’s documented example uses max-block-height: 64. That number is a starting point, not a universal recommendation. Set the ceiling high enough to cover the ore-bearing layers in the Minecraft version and world-generation settings you actually run. A ceiling that is too low leaves higher protected blocks outside the obfuscation range; one that is unnecessarily high increases work in regions where no protected resources exist.
Enable Anti-Xray step by step
- Open the Paper world configuration. Use the file for the specific world, or the world-default configuration from which that world is generated, according to your Paper installation and version.
- Locate the Anti-Xray section. The setting path is
anticheat.anti-xray. If the section is absent, create it with the same indentation shown below. - Enable the feature and choose a mode. Set
enabled: trueand selectengine-mode: 2orengine-mode: 3. Use mode 1 only when its cave-exposure limitation is acceptable. - Populate
hidden-blocks. Include every ore variant you want hidden in that world, including stone and deepslate forms where both exist. Include container or utility blocks that an X-ray client could target, such as the container entries relevant to your server. Addairwhen you need to hide ores that would otherwise be exposed in caves. - Populate
replacement-blocks. Provide a broad set of ordinary blocks that can safely stand in for hidden data in the dimension. Use material names valid for your Paper/Minecraft version and include the dimension-appropriate stone, deepslate, netherrack or end-stone choices you expect underground. - Set the range and update behavior. The official example uses
max-block-height: 64,update-radius: 2anduse-permission: false. Keep those values only if they match your world and permission policy. - Save, restart and inspect the log. A full restart is the safest way to ensure Paper reads the edited world configuration. Correct any YAML or material-name errors reported during startup before allowing players to mine.
- Test with a non-administrator account. Move through stone, deepslate and caves in a test area. Confirm that protected blocks are obfuscated and that ordinary mining, block updates and chunk loading still behave normally.
Example starting configuration
The following is a template based on Paper’s documented mode-3 example. Replace the material entries with the complete set appropriate to your Minecraft version and world. The lists are intentionally shown explicitly so that a missing entry is easy to spot.
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anticheat:
anti-xray:
enabled: true
engine-mode: 3
hidden-blocks:
- air
- coal_ore
- deepslate_coal_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
replacement-blocks:
- stone
- deepslate
- tuff
- netherrack
- end_stone
max-block-height: 64
update-radius: 2
use-permission: falseThis example does not claim that those are the only blocks your server needs. Add container blocks and any custom or modded materials that should not be revealed. Conversely, do not list a material that your clients cannot legally render in the target dimension.
Build complete hidden and replacement lists
Cover every ore form
Modern worlds commonly have separate stone and deepslate ore IDs. If you hide only the stone form, a scanner can still identify the deepslate form below Y=0. Check the material names against the Minecraft version your server runs, and update the list when new ore variants or blocks are introduced.
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Include containers and special targets
Players use X-ray tools to locate more than ores. Add the container blocks and other valuable targets that matter on your server, such as the block types used for storage or generated rewards. A protection policy that hides diamonds but leaves a valuable container visible is incomplete.
Understand the role of air
In mode 1, a diamond ore exposed on a cave wall remains visible because the engine does not conceal that exposure. Adding air to hidden-blocks enables mode 2 to effectively hide ores exposed to air; mode 3 uses the same concealment approach with per-layer randomization. Paper warns that hiding air can increase the amount of geometry a client must draw, so some players may experience FPS drops. Test on low-end machines before imposing the setting on a large community.
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The server is still using mode 1
This is the most common explanation for ores visible on cave walls or underwater. Mode 1 is functioning as documented; it simply does not hide those exposed blocks. Move to mode 2 or 3 and include air if cave concealment is required.
A list entry is missing or invalid
Check for omitted deepslate variants, a typo in a material name, or a custom block that was never added. Compare the actual block IDs in the running version with the YAML entries. A valid engine mode cannot obfuscate a block that is not in the protected list.
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The relevant world was not changed
Because settings are per world, a player can appear protected in the main world and unprotected in a resource or Nether world. Verify the file and world name for the location where the test was performed.
The player has a bypass permission
Paper documents paper.antixray.bypass as the permission that allows a player to bypass Anti-Xray. Restrict it to trusted administrators and inspect your permissions plugin, inherited groups and temporary grants. Test with an account that does not inherit the permission through an administrator or moderation role.
The client is using information Anti-Xray cannot remove
Paper notes that a client may extend the range of real ores. More seriously, a client that obtains the world seed can derive generated ore locations and bypass obfuscation. Anti-Xray alone prevents the majority of casual X-ray use, but it is not infallible.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Harden the seed and add behavior detection
Reduce seed-derived advantages
Use Paper’s documented seed-hardening measures, including feature-seeds together with the applicable Spigot structure-seed options for your server version. These measures make seed-based prediction harder, but Paper does not present them as complete protection. Keep the world seed private, limit access to backups and console output, and treat any leaked seed as a security incident requiring a new assessment.
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Use anti-cheat for behavior Anti-Xray cannot see
Obfuscation changes what the client receives; it does not decide whether a mining path is suspicious. Add a behavior-focused anti-cheat or moderation workflow for patterns such as unusually direct ore routes, impossible reaction times or repeated high-value finds. Review alerts with context rather than punishing solely on one statistic, because legitimate branch mining and fortune tools can resemble automated behavior.
Performance and tuning trade-offs
CPU cost
Mode 1 is the least computationally intensive. Modes 2 and 3 perform more replacement work, and the cost rises with the number of chunks being generated or updated. Monitor server tick health while players explore new terrain, not only while everyone is standing in an established area.
Network cost
Paper describes mode 3’s per-chunk-layer randomization as capable of reducing network load when players join and improving chunk-packet compression. The documentation gives an approximate factor-of-two reduction in that context, but it is not a hardware-independent TPS or bandwidth benchmark. Measure your own join and exploration traffic before promising a particular saving.
Client FPS
Including air can make hidden geometry more complex for some clients and may cause FPS drops. Test with the graphics settings and hardware your community actually uses. If reports concentrate on low-end systems, compare mode 2 and mode 3, reduce the protected height to the ore-bearing range, and reconsider whether every air block must be hidden.
Update radius and coverage
The documented example uses update-radius: 2. This controls how far around a block update Paper refreshes obfuscated data. Keep the value consistent with your gameplay and test redstone, explosions, pistons and mining near chunk borders after changing it. The setting does not replace a complete hidden-block list or expand the configured Y range.
A verification checklist
- Configuration:
enabledis true in every protected world, and the selected engine mode is intentional. - Coverage: stone and deepslate ore variants, valuable containers and any custom targets are listed.
- Exposure:
airis present when cave and water exposure must be concealed. - Height:
max-block-heightreaches the highest relevant ore layer for the world version. - Permissions: only trusted administrators have
paper.antixray.bypass. - Seed security: feature-seed and structure-seed hardening is configured where supported, and backups are access-controlled.
- Testing: a normal player account has been tested in stone, deepslate, caves, water, new chunks and each alternate dimension.
- Monitoring: server tick time, bandwidth, chunk-join behavior and client FPS have been observed after deployment.
Recommended decision for most servers
Start with engine mode 3, a complete ore and container list, air in hidden-blocks, a height that covers your actual ore distribution, and the documented update-radius: 2 baseline. Test it with ordinary and low-end clients. If client FPS is unacceptable, compare mode 2 and mode 3 before removing air; removing it restores the cave-exposure weakness that prompted the change. Use mode 1 only when lower server cost is more important than hiding ores visible from caves.
Finally, audit bypass permissions and seed access, then pair Anti-Xray with behavior monitoring. That combination addresses configuration gaps, exposed blocks, seed-derived prediction and clients that do not rely solely on the obfuscated chunk data.
Quick Recap
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