Minecraft Anticheat Evaluation Checklist for Server Owners

Define the server and the decision

Write down the actual environment and the abuse or moderation problem you need to address before comparing anticheats. A useful evaluation is specific to your server, staff process, and risk tolerance; a feature list alone cannot establish suitability.

• Record server software, exact build, game versions, proxy arrangement, and relevant gameplay plugins.
• Describe the incidents or staff workload that motivate the evaluation, using redacted records where available.
• Set success criteria and unacceptable outcomes, including disruption to legitimate players and staff review capacity.
• Name the person responsible for the test, decision, rollback, and later review.

Check anticheat requirements

For each feature that matters, check the anticheat documentation and release notes for the supported server setup. Write down open questions and ask the Plugin Developer before choosing.

Use the official FairPlay BuiltByBit listing for current FairPlay plugin and purchase details. Ask about server compatibility or performance requirements that matter to your network.

• For supported-version and dependency questions, record the exact server build and plugin versions you need to use.
• For detection, configuration, integration, update, or support questions, link the relevant anticheat documentation or record the test results.
• Separate Plugin Developer statements, your own observations, and independent evidence in the worksheet.
• Check that the documentation and release notes match the versions you plan to evaluate.

Compare anticheats in authorized staging

Use an isolated environment you are authorized to test. Create labeled legitimate and prohibited scenarios that reflect your server’s modes and rules. Apply the same versions, configuration, scenario definitions, observation period, and evidence collection to each candidate where practical. Do not describe a small staging sample as a general detection rate or guarantee.

Record each scenario’s expected classification, observed output, relevant configuration, timestamp, and reviewer. Include legitimate edge cases and record missed or ambiguous outcomes as well as alerts. Do not use real player data without an appropriate basis and safeguards.

• Keep a scenario manifest with a clear label, expected outcome, setup, and repeatable steps for each case.
• Include allowed play and prohibited behavior that your rules actually define; do not infer an anticheat’s coverage from a feature name.
• For each run, record the anticheat/release, server build, configuration, result, evidence location, and reviewer.
• Record false positives, missed cases, ambiguous outcomes, and test limitations; do not omit inconvenient results.
• Keep the staging environment isolated and use only authorized test accounts and scenarios.

Compare operations, not only detections

Assess whether your staff can understand and operate each option. Use the same criteria for every anticheat you consider.

• Can staff review the evidence and explain why an action was taken?
• Can you limit, reverse, and audit enforcement actions, and handle appeals consistently?
• What setup, maintenance, training, and review effort did your team actually observe?
• What happens if a plugin or dependency is unavailable? Check the troubleshooting guidance and recovery steps before deployment.

Decision record

Keep the completed worksheet with the decision so another administrator can reproduce the reasoning. Record unresolved questions and the conditions that would cause you to pause, roll back, or review the choice. This checklist does not select a winner.

• List candidates and evaluation dates without treating missing evidence as a negative result.
• Summarize scenario outcomes and operational tradeoffs with links to the underlying records.
• List remaining questions, assign someone to resolve each one, and record the next step.
• Document the selected option, rationale, review date, and rollback or appeal process.

Download the evaluation worksheet

Use the CSV template to record candidate versions, environment details, test scenarios, expected and observed outcomes, repetitions, reviewer, and date. Starter rows are blank prompts. Fill one row per scenario and keep private logs, credentials, and player identifiers out of the worksheet.

The template is a record-keeping aid, not a test suite or a scoring system. Define procedures appropriate to your server rules, permissions, and safe staging environment. The file contains no anticheat-specific instructions or results.