meta-refresh

REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: compat-check

PaperMC Server Plugins Meta Refresh

Audit a PaperMC server's installed plugins to determine whether each is still best-in-class, find better alternatives using live Hangar and Modrinth data, record approved decisions to a shared decision doc, then chain to version-refresh.

Inputs

Ask for any of these not already provided:

• Server SSH alias — e.g. minecraft. Used for all remote reads (ssh <alias> "...")
• Server files path — absolute path on the remote host where the server lives, e.g. /opt/minecraft/server. Contains the plugins/ subdirectory.
• Target MC version — e.g. 1.21.4
• Server profile — default: vanilla+ PaperMC (performance, admin tooling, world management, operator QoL). Explicitly excluded: economy, minigames, custom enchantments, gameplay-altering plugins, any plugin that reveals non-vanilla information to players.
• Decision doc path — if passed from audit, use it. Otherwise: ./minecraft-audits/server-<hostname>-YYYY-MM-DD.md (create if not exists)

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Read-only phases

No files are written in this section.

Phase 1 — Discover and Categorize

Fetch installed plugins from the remote server:

ssh <alias> "ls {server-files-path}/plugins/*.jar"

For each JAR, infer the plugin name and version. Try in order:

1. Parse from filename — most plugins use PluginName-X.Y.Z.jar convention
2. If version is unclear, extract from plugin.yml inside the JAR:

   ssh <alias> "unzip -p {server-files-path}/plugins/<name>.jar plugin.yml 2>/dev/null | grep '^version:'"
   

Assign each plugin to exactly one category:

Category	Example plugins
performance	Spark, Paper (built-in), Chunky, ClearLag
auth-security	AuthMe, SkinsRestorer, nLogin
maps-visualization	DynMap, BlueMap, Pl3xMap
world-management	Multiverse-Core, WorldBorder, VoidGen
admin-tools	LuckPerms, EssentialsX (admin subset), LSQL, TAB
qol-cosmetic	Maintenance, ServerUtils, chat formatting plugins
library	Vault, PlaceholderAPI, ProtocolLib, PacketEvents

Output: category → [plugin list with inferred versions] map.

Phase 2 — Parallel Category Agents

REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents — use it to dispatch and manage all category agents.

Run one server-category-agent per non-library category. Dispatch all with run_in_background: true.

Read ./category-agent-prompt.md (in this skill's directory) for the full agent prompt template. Inject per-agent values (category name, plugin list with inferred versions, MC version, full installed plugin list for dependency checking) from Phase 1.

When constructing sub-agent prompts, resolve all relative paths (like ../compat-check/SKILL.md) to absolute paths using this skill's base directory before injecting.

Wait for all agents to complete before Phase 3.

Phase 3 — Synthesize

• Merge all Category Reports into one list.
• Resolve conflicts (same plugin recommended by two agents — use the one with more supporting data).
• De-duplicate gap candidates.

Phase 4 — Upgrade Plan

Build the numbered upgrade plan from all category reports. Read ./upgrade-plan-format.md (in this skill's directory) for the exact output format and table rules.

After presenting the plan, tell the user:

Reply with:

• "approve all" — apply every proposed change
• "approve 1,3" — apply only items #1 and #3
• "skip 2" — approve all except #2
• "approve W1" — promote wildcard W1 to a full ADD entry
• "cancel" — abort, no changes made

No files are written until the user explicitly responds.

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Write phases

Files are written only after the user responds to the upgrade plan.

Phase 5 — Write Decision Doc

Decision doc path: ./minecraft-audits/server-<hostname>-YYYY-MM-DD.md

Create ./minecraft-audits/ if it doesn't exist. Create the file if it doesn't exist. If it already exists (created by audit), append to it.

Header (write at top if creating):

# PaperMC Server Audit — YYYY-MM-DD
Server: <server-name>
MC Version: <version>
Platform: Paper

Meta decisions section (always append):

## Meta decisions
| # | Action | Plugin | Alternative | Decision |
|---|--------|--------|-------------|----------|
| 1 | ADD | Spark | — | approved |
| 2 | REPLACE | EssentialsX | CMI | skipped |
| 3 | REMOVE | OldPlugin | — | approved |

Use approved, skipped, or cancelled in the Decision column.

Phase 6 — Chain to Version-Refresh

After writing the decision doc, say:

Meta audit complete. Decision doc saved to ./minecraft-audits/server-<hostname>-YYYY-MM-DD.md.

1. Proceed — continue to version-refresh
2. Cancel — stop here

• If 1: Say "Invoking version-refresh." and invoke it, passing the decision doc path and server connection details.
• If 2: Ask: "1. Delete decision doc — keep tidy, or 2. Keep decision doc — save for a future run?" — act on response.

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Failure Handling

If any phase produces unexpected results — malformed agent output, Hangar or Modrinth API errors, agents returning empty or garbled Category Reports — invoke superpowers:systematic-debugging before retrying or escalating to the user.

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Common Mistakes

• Recommending plugins without running compat-check — every plugin verdict and every gap candidate MUST have a verified compat status. This is the #1 failure mode.
• Trusting Modrinth search facets as proof of exact-version builds — the versions:X facet uses minor-series matching, not exact matching. Always call the /version endpoint to confirm.
• Writing files before user approval — Phases 1-4 are strictly read-only. No decision doc writes until the user responds to the upgrade plan.
• Recommending plugins that violate vanilla+ server profile — never recommend economy, minigames, custom enchantments, or plugins that alter gameplay beyond vanilla+.
• Missing dependency checks before REMOVE — always inspect plugin.yml depend: fields of other installed plugins before assigning REMOVE. Hard dependents block removal.

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Meta Signal Sources (priority order)

1. Hangar download count + prominence for target MC version — primary signal
2. Modrinth download count + date_modified — secondary signal
3. GitHub stars + last push date — tiebreaker for close calls