MiniMessage Support in EzShops

EzShops now supports both legacy color codes and modern MiniMessage formatting for all configurable messages and titles.

What is MiniMessage?

MiniMessage is a modern text formatting system that uses tags instead of codes. It’s more readable and supports advanced features like gradients, hover text, and click actions.

Format Support

EzShops automatically detects which format you’re using:

  • Legacy Color Codes: &a, &c, &l, etc.
  • MiniMessage Tags: <red>, <green>, <bold>, etc.

You can use either format in your configuration files, and EzShops will handle the translation automatically.

Examples

Legacy Color Codes (Traditional) 

shop:
  title: "&a&lSkyblock Shop"
  messages:
    welcome: "&7Welcome to the &aShop&7!"
    price: "&6Price: &e{price}"

MiniMessage Tags (Modern) 

shop:
  title: "<green><bold>Skyblock Shop"
  messages:
    welcome: "<gray>Welcome to the <green>Shop<gray>!"
    price: "<gold>Price: <yellow>{price}"

MiniMessage Color Names

Tag Color Legacy Equivalent
<black> Black &0
<dark_blue> Dark Blue &1
<dark_green> Dark Green &2
<dark_aqua> Dark Aqua &3
<dark_red> Dark Red &4
<dark_purple> Dark Purple &5
<gold> Gold &6
<gray> Gray &7
<dark_gray> Dark Gray &8
<blue> Blue &9
<green> Green &a
<aqua> Aqua &b
<red> Red &c
<light_purple> Light Purple &d
<yellow> Yellow &e
<white> White &f

MiniMessage Formatting

Tag Effect Legacy Equivalent
<bold> Bold text &l
<italic> Italic text &o
<underlined> Underlined text &n
<strikethrough> Strikethrough &m
<obfuscated> Obfuscated/magic &k
<reset> Reset formatting &r

Advanced MiniMessage Features

MiniMessage supports advanced features that are not available with legacy codes:

Gradients 

title: "<gradient:red:blue>Rainbow Shop</gradient>"

Hover Text 

button: "<hover:show_text:'Click to buy'>Buy Item</hover>"

Click Actions 

link: "<click:open_url:'https://example.com'>Visit Website</click>"

Rainbow Text 

title: "<rainbow>Colorful Shop</rainbow>"

Mixing Formats

While EzShops supports both formats, we recommend:

  1. Choose one format per configuration file for consistency
  2. Use MiniMessage for new configurations (more features, more readable)
  3. Keep legacy codes in existing configurations (backward compatibility)

Migration Guide

To migrate from legacy codes to MiniMessage:

Before (Legacy) 

messages:
  welcome: "&a&lWelcome &7to the &eShop&7!"
  buy: "&aYou bought &bx{amount} {item} &afor &6${price}"

After (MiniMessage) 

messages:
  welcome: "<green><bold>Welcome <gray>to the <yellow>Shop<gray>!"
  buy: "<green>You bought <aqua>x{amount} {item} <green>for <gold>${price}"

Compatibility

  • All configurable messages and titles support both formats
  • This includes:
    • Shop menu titles
    • Category names
    • Item display names and lore
    • Chat messages
    • Sign text
    • GUI titles
    • Player shop messages
    • Stock market messages

Troubleshooting

If your MiniMessage tags aren’t working:

  1. Check that tags are properly closed: <red>text</red> or <red>text (auto-closes)
  2. Make sure tag names are correct (case-sensitive)
  3. Verify no conflicting legacy codes in the same string
  4. Check server logs for parsing errors

Notes

  • MiniMessage tags are only parsed when detected (performance optimization)
  • Legacy codes continue to work everywhere as before
  • No configuration changes are required - both formats work out of the box