PaperMC Despawned Items

A Paper (Minecraft) server plugin that catches items about to despawn on the ground and — instead of deleting them — relocates them into a registered network of nearby containers, cookers, entities, or empty space. Players and admins manage their own despawn locations; a /recycle command lets players feed the item in their hand straight into the network for a small reward.

A Kotlin rewrite for Paper 1.21.x (built against 1.21.11) on Java 21; loads on newer 26.x servers via Paper's forward compatibility. Replaces the original 2021 Java/Maven plugin.

What it does

When an item entity reaches its despawn timer, the plugin tries, in order, to:

1. Void genuinely illegal/technical items (command blocks, netherite, …).
2. Slot fuel/smeltables into a nearby furnace, blast furnace, or smoker.
3. Place a block item back into empty air, carrying over stored block data (banners, skulls, container contents, signs, spawners, …) where the API allows.
4. Fit the item onto a single nearby entity — an item frame, a mob/armour stand's equipment slots, a storage minecart, or a furnace minecart's fuel.
5. Drop it into an ordinary container — chest, barrel, hopper, dropper, dispenser, shulker box, or trapped chest.

A short, configurable sound-and-particle effect plays wherever an item lands.

Features

• Scales to large servers. O(1) location lookups via spatial + owner indexes; the despawn pipeline is throttled and queue-bounded.
• Pluggable storage. Flat YAML (default), embedded SQLite, or shared MySQL/MariaDB for a server network — switching migrates your data automatically.
• Self-service with limits. Per-group caps via despi.limit.<n> permissions, with a default and an admin bypass.
• Safe by default. Contraband destroyed; hazardous blocks never re-placed; particle data validated at load.

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