ProtocolLib Hook

📡 ProtocolLib Hook (Automatic Packet Translation)

IGLanguages can automatically translate %lang_*% placeholders in outgoing server packets — no need for PlaceholderAPI support in every plugin! This means scoreboards, titles, bossbars, tab lists, chat messages, kick messages, and even item names/lores are translated on-the-fly before reaching the player.

Requirements

ProtocolLib must be installed on your server.

How it works

When enabled, IGLanguages intercepts packets sent to each player and replaces any %lang_*% placeholder found in the packet's text/JSON with the correct translation for that player's language. This happens transparently — you just write %lang_key% in any plugin config and it gets translated automatically.

Supported packet types

Packet	What it translates	Versions
Chat / System Chat	Chat messages, system messages, action bar (JSON)	All
Disguised Chat	Disguised chat messages (1.19.3+ format)	1.19.3+
Open Window	Inventory/container titles	All
Set Slot / Window Items	Item display names and lore lines	All
Title (legacy)	Title & subtitle packets	1.8 – 1.16
Title / Subtitle / Action Bar (modern)	Modern title packets	1.17+
Boss Bar	Boss bar title text (including action structures)	All
Tab List	Header & footer of the player list	All
Scoreboard Objective	Objective display names	All
Scoreboard Score	Score entry names and display text	All
Scoreboard Team	Team prefix and suffix	All
Kick Disconnect	Kick/disconnect reason message	All
Server Data	Server MOTD displayed to the player	1.19.4+

Note: Packet types that don't exist in your server version are silently skipped — no errors in console.

Configuration

In your config.yml:

protocollib:
  # Enable or disable the ProtocolLib hook entirely
  enabled: true
  # Cache size for processed packet translations
  # Higher values reduce CPU usage for repeated packets (e.g. scoreboard updates)
  cacheSize: 200

Setting	Description	Default
`protocollib.enabled`	Enables/disables packet interception.	`true`
`protocollib.cacheSize`	Max entries in the processed-packet cache. Cached results expire after 5 minutes.	`200`

Example: Translating a scoreboard without PlaceholderAPI support

Even if your scoreboard plugin does not support PlaceholderAPI, IGLanguages can still translate it via packet interception.

In your scoreboard plugin config:

title: "%lang_systems.board_title%"
lines:
  - "%lang_systems.board_money%: $1000"
  - "%lang_systems.board_online%"

In langs/en_us/systems/board.yml:

title: "&bMy Server"
money: "Money"
online: "Players Online"

In langs/pt_br/systems/board.yml:

title: "&aMeu Servidor"
money: "Dinheiro"
online: "Jogadores Online"

The ProtocolLib hook will intercept the scoreboard packets and replace the placeholders with the correct translation for each player — even though the scoreboard plugin has no idea IGLanguages exists.

Performance

Caching: Processed packet results are cached by language + content, so repeated packets (like scoreboard ticks) are resolved from cache instead of being re-processed every time.
Thread-safe: The hook runs on Netty I/O threads and uses only thread-safe data structures. Translation data uses volatile atomic swaps during reloads so packets never see a partially-loaded state.
Cache invalidation: Running /lang reload automatically clears both the translation cache and the packet cache, ensuring updated translations take effect immediately.