A web map lets players pan your Minecraft world in a browser. Pins mark builds. The URL goes in Discord. Four projects ship current jars for that job: Dynmap, BlueMap, squaremap, and Pl3xMap.
Pick from render style, platform, CPU during the first pass, tile storage, and how you will host the HTML. Match your row in the table. Then read that project's section for Java, ports, and the September 2026 version line.
Quick pick
| Plugin | View | Platforms listed by the project | First-pass load | Tile style | Extra HTTP port | License | Reach for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlueMap 5.23 | Full 3D WebGL | Paper/Folia, Spigot, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Sponge, plus a CLI jar | Off the server thread; uses spare CPU | 3D models plus a webapp | Yes for the built-in webserver | MIT | Public SMPs, creative showcases, modded worlds that should look like the client |
| squaremap | Top-down 2D | Paper, Fabric, NeoForge, Sponge | Light, live chunk updates | Vanilla map look | Yes if you serve tiles from the jar | MIT | Large Paper survival worlds that want a fast flat map |
| Pl3xMap | Top-down 2D | Paper, Folia, Purpur, Spigot, Bukkit, Fabric, Forge, Quilt | Light, vanilla-style tiles | Vanilla map look with extra tint modes | Yes if you serve tiles from the jar | MIT | Folia or mixed Bukkit-family boxes that want the same 2D idea as squaremap |
| Dynmap | 2D plus isometric views | Spigot/Paper, Forge, Fabric (see version table on GitHub) | Heavy on CPU and disk, especially the first full render | Classic Google-Maps tiles, chat, markers | Yes for the built-in webserver | Apache-2.0 | Servers that already depend on Dynmap-* overlays |
September 2026 snapshot. BlueMap v5.23 (6 August 2026) targets Java 25 and ships Paper/Folia, Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge jars for Minecraft 26.1-26.2. Dynmap’s README lists Paper/Spigot through 1.21.4, Fabric through 1.21.4, and Forge through 1.20.6. Confirm a 26.x file on Modrinth or Spigot before you install it on a year-numbered Paper build.
How to choose
Start with the picture you want in the browser. BlueMap is a 3D camera you tilt around a mountain. squaremap and Pl3xMap give the flat item-map look. Dynmap is a layered 2D site with web chat and a decade of add-ons.
Then read the platform column. Fabric and Forge operators get first-party BlueMap and squaremap jars. Folia operators get a BlueMap paper jar and a Pl3xMap listing that includes Folia. squaremap’s README names Paper, Fabric, NeoForge, and Sponge.
Plan the web half before you click render. Each project can serve files from a small HTTP listener on the game box. Your host has to publish that second port, or you put nginx/Caddy in front, or you copy the webroot to static hosting. BlueMap’s install guide asks for an extra port and points webserver.conf at it. Version 5.23 also adds optional client-side tile decompression so a static host can serve the webapp.
Leave disk headroom for tiles. BlueMap meshes grow with explored chunks. Dynmap tiles grow with every extra perspective you enable. A single 2D tile tree writes less. Run the first full render during a quiet window so extra cores chew region files after players already have a stable tick.
BlueMap
Downloads: GitHub releases · Hangar · docs at bluemap.bluecolored.de
BlueMap reads region files and builds 3D models of the surface, then opens a browser app that feels close to standing in the world. Resource-pack blocks and a free camera are the reason people send map links to friends.
The plugin/mod side renders asynchronously. The project page states it stays off the Minecraft server thread, so a box with free CPU keeps ticking as tiles generate. The same family of jars covers Paper/Folia, Spigot, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Sponge, and a standalone CLI for worlds you want to bake offline.
Setup is a jar in plugins or mods, accept-download: true in core.conf (Mojang assets), and a port in webserver.conf. /bluemap shows render progress. Markers, themes, and add-ons live in the BlueMap addon list. SQL storage is optional if you want tiles off the local disk.
Fits: SMP landing pages, creative plots you want to show off, Fabric/NeoForge packs where custom blocks should appear on the map.
Watch: Java 25 for the 5.23 line. The first pass occupies CPU and writes a lot of files. Budget NVMe and a published HTTP port, or move the webroot behind a reverse proxy.
squaremap
Downloads: Modrinth · GitHub · wiki on the GitHub wiki
squaremap is a live 2D viewer in the vanilla item-map style. jpenilla maintains it. The README lists Paper, Fabric (with Fabric API), NeoForge, and Sponge. The web UI is a Leaflet map. Markers go through a small API.
Operators pick it when the world is already huge and the job is “show me the overworld from above.” Live chunk updates keep the browser current. Configuration stays short.
Fits: Long-running Paper survival, Fabric or NeoForge servers that want the same flat look.
Watch: The official platform list names Paper, Fabric, NeoForge, and Sponge. Read a release note before you assume Folia.
Pl3xMap
Downloads: Modrinth · source at github.com/granny/Pl3xMap
Pl3xMap draws the same family of vanilla-style 2D tiles. BillyGalbreath started it. The granny org now publishes builds (MIT). Modrinth lists Paper, Folia, Purpur, Spigot, Bukkit, Fabric, Forge, and Quilt, and the project page showed a 26.2 artifact in the Maven snippet at research time.
Player markers can show facing, health, and armor. Extra render modes (biome tint, flower maps) sit in config. Towny operators who want claims on this map use MapTowny, which the Towny portal lists for squaremap, Pl3xMap, Dynmap, and BlueMap.
Fits: Folia, Purpur, or anyone who already standardized on Pl3xMap and wants current 26.x jars.
Watch: Use the granny/Modrinth line. The current source tree is github.com/granny/Pl3xMap.
Dynmap
Downloads: Modrinth · Spigot resource 274 · GitHub
Dynmap is the 2011 web map. It offers 2D tiles, isometric views, player faces, in-browser chat, weather/time chrome, and a thick marker API. Companion jars (Dynmap-Towny, Dynmap-WorldGuard, Dynmap-Factions, and the rest of the Bukkit project list) are why long-lived networks keep it.
The cost is render time and disk. Multiple perspectives multiply tiles. The first full render on a large world will pin cores and fill a folder. Give it RAM plus SSD. Run that pass on a quiet night.
Fits: Networks that already run Dynmap add-ons, staff who want web chat on the map, operators who need those overlays on day one.
Watch: The GitHub platform table listed Paper/Spigot through 1.21.4 when this page was updated. Read the file name on Modrinth/Spigot for your exact Paper or Fabric build. The repo received commits in 2026. Version support is the jar you download.
Recommendation by use case
Public SMP or creative showcase
Install BlueMap. Players share a 3D link. Resource-pack blocks render. The official async note keeps the tick loop free if the machine has leftover cores. Pair it with Aikar’s flags and a published map port.
Huge Paper survival world, flat map
Install squaremap. You get live 2D tiles and a small config. jpenilla maintains it on Paper. Add MapTowny if towns need outlines.
Folia, or you already run Pl3xMap
Install Pl3xMap from Modrinth. Folia is on the project’s platform list. Keep using MapTowny for claims.
Overlay museum (Towny + WorldGuard + chat on the map)
Stay on Dynmap after you confirm a jar for your Minecraft version. Migrating years of marker plugins is its own project.
Fabric or NeoForge pack
BlueMap publishes Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge jars for 26.1-26.2. squaremap publishes Fabric and NeoForge. Choose BlueMap when the pack has custom blocks you want visible. Choose squaremap for a top-down item-map.
Hosting the web UI
- Open a second TCP port on the Minecraft host and point the plugin’s webserver config at it.
- Or reverse-proxy that listener through Caddy/nginx on 443 with a hostname like
map.example.com. - Or copy the webroot (BlueMap default
./bluemap/web/) to object storage / a static site. BlueMap 5.23’sclient-decompressionflag is for that path.
Players then open https://map.yourdomain from Discord. Put the link on spawn and in your community Discord.
Start a Minecraft server if you want spare CPU for the first render and an extra port you can publish. The Minecraft intro covers the software install.
FAQ
Do I need a second port?
The default install of each project starts a small HTTP server beside the game port. Ask the host for one extra public port, then write that number into the map config. A reverse proxy lets you keep the game port private to the proxy and serve the map on 443.
Which plugin should a Folia server use?
BlueMap 5.23 ships a Paper/Folia jar. Pl3xMap lists Folia on Modrinth. squaremap’s README names Paper, Fabric, NeoForge, and Sponge. Dynmap support depends on the specific build you download.
Which plugin should a Fabric or Forge pack use?
BlueMap publishes Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge jars for 26.1-26.2. squaremap publishes Fabric and NeoForge. Dynmap publishes Fabric and Forge jars on CurseForge; match the Minecraft version on the file. Pl3xMap lists Fabric, Forge, and Quilt on Modrinth.
Will the first render lag the server?
BlueMap’s authors say render work stays off the server thread. Leave free CPU. The process shares the machine. Dynmap’s full render uses the most CPU and disk of this set. squaremap and Pl3xMap write a single 2D tile tree. Schedule the first pass in a low-pop window and watch spark.