Leaf

Spec sheet

Purpose

Leaf is high-performance Minecraft server software designed to preserve vanilla behavior and plugin compatibility.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Product

Leaf is high-performance Minecraft server software built on Paper, designed to balance performance, vanilla behavior, and stability.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Audience

The documentation describes Leaf as designed for large-scale networks in high-load environments.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

API

Leaf provides an API dependency through its Maven repository for Gradle and Maven projects.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Integrations

The project README says Leaf integrates with Sentry to track server errors in detail.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com

Support

The docs direct users to the Leaf Discord server for contact and support.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

License

The project license page says Leaf binaries are licensed under GPL-3.0-only, while patches generally use MIT unless otherwise indicated.Read 5 Oct 2026 · github.com

Benchmarking

The FAQ says more detailed and reliable performance benchmarks will be provided in the future.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Build requirements

The latest experimental build listed is Leaf 26.3 Build #2, released October 3, 2026, and requires Java 25 or later.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Compatibility caveat

The Leaf optimization guide says OptimizeNonFlushPacketSending is known to be incompatible with ProtocolLib and potentially other network-heavy plugins.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Configuration

Leaf uses a YAML global configuration and supports hot reload for most settings, while hot reload for async modules is unsupported.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Download

Leaf is distributed as a Minecraft server JAR; the download page says the listed 26.3 builds are experimental and not recommended for production.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Download format

Leaf is distributed as a server JAR, and the site documents downloading builds through a v2 API for scripts and CI.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Intended servers

Leaf is designed for large-scale networks in high-load environments.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Known limitations

The FAQ says the latest version has no known incompatibilities and describes compatibility issues affecting some legacy versions.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Paper compatibility

Leaf is built on Paper, inherits the full Paper API, and runs Paper plugins natively.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Paper plugins

Paper plugins work natively on Leaf, which inherits the full Paper API.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Performance features

Leaf lists asynchronous pathfinding, mob spawning, and entity tracking among its features.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com

Production status

The download page says no stable builds are available and advises against using the available experimental builds in production.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Protocol support

Leaf lists support for mod protocols, including configurable protocol options in its global configuration.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com

Purpur patches

Leaf includes all Purpur patches, though some Purpur options are configured through Gale and Leaf settings.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Runtime requirement

The latest experimental build shown on the download page requires Java 25 or newer.Read 7 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Security-related option

The configuration includes an optional secure-seed setting, which is disabled by default in the documented configuration.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Supported client protocols

Optional protocol support settings include Jade, AppleSkin, Xaero Map, Syncmatica, and other client mod protocols.Read 5 Oct 2026 · leafmc.one

Where Specifiction places it

• Minecraft Server Software#11 of 257.8