GroupManager vs ThunderPerms

GroupManager is a free permissions plug-in for Bukkit and Spigot Minecraft servers. It lets server administrators organize permissions into groups, assign players and set up inheritance hierarchies with promotion or demotion paths. Permission rules can use wildcard, negative and exception nodes. Users and groups can be managed through configuration files, console commands or in-game commands, and permissions can be given expiration periods. Group and user variables include prefixes, suffixes and build status; PlaceholderAPI placeholders expose group details and permission checks to other plug-ins. The listed storage options include YAML, H2, MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL and MariaDB. Installation involves putting the JAR in the server's plugins folder and editing config.yml. The v3.2 release is listed for Minecraft 1.8 to 1.20+. GroupManager does not provide antigrief functionality; other plug-ins must handle that behavior. The project is released under the GNU General Public License version 3.

ThunderPerms is a free permissions plugin for self-hosted Paper servers. It manages UUID-based player permissions, groups, memberships, inheritance, true and false nodes, wildcard nodes, temporary grants, and world-scoped permissions. Group inheritance includes cycle prevention and weights for priority. Expired temporary permissions and memberships are removed automatically. YAML is the default storage backend, with optional SQLite, MySQL, and MariaDB support. Administrators can check and explain permissions, verify or repair data, inspect status, and create backups. Audit logs record permission, group, repair, and backup actions. The API supports permission checks, detailed reasons, user and group inspection, assignments, known groups, and storage health. Safeguards include protected default and built-in administrator groups, path protections against directory traversal, credential redaction, and safer default TLS settings for MySQL and MariaDB. Integrations include the AugmentedThunder suite, StormEconomy, StormParty, and StormFactions. The listed license is Apache 2.0, with Paper and Minecraft version 26.1.2 specified.