How to Detect Minecraft Xray Hacks Fast: 2025 Server Protection Guide
As a server admin, you know the headache: players using Minecraft xray hack tools can ruin fair play and wreck your server's economy. These cheats make common blocks like stone invisible, giving users a direct line to valuable resources with an unfair advantage. This guide will walk you through a proven strategy for catching xray users quickly, combining automated tools with smart, manual observation.
Understanding How Minecraft X Ray Hacks Work
X-ray hacks work by turning standard blocks like stone and dirt transparent, revealing only valuable ores through the terrain. This creates tell-tale behaviors that you, as an admin, can learn to spot.
Unlike cheats with more obvious visual cues, x-ray modifications are invisible to other players. A user might look like they're mining normally, but they're secretly bee-lining for diamonds, ancient debris, and other treasures with uncanny precision.
A Fast, Three-Layered Defense System
Your best bet is to layer your defenses. Combine automated server-side tools with active monitoring and a bit of manual investigation.
Layer 1: PaperMC's Built-in Anti-Xray
If you're running PaperMC, you already have a powerful tool at your disposal. Its built-in Anti-Xray system has three engine modes to hide or fake ore placements for clients. Enable PaperMC's anti-xray feature on engine-mode 2 for stronger obfuscation against exposed ores.
This feature works on the server side to stop xray clients from getting real ore data, effectively neutralizing the hack without any extra plugins.
Layer 2: Automated Monitoring with XrayDetector
The XrayDetector plugin acts as your automated watchdog. It uses a four-tier suspicion system to track how efficiently players are mining and alerts your staff to suspicious activity. The plugin tracks digging habits and automatically flags players finding ores at a rate that just isn't normal.
If you get an alert, use /xray tp <player> to spectate the suspect invisibly and confirm if they're cheating. This command lets you observe them in real-time without tipping them off.
Layer 3: Historical Verification with CoreProtect
CoreProtect is your logbook. It records all block changes, which is perfect for checking if a suspicious, empty tunnel used to be full of ore. This tool provides concrete evidence of strange digging behavior by showing you exactly which blocks were broken and when.
Manual Detection Techniques
Even with the best tools, nothing beats a trained eye. Here are the red flags to watch for:
Telltale Signs of X-Raying:
- Perfectly straight tunnels that lead directly to ore veins, with almost no exploratory branching.
- Players who seem to stumble upon diamonds and other rare ores constantly, without doing any methodical strip mining.
- Tunnels that make sharp, unnatural turns right where an ore deposit begins.
- An unusually high ratio of ores to regular stone after a mining trip.
As noted by the OPBlocks community: "X-ray is one of the harder hacks to detect because it doesn't have visual cues; watching mining patterns is best."
Putting It All Together: A Quick-Start Strategy
For the most complete coverage, you'll want to combine PaperMC's anti-xray feature, the XrayDetector plugin, and your own manual observations. Get a feel for what normal mining looks like on your server. This layered approach tackles the problem from all angles: prevention, detection, and verification.
Your Setup Checklist:
- Configure PaperMC's Anti-Xray (set to engine-mode 2) for instant prevention.
- Install XrayDetector to get automated monitoring and alerts.
- Set up CoreProtect so you can gather evidence and handle any player appeals.
- Observe normal player behavior to establish a baseline for what legitimate digging looks like.
Next Steps to Keep Your Server Secure
Catching xrayers quickly is a mix of having the right tech and being an observant admin. Start with PaperMC's built-in features for an immediate defensive boost, then layer on monitoring plugins for more thorough coverage.
For server owners looking for protection that goes beyond just xray hacks, specialized server protection services can help you catch all kinds of cheaters before they cause trouble. Additionally, you can dive deeper with our comprehensive guide to detecting all types of Minecraft X-ray hacks for more advanced techniques.