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This guide will walk you through building Runway from source using Gradle.

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Prerequisites

Before building Runway, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Java 21 - Required for compilation
  • Git - To clone the repository
  • Internet connection - For downloading dependencies

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Clone the Repository

1

Clone the repository

Clone the Runway repository from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/xMrAfonso/Runway.git
cd Runway
2

Build with Gradle

Run the Gradle build command:
gradle clean build
This will:
  • Clean any previous build artifacts
  • Compile the source code
  • Run the shadowJar task (included in the build)
  • Generate the final JAR file
3

Locate the compiled JAR

After a successful build, find your compiled JAR file at:
build/libs/Runway-<version>-all.jar
The -all suffix indicates this is the shaded JAR with all dependencies included.
4

Install the plugin

Copy the JAR file to your server’s plugins folder and restart your server.

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Build Configuration

Runway uses Paper’s Plugin Loader, which means:
No manual shading required - Dependencies are automatically handled by Paper’s Plugin Loader system. The build process takes care of everything.

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Dependencies

The plugin compiles with the following dependencies:
  • Paper API (1.21.11) - Core server API
  • PacketEvents (2.11.1) - For packet-level manipulation
  • PlaceholderAPI (2.11.5) - Optional placeholder support
  • MiniPlaceholders (2.2.3) - Optional MiniMessage placeholder support

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Gradle Tasks

Common Gradle tasks you can use: 
# Clean build artifacts
gradle clean

# Compile the plugin
gradle build

# Create shaded JAR
gradle shadowJar

# Run a test server (requires Paper)
gradle runServer

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Troubleshooting Build Issues

Runway requires Java 21. Verify your Java version:
java -version
If you have multiple Java versions, set JAVA_HOME to point to Java 21.
If gradle command is not found, use the Gradle wrapper instead:
# Linux/macOS
./gradlew clean build

# Windows
gradlew.bat clean build
If dependencies fail to download:
  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify you can access Maven repositories
  • Try running with --refresh-dependencies flag:
gradle clean build --refresh-dependencies

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Next Steps

After successfully building Runway:
  • Copy the JAR to your server’s plugins folder
  • Follow the Installation guide to configure the plugin
  • Check out Configuration for customization options

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