Configuration

The config is plugins/zChat/config.yml, written on first start. Apply changes with /zchat reload. Turning a command on or off, or changing its aliases, needs a restart. The mute and each player’s hidden-chat choice survive a reload.
Section	What it covers
`messages.error`	Shared errors: players only, no permission.
`formatting`	Formats per group, the fallback format, and the colour permission: Chat formats.
`filter`	Blocked or censored patterns: Filter.
`cooldown`	Time between messages: Cooldown.
`clearchat`, `mutechat`, `togglechat`	Each command’s switch, aliases, permission and messages: Moderation.
The full default config

# ============================================================================
#  zChat — configuration
#
#  All text is MiniMessage (https://docs.advntr.dev/minimessage/format.html).
#  Invalid values fall back to their default with a console warning; the plugin
#  never disables itself over a bad config value. Run /zchat reload to re-apply
#  message + behaviour values live. Structural values (which commands exist,
#  their aliases) are applied at startup and are restart-only.
#
#  Leaving a permission blank ("") means "no restriction".
# ============================================================================

# Managed by the plugin; do not edit. New keys are merged in on upgrade.
config-version: 1

# ---- shared messages -------------------------------------------------------
messages:
  error:
    player-only: "<red>Only players can use this command.</red>"
    no-permission: "<red>You don't have permission to do that.</red>"

# ============================================================================
#  Chat formatting (group-based)
#
#  On every chat message zChat picks the highest-weight group the sender has the
#  permission for and renders the message with that group's `format`. The
#  `default` group has no permission and applies to everyone as the fallback.
#
#  Supports PlaceholderAPI (%...%) in the format when PlaceholderAPI is installed.
#  Placeholders in a format:
#    <player>       the sender's name (plain)
#    <displayname>  the sender's display name (component)
#    <message>      the (filtered) message the player typed
#    %papi_...%     any PlaceholderAPI placeholder (optional; ignored if PAPI absent)
#
#  Groups are matched highest-weight-first, so give staff/VIP a higher weight.
#  A player with several group permissions gets the highest-weight match; a player
#  matching NO group falls back to `default-format` below. Formats are the ONLY
#  place player-typed text is inserted, and it is inserted as a component (never
#  re-parsed), so players can't inject MiniMessage unless you grant the colour
#  permission — and even then only colour/decoration tags are honoured.
# ============================================================================
formatting:
  enabled: true

  # Allow players holding this permission to colour their own messages. Only
  # colour/decoration tags are honoured (never <click>/<hover>/etc.). Blank ("")
  # disables player colouring entirely — player text is always shown literally.
  color-permission: "zchat.chat.color"

  # The single fallback format, used for any player who matches no group below.
  default-format: "<gray><player>:</gray> <white><message></white>"

  # Permissioned overrides. Add/remove freely; each needs a weight, a permission
  # (zchat.group.<name>) and a format. Leave `groups` empty to use only the
  # default-format above.
  groups:
    vip:
      weight: 10
      permission: "zchat.group.vip"
      format: "<gold>[VIP] <player></gold> <dark_gray>»</dark_gray> <white><message></white>"
    staff:
      weight: 20
      permission: "zchat.group.staff"
      format: "<aqua>[Staff] <player></aqua> <dark_gray>»</dark_gray> <white><message></white>"
    admin:
      weight: 30
      permission: "zchat.group.admin"
      format: "<red>[Admin] <player></red> <dark_gray>»</dark_gray> <white><message></white>"

# ============================================================================
#  Chat filter — block or censor configured words / regex patterns.
#  Players with `zchat.bypass.filter` are never filtered.
# ============================================================================
filter:
  enabled: true
  # block   -> cancel the message and warn the sender.
  # censor  -> replace each match with `censor-char` and let it through.
  mode: censor
  censor-char: "*"
  # Case-insensitive. Each entry is a Java regex; a plain word matches that word
  # anywhere. Word-boundary examples: "\\bword\\b".
  patterns:
    - "badword1"
    - "badword2"
  message-blocked: "<red>Your message was blocked by the chat filter.</red>"

# ============================================================================
#  Chat cooldown — minimum delay between a player's messages.
#  Players with `zchat.bypass.cooldown` are never limited.
# ============================================================================
cooldown:
  enabled: true
  seconds: 3
  # <seconds> = whole seconds remaining.
  message: "<red>Please wait <yellow><seconds></yellow>s before chatting again.</red>"

# ============================================================================
#  /clearchat — flood the chat with blank lines to clear it.
#  Players with `zchat.bypass.clearchat` keep their view.
# ============================================================================
clearchat:
  enabled: true
  aliases: [cc]
  permission: "zchat.command.clearchat"
  # How many blank lines to send (fills a typical client chat box).
  lines: 100
  message-cleared: "<gray>Chat was cleared by <yellow><player></yellow>.</gray>"

# ============================================================================
#  /mutechat — toggle a global chat mute. While muted, only players with
#  `zchat.bypass.mute` can talk. The mute state is in-memory (resets on restart).
# ============================================================================
mutechat:
  enabled: true
  aliases: [mc]
  permission: "zchat.command.mutechat"
  message-muted: "<gray>Chat has been <red>muted</red> by <yellow><player></yellow>.</gray>"
  message-unmuted: "<gray>Chat has been <green>unmuted</green> by <yellow><player></yellow>.</gray>"
  # Shown to a non-bypass player who tries to talk while muted.
  message-blocked: "<red>Chat is currently muted.</red>"

# ============================================================================
#  /togglechat — let a player hide/show chat for themselves. Toggled-off players
#  simply stop receiving other players' messages (their own commands still work).
#  The toggle is in-memory (resets on rejoin/restart).
# ============================================================================
togglechat:
  enabled: true
  aliases: [tc]
  permission: "zchat.command.togglechat"
  message-on: "<gray>Chat is now <green>shown</green>.</gray>"
  message-off: "<gray>Chat is now <red>hidden</red>.</gray>"