🛠️ Fixes & Improvements

• Internal refactoring: Introduced a new internal helper method (isFastInv) to streamline how the plugin detects custom menus.
• Enhanced Stability: Improved safety checks to prevent rare null-pointer exceptions when players interact with non-plugin inventories.
• Code Clean-up: Optimized inventory type handling, making future menu updates faster and easier to implement.

To view the full changelog please visit ChatColors Changelog

📝 Note for Server Admins

If you are upgrading from an older version, your old gui.yml and players.yml have automatically been migrated to the new /configs/ folder. You can safely delete any orphaned colors.yml or patterns.yml files in the root plugin directory!

🌟 New Features & Enhancements

• Next-Gen Server Support: Full compatibility added for Folia (multi-threaded servers) and Canvas. Expect seamless, lag-free color formatting no matter what engine your server runs on.
• Overhauled Color Systems: We’ve introduced a new custom asset system. Managing your Gradients and Patterns is now entirely separated, meaning more unique and stable chat colors are coming your way soon.

🛠️ Menu & GUI Refurbishing

• Snappier Menus: The entire Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been rewritten from scratch. Color menus will load instantly with zero click delay.
• Unified Localizations: Menus now adapt much cleaner to server-wide chat styles and translations. No more broken color tags or raw text bleeding into menu titles.

To view the full changelog please check out ChatColors Changelog

📊 Performance Monitoring & Analytics

• Dedicated Metrics Managers: Added BStatsManager and FastStatsManager to handle extended data tracking, giving you more robust, real-time insights into server performance and health.
• Framework Integration: Fully integrated the BStats and FastStats metrics frameworks for enhanced backend monitoring.

To view the full changelog click the link or view the chatcolor changelog.

🌟 What's New?

• MiniMessage Tag Support: Added full support for modern MiniMessage formatting tags!
  • Note: Players will need the new chatcolor.minimessage permission node to use these tags in chat.
• Console Cleanup Feature: Added a new clean-console option in your config.yml. When enabled, it dynamically strips legacy color codes from logger outputs, keeping your server console crisp and readable.
• Smart Integration Detector: Added an IntegrationChecker that automatically scans for active DiscordSRV and LPC plugins on startup, printing helpful setup and configuration guidance straight to your console.

🛠️ Enhancements & Fixes

• Refactored Color Utilities: Built a much sturdier backend handler to bridge legacy color codes and modern MiniMessage components. Includes under-the-hood automatic conversion utilities (translateLegacyToMiniMessage) and stricter text safety checks.
• Streamlined PlaceholderAPI Integration: Completely reworked our placeholders for better stability and formatting logic.
  • Reorganized the placeholder structures for better clarity.
  • Added a dedicated %color_legacy% placeholder.
  • Improved stability when handling null or empty message inputs.
• Paper Server Optimization: Modified the ChatListener to bypass redundant last-message tracking on Paper-based servers, saving processing overhead.
• Compatibility Recommendation: Added a configuration comment recommending that server owners set their event-priority to HIGHEST for seamless operation alongside LPC or DiscordSRV.
• Stability Fix: Fixed a critical initialization bug caused by a missing structural brace in the main initialization logic, ensuring smooth reloads and clean server starts.

✨ FEATURES

• Default Color Logic: Implemented automatic default color application via ConfigManager for messages and display names when no custom selection is made.

🐛 FIXES

• Formatting Cleanup: Resolved an issue where non-legacy colors would incorrectly append </color> tags to messages.
• Legacy Handling: Replaced outdated serialization methods with a unified legacy serializer and added stripLegacy support to keep chat clean.

⚡ PERFORMANCE

• Color Engine Overhaul: Centralized all color tag applications within ColorUtil for significantly better consistency and reduced overhead.
• Pattern Precision: Improved the PatternApplier to handle complex string formatting more efficiently.

Big thank you to fernsehheft for helping with this update. You can view his commit here.

🐛 FIXES

• Data Saving: Fixed a critical issue where player color data would occasionally fail to save during server shutdowns.
• Menu Logic: Resolved a minor glitch where the GUI would flicker when switching between gradient pages.

⚡ PERFORMANCE

• Cache Management: Optimized player data caching to reduce memory overhead on high-population servers.

✨ FEATURES

• UI Framework Migration: Completely replaced the legacy GUI system with FastInv, making all in-game menus snappier and more reliable.
• MiniMessage Native: Full support for modern Adventure components, gradients, and hex styling.
• Live Preview: Players can now see a real-time preview of their selected color before applying.

🔧 CHANGES

• Command Streamlining: Refined /colors subcommands and logic for better usability.
• Target Update: The plugin now natively targets the Minecraft 1.21 API.

✨ FEATURES

• Folia Support: Verified and optimized for Folia’s regional threading model.
• Hex Precision: Added support for exact HEX code input via command for staff and donors.

🐛 FIXES

• PAPI Integration: Fixed a bug where certain placeholders would return raw MiniMessage tags instead of formatted text.

🐛 FIXES

• Initialization: Resolved an error occurring when the plugin loaded on legacy Java versions.
• Config Safety: Added a failsafe to prevent the plugin from disabling if config.yml contains minor formatting errors.

🔧 CHANGES

• Wiki: Fully updated the documentation website with new command and permission guides.

✨ FEATURES

• Migration Tool: Added an automated system to migrate old v3.x data to the new 2026 data format.
• Modern GUI Layout: Completely redesigned the initial inventory layout for a better "out of the box" feel.

⚡ PERFORMANCE

• Event Handling: Optimized the chat listener to ensure zero-latency impact on high-speed chat environments.

✨ FEATURES

• RGB Engine: Introduced the core RGB and Gradient engine.
• Java 17: Upgraded the minimum required runtime to Java 17.
• Permission Logic: Implemented granular permissions for every individual color and gradient.