minecraft-server/docs/RESEARCH-AUCTION-HOUSE.md

# RESEARCH — Auction House Plugin Options for racked.ru

**Date:** 2026-05-07
**Status:** Read-only research; no changes applied
**Audience:** Operator deciding "drop EZShop, replace with AH-only" plan
**Source server:** `nullstone-server` / `minecraft-mc` container

---

## 1. Current `/ah` plugin

```
Plugin:   AuctionHouse  (Kiranhart / Tweetzy)
Jar:      AuctionHouse-1.4.6.jar
Repo:     github.com/kiranhart/Auction-House  (source visible, last push 2026-04-12)
LICENSE:  none in repo  ->  defaults to ARR (proprietary)
Distro:   Paid via Spigot / Songoda / Polymart  (also leaked elsewhere)
1.21.x:   yes — single-jar 1.8*–1.21
```

Live config from `/data/plugins/AuctionHouse/config.yml`:

| Setting                  | Value      |
|--------------------------|------------|
| tax                      | 0.01 (1%)  |
| default-max-auctions     | 10         |
| bin-auctions             | true       |
| bid-auctions             | true       |
| bid-auction-duration     | 7200 s     |
| bin-auction-duration     | 172800 s   |
| auto-collect             | false      |
| partial-selling          | false      |
| use-adventure-text       | true       |

**Vault:** required. **MiniMessage:** yes. **Per-rank limits:** via `auctionhouse.maxauctions.<n>` permissions. **Logs:** `plugins/AuctionHouse/logs/`. **Discord:** none built in.

**Known historic bugs (mostly patched):**
- Listing-tax + confirmation dupe when player can't pay tax
- Disconnect-during-price-input dupe on rejoin
- `AuctionHouseAntiDupe` exists as third-party patch plugin — signal that exploits keep re-appearing
- 29 open GitHub issues at time of writing

---

## 2. Alternatives surveyed

| Plugin | Last update | License | 1.21.x | Bid+BIN | Per-rank | Tax | Discord | Vault | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **AuctionHouse** (Kiranhart) — current | 2026-04 | ARR (no LICENSE) | yes | yes | perms | yes | no | yes | Industry default, dupe history |
| **AuctionHousePlugin** (Elaine Qheart, Hangar) | 2025-09, v1.4.7 | GPL | 1.21–1.21.11 | yes | permissions.yml | yes | community link only | yes | Looks like a friendly fork/clone of Kiranhart. Open beta, only 1k installs |
| **NexusAuctionHouse** (Modrinth) | ~2024 (v2.2.3 latest) | MIT | 1.21–1.21.6 | BIN only | configurable caps | listing+sale fees | webhooks | yes | Truly free + permissive. Lacks bidding |
| **AuctionHousePlus** (SpigotMC, paid) | 2025-12, v3.2 | ARR / paid | 1.21–1.21.11 | yes | yes | yes | bot+web buy | yes | Web UI + Discord buy flow; paid |
| **GlobalMarketplace** (Modrinth) | ~8 months ago, v1.0.3 | ARR | 1.21–1.21.10 | both | not documented | not documented | webhooks | yes | Geyser/Bedrock UI, newer entrant |
| **ModernHDV** (SpigotMC) | 2026-02 | Free + paid Pro | 1.14–1.21.11 | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | Crash-safe atomic txns; SQLite/MySQL; free tier viable |
| **Unique Auction House** | 2026-01 | paid | 1.21.x | yes | yes | yes | partial | yes | Premium polish, ARR |
| **zAuctionHouse** (BuiltByBit) | 2026-04 | paid | 1.8.8–1.21 | yes | yes | yes | partial | yes | "Most used"; mixed reviews on support; anti-dupe built in |
| **AuctionMaster** (SpigotMC) | active 1.21.6 | paid | 1.8–1.21.6 | yes | yes | yes | partial | yes | Reported major dupe in 2025; slow dev response |
| **AuctionGUI+** (brcdev) | 2022 | paid | up to 1.19 | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | **STALE — drop from list** |
| **HeadAuction** | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | No plugin found by this name |
| **AuctionHouse-Lite (Knokko)** | 2019 | LICENSE present | no | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | **ARCHIVED** |
| **CMI auction module** | 2026 active | paid suite | yes | basic | yes | yes | no | yes | CMI itself doesn't ship a real auction house — operators add a separate AH plugin alongside. Not a replacement |
| **Discord-bridged AH** (e.g. Auction Discord Sync addon) | active | varies | universal | adds to any AH | n/a | n/a | yes | n/a | Bolt-on. Pair with Kiranhart or Nexus if Discord wanted |

---

## 3. License / racked.ru AGPL fit

racked.ru policy is privacy-first and open. Important: **Kiranhart's repo has no LICENSE file** — under GitHub default this is "all rights reserved". The jar is sold; redistribution likely violates terms. We are within rights to **use** it on a private server, but the project is not aligned with our open-source ethos.

Only options that are clearly open-source:

- **NexusAuctionHouse** — MIT. Free. Truly compatible.
- **AuctionHousePlugin (Elaine Qheart)** — GPL on Hangar.
- **ModernHDV Free Edition** — usable without paying, source not published (mixed).

---

## 4. Verdict — keep or swap?

**Keep AuctionHouse 1.4.6 (Kiranhart) for now**, but plan a swap.

Reasons to keep short-term:
- It's working, configured, and the `/ah` UX is what players already know
- Single-jar 1.21.x support, MiniMessage, BIN+bidding both enabled, 1% tax, per-rank caps via perms
- Active dev: last push 2026-04-12, dupe patches landing

Reasons to plan a swap medium-term:
- **License is ARR with no published LICENSE file** — incompatible with racked.ru's open philosophy
- Recurring dupe history; community ships *AuctionHouseAntiDupe* as a band-aid
- 29 open GitHub issues
- No native Discord; requires a separate sync addon

Concrete swap candidates, ranked:

1. **NexusAuctionHouse (MIT)** — best fit for racked.ru ethics. Drawback: BIN-only, no bidding. If we don't care about live bidding (most player markets don't), this is the strongest pick.
2. **AuctionHousePlugin (Elaine Qheart, GPL)** — closest drop-in: same config layout (`config.yml`, `layout.yml`, `messages.yml`, `permissions.yml`), so a migration is cheap. Open license. Smaller community is the main risk.
3. **ModernHDV Free Edition** — atomic transactions are a real anti-dupe win; pair with anything else for safety. Pro tier locks multi-server (we don't need).

Reject: zAuctionHouse, AuctionMaster, AuctionHousePlus, Unique AH, AuctionGUI+, CMI as AH, Knokko archived.

**Recommended path:** stay on Kiranhart 1.4.6 through the EZShop drop. Once `/ah` is the sole player marketplace, schedule a one-week staging-server trial of **NexusAuctionHouse** (MIT) and **Elaine Qheart's AuctionHousePlugin** (GPL). Pick whichever survives the trial; Nexus wins on license, Elaine wins on UX parity.

---

## 5. Sources

- github.com/kiranhart/Auction-House (current plugin source; no LICENSE)
- hangar.papermc.io/ElaineQheart/AuctionHousePlugin (GPL fork/parallel)
- modrinth.com/plugin/nexusauctionhouse (MIT)
- modrinth.com/plugin/globalmarketplace-(paper)-auction-house (ARR)
- spigotmc.org/resources/auctionhouseplus-...123740 (paid)
- spigotmc.org/resources/modernhdv-...132982 (free+pro)
- builtbybit.com/resources/zauctionhouse-...8987 (paid)
- spigotmc.org/resources/auctionmaster-...84784 (paid)
- github.com/knokko/Auctions-Plugin (archived 2019)
- spigotmc.org/resources/auctionhouseantidupe.109427 (signal for dupe history)