How to Create Global and Local Chat with EssentialsX

A single, server-wide chat can quickly become cluttered and noisy, especially on active servers. To create a more organized and immersive communication system, many server owners implement both local chat (for nearby players) and global chat (for everyone). The easiest way to achieve this is with the EssentialsX Chat module.

This guide will show you the simple configuration steps to enable and customize this powerful feature.

What You Need

This feature relies on two components of the EssentialsX suite working together. Make sure you have both installed:

EssentialsX (Core): The main plugin.
EssentialsX Chat: The chat management module.

Configuration: Enabling the Chat Radius

The entire system is controlled by a single setting in the main EssentialsX configuration file.

Navigate to your server files and open the file: /plugins/Essentials/config.yml.
Inside this file, search (Ctrl+F) for the section labeled "chat".

You will find a setting called radius. By default, it is usually set to 0 or commented out (with a #).

# essentials chat radius
# Set to 0 to make chat global.
# Set a positive value to make chat local.
# To talk globally, players must start their message with a '!' or other configured character.
radius: 0

To enable local chat, change the radius to a positive number. This number represents the distance in blocks that a message will travel.
A good starting value is 100 blocks.
```
radius: 100
```
Save the config.yml file.
Run the command /essentials reload in-game or from your console to apply the changes.

How It Works for Players

Once you've set the radius, the chat system will automatically change:

Local Chat: Any message a player types normally will now only be seen by players within the specified radius (e.g., 100 blocks).
Global Chat: To send a message to the entire server, players must start their message with an exclamation mark (!).
Example: !Hey everyone, we're starting an event at spawn!

Customizing the Global Chat Format

You can also change how global messages look. In the same chat section of the config.yml, you can modify the global format line:

global-format: '[G] {DISPLAYNAME}&r: &f{MESSAGE}'

You could change [G] to something like &c[Global] for a red [Global] prefix, making it even clearer.

Conclusion

Setting up global and local chat is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve the quality of life on your server. It reduces spam, encourages players to interact in their local areas, and provides a clear channel for important, server-wide announcements. With just a single line of configuration in EssentialsX, you can create a much cleaner and more organized communication system.

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