# GUIEngine<\/p>\n
GUIEngine is a lightweight, flexible API for creating interactive GUI menus in Minecraft Paper servers (1.21.4). Instead of writing repetitive inventory code for each menu in your plugins, GUIEngine provides a clean, reusable system to create rich interactive interfaces.<\/p>\n
## Purpose<\/p>\n
GUIEngine is designed as a dependency for other plugins, providing a standardized way to:<\/p>\n
– Create custom inventory menus with interactive buttons
\n– Handle player clicks and interactions
\n– Manage menu navigation and state
\n– Create dynamic, responsive interfaces<\/p>\n
It functions similar to other utility plugins like Vault or ProtocolLib, but focused exclusively on GUI management.<\/p>\n
## Key Features<\/p>\n
– **Simple API**: Create complex menus with minimal code
\n– **Interactive Buttons**: Add clickable buttons with custom actions
\n– **Menu Navigation**: Easily handle sub-menus and menu linking
\n– **Dynamic Updates**: Update menu contents in real-time
\n– **Builder Pattern**: Create menus using a clean, fluent API
\n– **Resource Management**: Automatic cleanup of resources
\n– **Event Handling**: Properly integrates with Bukkit’s event system
\n– **Clean Architecture**: Well-organized code for easy extension<\/p>\n
## How It Works<\/p>\n
GUIEngine consists of five core components:<\/p>\n
### 1. GUIEngine (Core)
\nThe main plugin class that initializes the system, registers event listeners, and provides access points for other plugins.<\/p>\n
### 2. GUI (Menu)
\nRepresents an inventory menu with slots for buttons. Each GUI handles its own layout and button mapping.<\/p>\n
### 3. GUIButton (Buttons)
\nInteractive items within menus that can trigger actions when clicked. Buttons can execute code, send messages, open other menus, etc.<\/p>\n
### 4. GUIManager (State Manager)
\nKeeps track of which menu is open for each player and manages the opening\/closing of menus.<\/p>\n
### 5. InventoryListener (Event Handler)
\nIntercepts inventory events and routes them to the appropriate GUI components.<\/p>\n
## How to Use<\/p>\n
### Adding as a Dependency<\/p>\n
First, add GUIEngine as a dependency in your plugin.yml:<\/p>\n
“`yaml
\ndepend: [GUIEngine]
\n“`<\/p>\n
Then, add it to your Maven\/Gradle build file.<\/p>\n
For Maven: ### Creating a Basic Menu<\/p>\n Here’s a simple example showing how to create and display a menu:<\/p>\n “`java \/\/ Add a button that sends a message when clicked \/\/ Add a button that closes the menu \/\/ Place buttons in specific slots \/\/ Open the menu for a player ### Using the Builder Pattern<\/p>\n You can also use the builder pattern for cleaner menu creation:<\/p>\n “`java \/\/ Then add buttons and open as normal ### Dynamic Button Updates<\/p>\n Buttons can update themselves in response to clicks:<\/p>\n “`java \/\/ Update button name \/\/ Update the inventory display return true; ### Sub-Menus and Navigation<\/p>\n You can easily create navigation systems between menus:<\/p>\n “`java \/\/ And in your settings menu: ## Advanced Features<\/p>\n ### Custom Button Actions<\/p>\n You can create different types of button actions:<\/p>\n “`java \/\/ Command execution button ### Item Builders<\/p>\n Use the GUIButton builder for even cleaner button creation:<\/p>\n “`java ## Best Practices<\/p>\n 1. **Resource Management**: Close GUIs when your plugin disables. ## Complete Example<\/p>\n See the `ExampleGUI.java` class in the GUIEngine source code for a complete example of creating menus, submenus, and various button types.<\/p>\n ## License<\/p>\n GUIEngine is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to use, modify, and distribute as needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" API for creating GUI menus in Minecraft<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":78429,"template":"","meta":{"_minecraft_slug":"gui-engine","_minecraft_project_id":"WzpSHcB0","_minecraft_author":"sasukelol21","_minecraft_license":"LicenseRef-All-Rights-Reserved","_minecraft_downloads":178,"_minecraft_follows":0,"_minecraft_client_side":"unsupported","_minecraft_server_side":"required","_minecraft_storage_type":"zip","_minecraft_archive_name":"gui-engine.zip","_minecraft_size_bytes":17680,"_minecraft_version_count":1,"_minecraft_updated_at":"2026-05-16T13:03:50.017973Z","_minecraft_date_created":"2025-12-17T23:14:35.834323Z","_minecraft_date_modified":"2025-12-16T21:04:42.546518Z","_minecraft_project_url":"https:\/\/modrinth.com\/mod\/gui-engine","_minecraft_icon_attachment_id":78429,"_minecraft_imported_at":"2026-06-04T12:33:54+00:00","_minecraft_import_hash":"0206db117b8a18c04d9d84de090a782a","_minecraft_versions":"","_minecraft_links":"","_minecraft_gallery":"","_minecraft_api_metadata":""},"mod_category":[124,873,127,129,92],"mod_loader":[130,132,134],"minecraft_version":[62,37,40,41,73,74,38,78,79,80,81,82],"class_list":["post-78428","mod","type-mod","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mod_category-bukkit","mod_category-library","mod_category-paper","mod_category-spigot","mod_category-utility","mod_loader-bukkit","mod_loader-paper","mod_loader-spigot","minecraft_version-1-21","minecraft_version-1-21-1","minecraft_version-1-21-10","minecraft_version-1-21-11","minecraft_version-1-21-2","minecraft_version-1-21-3","minecraft_version-1-21-4","minecraft_version-1-21-5","minecraft_version-1-21-6","minecraft_version-1-21-7","minecraft_version-1-21-8","minecraft_version-1-21-9"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n“`xml
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/dependency>
\n<\/dependencies>
\n“`<\/p>\n
\n\/\/ Create a new GUI with 3 rows (27 slots)
\nGUI myMenu = new GUI(“\u00a76\u00a7lMy Menu”, 3);<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton messageButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.PAPER,
\n“\u00a7e\u00a7lClick Me”,
\nArrays.asList(“\u00a77Click to receive”, “\u00a77a message”),
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nplayer.sendMessage(“\u00a7aYou clicked the button!”);
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton closeButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.BARRIER,
\n“\u00a7c\u00a7lClose”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nplayer.closeInventory();
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);<\/p>\n
\nmyMenu.setButton(13, messageButton);
\nmyMenu.setButton(26, closeButton);<\/p>\n
\nmyMenu.open(player);
\n“`<\/p>\n
\nGUI menu = new GUI.Builder()
\n.title(“\u00a76\u00a7lMy Menu”)
\n.rows(3)
\n.build();<\/p>\n
\n“`<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton counterButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.EMERALD,
\n“\u00a7a\u00a7lClicks: \u00a7f0”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\n\/\/ Extract current count from name
\nString name = ChatColor.stripColor(button.getItem().getItemMeta().getDisplayName());
\nint count = Integer.parseInt(name.split(“: “)[1]) + 1;<\/p>\n
\nbutton.setName(“\u00a7a\u00a7lClicks: \u00a7f” + count);<\/p>\n
\ngui.updateInventory();<\/p>\n
\n}
\n);
\n“`<\/p>\n
\n\/\/ In your main menu creation:
\nGUIButton settingsButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.REDSTONE_TORCH,
\n“\u00a7b\u00a7lSettings”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nopenSettingsMenu(player); \/\/ Your method to create\/open settings menu
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton backButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.ARROW,
\n“\u00a7e\u00a7lBack”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nopenMainMenu(player); \/\/ Your method to create\/open main menu
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);
\n“`<\/p>\n
\n\/\/ Teleport button
\nGUIButton teleportButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.ENDER_PEARL,
\n“\u00a75\u00a7lTeleport to Spawn”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nplayer.closeInventory();
\nplayer.teleport(player.getWorld().getSpawnLocation());
\nplayer.sendMessage(“\u00a7aTeleported to spawn!”);
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton commandButton = new GUIButton(
\nMaterial.COMMAND_BLOCK,
\n“\u00a7c\u00a7lExecute Command”,
\n(player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\nplayer.closeInventory();
\nplayer.performCommand(“spawn”);
\nreturn true;
\n}
\n);
\n“`<\/p>\n
\nGUIButton button = new GUIButton.Builder()
\n.material(Material.DIAMOND)
\n.name(“\u00a7b\u00a7lPremium Features”)
\n.lore(“\u00a77Click to view premium options”)
\n.lore(“\u00a77Cost: $10”)
\n.onClick((player, gui, button, slot) -> {
\n\/\/ Handle click
\nreturn true;
\n})
\n.build();
\n“`<\/p>\n
\n2. **Error Handling**: Check for null values when dealing with inventories.
\n3. **Performance**: Create menus on-demand rather than pre-creating all possible menus.
\n4. **Organization**: Create a separate manager class in your plugin for all your GUIs.
\n5. **Player Data**: Store player-specific data externally, not in the GUI itself.<\/p>\n