How we test plugins before release

A plugin that works on a test server with one player can still fall over with fifty. So before anything goes in the store, it runs on one of our live servers for at least two weeks.

First we check performance. We profile the server with spark during busy hours and look at how much of each tick the plugin uses. Anything that shows up in the top ten gets reworked before release.

Then we check that it survives the things players actually do: logging out mid-action, filling their inventory, changing worlds, and the server restarting at the worst moment. Data has to save correctly every time.

Last, we test the setup. A fresh install has to work with the default config, and every message players see has to be editable. If a server owner has to read the source code to change something, we haven't finished.

Only then does it get a version number and a page in the store. Updates go through the same checks, just shorter.