HolographicDisplays
Create floating text and item holograms in the world. Supports animations, placeholders and interactive elements.
FunWhat is HolographicDisplays?
HolographicDisplays creates lines of floating text — and floating items — that hover in the world with no physical block behind them. It is the classic way to label spawn points, show server rules, display leaderboards or mark warp locations with hovering text. Lines can include PlaceholderAPI placeholders so they update live (player counts, top voters, balances), can be animated, and can carry touch or click actions. The original filoghost plugin is lightweight and long-established, making it a common dependency for leaderboard and info displays.
Who it's for: Almost any server wanting decorative or informational floating text at spawn, shops, warps and leaderboards, without the overhead of a heavier all-in-one plugin. It is built and maintained by filoghost and sits in the fun category.
Key features of HolographicDisplays
- Floating text lines
- Item display
- Animation support
- PlaceholderAPI integration
- Per-line customization
- Visibility control
- Touch actions
How to install HolographicDisplays
HolographicDisplays runs on Bukkit, Spigot or Paper servers. The filoghost line targets a broad range of Spigot/Paper versions; on very recent Minecraft releases some servers use a maintained fork, but classic HolographicDisplays remains widely deployed.
- 1Stop your server, or have it ready to restart. Always back up your world and plugins folder before adding a new plugin.
- 2Download HolographicDisplays.jar (a build matching your server version) and place it in your server's /plugins folder.
- 3HolographicDisplays has no required dependencies, so it runs on its own once the jar is in place.
- 4Start the server fully. HolographicDisplays generates its configuration files on first launch — stop the server, edit them to taste, then start again.
- 5Confirm it loaded by checking the console for HolographicDisplays on startup, or by running one of its commands in-game.
Note: Drop HolographicDisplays into /plugins and restart. For live placeholders in holograms, also install PlaceholderAPI (and the relevant expansions). Holograms are created with commands and saved automatically, persisting across restarts in the plugin's data files.
HolographicDisplays commands and permissions
Main commands
/hd create- Creates a new hologram with a first line of text at your location.
/hd addline- Adds another line — text or an item icon — to an existing hologram.
/hd setline- Replaces the contents of a specific line by its number.
/hd movehere- Moves the named hologram to your current position.
Permission nodes
holographicdisplays.admin- Required to create, edit, move and delete holograms; the only node the plugin uses.
HolographicDisplays FAQ
How do I create a hologram?
Stand where you want it and run /hd create <name> <text>. Add more lines with /hd addline <name> <text>, and use an item's name to show a floating item icon on a line. The hologram saves automatically and reappears after a restart.
Can holograms show live data like player count?
Yes, with PlaceholderAPI installed. Put a placeholder such as %server_online% in a hologram line and it updates in real time. Without PlaceholderAPI, holograms display static text only. Many leaderboard plugins also hook in to render top-lists as holograms.
How do I make a leaderboard hologram?
Use a plugin that provides leaderboard placeholders (for example a stats or vote plugin via PlaceholderAPI) and place those placeholders on hologram lines. The hologram then shows the live top players. Some plugins offer a direct command to spawn their leaderboard as a hologram.
Do holograms collide with players or have hitboxes?
No. Holograms are visual only — players walk straight through them and they do not obstruct movement or block placement. Optional touch actions let a player interact by clicking, but there is no physical hitbox in the way.
Why is my hologram not updating its placeholder?
Confirm PlaceholderAPI is installed and the specific expansion that owns the placeholder is downloaded, then check the placeholder resolves with /papi parse. If the raw placeholder text shows in the hologram, HolographicDisplays cannot reach PlaceholderAPI or the expansion is missing.
Features
- Floating text lines
- Item display
- Animation support
- PlaceholderAPI integration
- Per-line customization
- Visibility control
- Touch actions
Commands
/hd create/hd delete/hd addline/hd removeline/hd setline/hd teleport/hd list/hd moveherePermissions
holographicdisplays.admin