Viper Private Chests

Server-side container protection for Fabric servers. Lock chests, barrels, shulkers and more with plain vanilla signs. No client mod required.

Viper Private Chests protects containers on your server using the simplest system possible: a sign. Place a wall sign on a container, write [private] on the first line, and the container is locked to you. Other players cannot open it, break it, steal from it with hoppers, or blow it up. Everything runs 100 percent on the server, so vanilla Java players and Geyser / Floodgate Bedrock players are protected without installing anything.

What the mod does

• Locks containers with signs. Writing [private] or [public] on a sign attached to a container creates a persistent lock. Breaking the sign removes the lock, so protection is fully visible and intuitive.
• Controls exactly who can open what. Add player names, comma separated name lists, scoreboard teams (team:Red), or your global trust list ([trusted]) on the remaining sign lines.
• Offers public container modes. [public] for open access, [deposit] for drop-only donation boxes, and [display] for read-only showcases.
• Blocks hopper theft. Hoppers and hopper minecarts cannot pull items out of, or push items into, a locked container unless the sign carries the [hopper] modifier.
• Survives explosions. Locked containers and their signs are filtered out of explosion damage, so TNT, creepers, withers and other blasts cannot destroy them.
• Prevents lock bypass by adjacency. Non-owners cannot place a chest next to your locked chest to merge into it, and non-owners cannot overwrite your lock with their own sign.
• Alerts you to intruders. Failed access attempts play a locked sound, show an action bar warning, are written to a per-lock audit log, and can optionally flash nearby redstone wire and lamps so alarm circuits trigger.
• Manages itself over time. Locks can expire after owner inactivity (claim decay), stop protecting when the owner is banned, and stale records for destroyed containers can be purged with one command.
• Gives admins full oversight. An interactive in-game GUI lists every lock, a feather inspection tool shows lock details plus access history, and force-unlock works by coordinates.
• Stores data with the world. All locks, trust lists and audit history are saved alongside the world save, so backups carry your protection data with them.

Protected containers

Chests, trapped chests, barrels, shulker boxes, crafters, dispensers, droppers and chiseled bookshelves. Double chests are handled as one unit: locking either half protects the whole chest.

How to lock a container

1. Place a container (chest, barrel, shulker box, and so on).
2. Place a wall sign directly onto the container.
3. Write [private] on line 1.
4. Optionally, use lines 2 to 4 for member names, team:TeamName, or the [trusted] marker.
5. Done. The container is locked the moment you finish editing the sign.

To unlock, simply break the sign. To change who has access, edit the sign lines and finish editing again.

Sign markers

Marker matching is case insensitive, so [Private] works the same as [private].

Player commands (/pchests)

Every player can use these. No permission level required.

Admin commands (/private_chests)

Requires the admin permission level from the config (OP level 3 by default). The list and list_in_area commands open an interactive GUI; the rest answer in chat.

Admins can also overwrite another player's lock by placing their own [private] or [public] sign, which is useful for recovering containers of inactive players.

Inspection tool

Admins holding the configured inspection item (a feather by default) can right-click any locked container to immediately see its owner, lock type, team, trusted mode, hopper flag, and recent audit history in chat. Change the item with the inspectionItem config option.

Configuration

The config file is created on first startup at config/private-chests.json. Delete it and restart to regenerate defaults.

Installation

1. Install Fabric Loader (0.19.3 or newer for Minecraft 1.21.x, 26.1.x and 26.2.x; 0.19.5 or newer for 26.3) and Fabric API for your Minecraft version.
2. Download the Viper Private Chests jar that matches your Minecraft version from the Versions page.
3. Put the jar into the server's mods folder. No mod is needed on players' clients.
4. Start the server. The config file is generated automatically on first run.

The mod works in singleplayer too: install it in your client profile together with Fabric Loader and Fabric API and your own world is protected the same way.

Requirements

Make sure to download the jar built for your exact Minecraft line: the 26.1.x jar covers 26.1 to 26.1.2, while 26.2 and 26.3 each have their own jar.

Good to know

• The mod is fully server-side: vanilla clients see normal signs and normal containers, and Bedrock players through Geyser / Floodgate are supported.
• Signs stay readable and editable, so members, teams and modifiers can be changed at any time by editing the sign.
• Every open, denied attempt and lock change is recorded per container and viewable by admins, which makes griefing investigations straightforward.