How to create a menu

Menu author

A short tour through the basic features. By the end of this page you’ll have a working menu opened by a command, with a button that takes money and gives an item.

Where menus live

All menu files sit under plugins/AbstractMenus/menus/. The plugin walks the folder recursively, so nesting subfolders for organisation is fine - the file name (without extension) becomes the menu’s unique id.

Directoryplugins/AbstractMenus
- config.conf the global plugin config
- Directorymenus
  - menu.conf created on first run
  - shop.conf
  - Directorycasino
    blackjack.conf nested folders are fine
    slots.conf
- variables.db SQLite, do not edit by hand

Create the file

Make plugins/AbstractMenus/menus/menu.conf. The two required keys are title and size.
menus/menu.conf
```
title: "My first menu"
size: 6
```
- title - shown at the top of the inventory.
- size - number of inventory rows (1 to 6).
Run /am reload. The console prints:
```
[AbstractMenus] Loaded 1 menus
```
Add an activator so players can open it

An activator is anything that opens the menu - a command, an item interaction, joining the server, walking into a region, and so on. The simplest is command:
menus/menu.conf
```
title: "My first menu"
size: 6

activators {
  command: "mymenu"
}
```
/am reload, then in chat: /mymenu. An empty menu opens.
Place a button

Buttons are entries in an items: [...] list. Each entry lives at a slot and has a material.
menus/menu.conf
```
title: "My first menu"
size: 6

activators {
  command: "mymenu"
}

items: [
  {
    slot: 0
    material: DIAMOND_SWORD
    name: "&6Excalibur"
  }
]
```
- slot - cell index, starting at 0. Other slot formats include ranges and matrices.
- material - Bukkit material name. Full list on the Spigot Javadoc.
- name - display name. Supports & colour codes and placeholders.
Make the button do something on click

The click block is a list of actions. Start with closeMenu:
menus/menu.conf
```
title: "My first menu"
size: 6

activators {
  command: "mymenu"
}

items: [
  {
    slot: 0
    material: DIAMOND_SWORD
    name: "&6Excalibur"
    click {
      closeMenu: true
    }
  }
]
```
Reload, click the sword, the menu closes. Different mouse buttons can run different actions - see click types for the full list.

Variations

Show different buttons to different players

Add a rules block to an item. Items in the same slot are stacked - the last item whose rules match wins:

items: [
  {
    slot: 0
    material: IRON_SWORD
    name: "&6Excalibur"
  },
  {
    slot: 0
    material: DIAMOND_SWORD
    name: "&6Excalibur"
    rules { level: 10 }
  }
]

Player at level 9 sees the iron sword. Player at level 10+ sees the diamond one.

Charge money on click

click accepts both rules (a check) and actions / denyActions branches:

items: [
  {
    slot: 0
    material: DIAMOND_SWORD
    name: "&6Excalibur"
    lore: "&7Cost: 100 coins"
    click {
      rules { money: 100 }
      actions {
        itemAdd { material: DIAMOND_SWORD, name: "&6Excalibur" }
        takeMoney: 100
      }
      denyActions {
        sound: ENTITY_VILLAGER_NO
      }
    }
  }
]

What happens on click:

The player’s balance is checked for 100 coins.
If they have enough, an Excalibur is added to inventory and 100 coins are taken.
If not, a no-villager sound plays.

See logical structures for nested rule trees and inversion.

Rules at the menu root run before the menu opens:

title: "Admin only"
size: 6
rules {
  permission: "i.am.admin"
}
denyActions {
  message: "&cYou do not have permission to do this!"
}
activators { command: "adminmenu" }

Players without i.am.admin get the message instead of the menu.

Where to next

Item format Every property an item can carry, with HOCON examples.

Activators All the events that can open a menu.

Rules Conditions for opening menus, showing items, running actions.

Actions Everything a click or a rule check can trigger.