squaremap is a Minecraft server plugin/mod that renders live top-down world maps to a web interface, similar to Dynmap but with a minimalist design. It supports multiple server platforms (Paper, Fabric, NeoForge, Sponge) through a shared core module with platform-specific adapters, built using Gradle multi-module and a custom build-logic. The backend captures chunk snapshots via mixins/access transformers, renders them into PNG tiles using biome and block color data, and serves them via an embedded Undertow HTTP server. Tiles are generated asynchronously with a FIFO caching system, and the system provides commands for full/radius renders, pause/resume, and visibility controls. The web frontend is a Leaflet-based TypeScript app with player tracking, world selection, layer controls, and coordinate display. The project also exposes a public API for other plugins to add markers, layers, icons, and player managers. The architecture is cleanly separated into API, common, and platform-specific modules, with dependency injection (Guice) and standard libraries (Cloud command framework, Configurate, Adventure). It is actively maintained, with recent commits and support for bleeding-edge Minecraft versions, but the heavy reliance on internal Minecraft code and multiple platform-specific mixins introduces maintenance complexity and drift risk.
BetterModel is a high-performance, server-side Minecraft plugin and mod (Bukkit/Paper/Fabric) that renders custom 3D models from BlockBench (.bbmodel) files using Minecraft's display entities. It automatically generates resource packs, supports keyframe and Molang-driven animations, per-player model visibility, hitboxes, mounting, player skin integration, and third-party compatibility (MythicMobs, Citizens, SkinsRestorer). The architecture is modular with a clean API/implementation split, platform abstraction, and version-specific NMS modules for multiple Minecraft versions (1.21.4 through 26.3). The codebase demonstrates strong engineering practices in packet bundling, animation interpolation, concurrency utilities, and event-driven design. However, it suffers from significant code duplication across NMS versions, minimal test coverage, and heavy reliance on Minecraft internals via reflection, which introduces maintenance fragility. It is actively maintained with frequent updates and a responsive issue tracker.