Migration guide

From DeluxeChat

DeluxeChat's formats are a flat list of strings per group. To translate:

1. Stop the server, back up your YAML.
2. Drop StarChat in alongside DeluxeChat (don't remove yet).
3. Open StarChat's formatting/formats.yml.
4. For every group key in DeluxeChat's formats.yml, create a matching entry pointing to a new format component.
5. Move the format string into formatting/format-components.yml as the message field.
6. Restart, verify formats, then remove DeluxeChat.

Translation example

formats:
  vip:
    priority: 5
    format: '&7[%luckperms_prefix% &7] %player_name% &8» &f%message%'

formats:
  vip:
    group: vip
    weight: 5
    chat-format: vip_format

components:
  vip_format:
    '1':
      message: '&7[%luckperms_prefix% &7] %player_name% &8» '
    '2':
      message: '&f{message}'

From VentureChat

VentureChat's strength is per-channel routing. StarChat approaches this differently — public chat is one channel; staff chat is its own subsystem. If you used VentureChat's general/help/local channel split:

• Local — not directly supported. Use a Discord channel or the prefix-based StaffChat.
• Help — replicate with /staffchat helper.
• General— that's just default chat.

From EssentialsChat

Essentials uses a single format: string in config.yml. Drop it as default_format unchanged — Essentials syntax is a subset of StarChat's.

# Essentials config.yml
chat:
  format: '<{DISPLAYNAME}> {MESSAGE}'

# StarChat format-components.yml
default_format:
  '1':
    message: '<%player_displayname%> '
  '2':
    message: '{message}'

Migration checklist

• Backup the old plugin's YAML.
• Install StarChat, paste license, leave default formats.
• Verify default chat works.
• Translate one rank at a time, reload, test in-game.
• When all ranks pass, remove the old plugin.
• Final restart, verify cleanly.