Relay

Relay is a command framework for Java, with a Paper platform module for Minecraft servers.

It is designed around three ideas:

1. A clean, platform-agnostic command model
2. A reusable parsing / matching / suggestion engine
3. Thin platform adapters that expose the model naturally on specific runtimes such as Paper

Relay is not trying to be “just a command executor helper”. It is a structured command system with:

• typed arguments
• overloads / signatures
• subcommands
• flags and value options
• requirements / access checks
• help generation
• suggestion providers
• platform-specific authoring conveniences

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Modules

relay-api

The public API and shared abstractions.

This module contains the core contracts and model types such as:

• Command
• CommandDefinition
• Argument
• ArgumentType
• CommandDispatcher
• CommandMatcher
• CommandRequirement
• CommandHelpProvider
• CommandResponseRenderer

If you are building on Relay as a library, this is the conceptual surface area.

relay-core

The default implementation of the Relay API.

This module contains:

• default argument readers
• default parsers
• the default matcher
• the default dispatcher
• the default suggester
• default help provider / usage formatter
• the generic CommandBuilder
• default command and option implementations

This is the engine that makes the API useful.

relay-paper

The Paper platform adapter.

This module adds:

• Paper command manager
• lifecycle-based registration
• bootstrap support
• Paper-specific builder conveniences
• Paper-specific argument types
• Adventure / Paper rendering support
• Paper command contexts and handlers

This is the module consumer Paper plugins will use.

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Design

Relay is intentionally split into layers.

1. Command model

The command tree is represented as immutable command definitions and runtime command models.

A command can have:

• a name
• aliases
• subcommands
• signatures
• options
• requirements
• suggestion providers

2. Parsing and matching

Relay parses input using its own argument readers and parsers.

The matcher is responsible for:

• descending through subcommands
• parsing options
• choosing the best matching signature
• producing a CommandMatchResult

3. Dispatch

The dispatcher:

• finds the correct root command
• parses the remainder
• checks requirements
• finds the bound handler
• executes the command
• returns a structured CommandDispatchResult

4. Help and suggestions

Relay can generate structured help entries and usage lists from the command tree. Suggestions are produced using the command model, signatures, and registered suggestion providers.

5. Platform adapters

A platform module takes the generic engine and exposes it in a platform-native way.

For Paper, that means:

• Paper lifecycle registration
• Paper command bootstrap support
• Paper-specific argument types such as players, worlds, materials, etc.
• Adventure component-based rendering

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