Paper and Spigot plugin.yml errors
"Legacy plugin ... does not specify an api-version"
Server log
Legacy plugin MyPlugin v1.0 does not specify an api-version.
What it means
Without api-version the server assumes the plugin was written for Minecraft 1.12 or older. The plugin still loads, but the server turns on Legacy Material Support ("Initializing Legacy Material Support. Unless you have legacy plugins and/or data this is a bug!"), which slows startup and rewrites the plugin's code at load time.
What causes it
plugin.yml has no api-version, or it is lower than 1.13.
How to fix it
Before
name: MyPlugin version: '1.0' main: com.example.myplugin.MyPlugin
After
name: MyPlugin version: '1.0' main: com.example.myplugin.MyPlugin api-version: '1.21'
Use the oldest server version you test on. Servers older than that value will refuse the plugin.
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