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eCloud connection blocked

If you cannot download expansions via PlaceholderAPI, your server may be unable to reach the PlaceholderAPI Expansion Cloud (eCloud). This is usually caused by a network restriction by your host, firewall, or ISP.

Symptoms

Common signs include:

  • You were directed to this page via an in-game message.
  • /papi ecloud download/update <expansion> fails (timeouts, errors, connection refused, or similar).

Why it happens

The download command requires outbound HTTPS access from your server to PlaceholderAPI’s eCloud API. Connections can be blocked by:

  • Your server host’s firewall / security policy
  • A local firewall on the machine
  • A network firewall (datacenter, router)
  • DNS filtering or an ISP block

Domains PlaceholderAPI uses

Allow outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) to these domains:

  • PlaceholderAPI < 2.12.0 uses api.extendedclip.com
  • PlaceholderAPI >= 2.12.0 uses *.placeholderapi.com

Fix options

1) Ask your host to unblock the eCloud

If you use shared hosting or a managed host, you may not be able to change firewall rules yourself. Contact your host and ask them to allow outbound HTTPS requests to the domains listed above.

2) Check firewalls / filters you control

If you manage your own server, check any outbound filtering:

  • OS firewall rules (Windows Firewall / ufw / iptables)
  • Router/datacenter firewall rules
  • DNS filtering

3) Manually install expansions (works even if the eCloud is blocked)

If unblocking is not an option, you can download expansions manually:

  1. Go to https://ecloud.placeholderapi.com/
  2. Open the expansion you want.
  3. Download the .jar.
  4. Put it into your server’s plugins/PlaceholderAPI/expansions/ folder.
  5. Run /papi reload (or restart the server).

Quick connectivity checks (optional)

If you have access to the machine running the server, these checks from a terminal or command prompt can help confirm a block.

curl -I https://ecloud.placeholderapi.com/api/v3/
curl -I https://api.extendedclip.com/v2/

If these commands fail on the server but work on your own PC/network, the server host or datacenter network is most likely blocking outbound connections.

Still stuck?

If you need help, join the Discord Server and share:

  • What you've tried
  • The full console error from the download attempt
  • The link provided by /papi dump