Learning The Items.yml

Please Note; Item-ID's will continue to function on Minecraft v1.13 and above, however, they will no longer be supported as Item-ID's do not exist in Minecraft v1.13. It is recommended to move away from the use of Item-ID's as soon as possible.

Contents

• Creating an Item
• Defining an Items Slot
• Defining an Items Enabled Worlds
• Defining an Items ItemFlags
• Defining an Items Triggers
• Defining Gamemode Limitations
• Establishing ItemPermissions (Required!)
• Establishing ItemCommands
• Custom Placeholders
• Creating a Custom Book
• Creating a Custom Firework
• Creating a Custom Map (Images)
• Creating a Custom Skull (Player Heads)
• Creating a Custom Skull (Skull Textures)
• Creating a Custom Arrow
• Creating a Custom Firework Charge
• Creating a Custom Golden Apple (Effects)
• Creating a Custom Banner (Patterns)
• Creating Custom Dyed Armor
• Dynamic Item Explanation
• Animated Item Explanation

Creating an Item(top)

An Item is fairly simple to create, to create an item you must first list the world identifier. This is the name of the world that you want to receive these items in. The next identifier you must add is the item's identifier, to signify the creation of the items. Now you can simply list the name of the items you wish to create.

The items must have an ID and SLOT to receive the item while in game. You can also list the enabled-worlds you want each item in, or if you don't list the enabled worlds it will be given to all worlds by default. All of the features are optional and simply for greater configuration. Shown below is an example of creating three items.

Also, note; Material (ID)'s are able to be animated (change material types upon a given interval) see the Animation Section at the bottom of this page.

Here is an example of some items;
Now I as I said you can add more options to your items to make them so much more custom.
You can set a custom name, add lines of lore, enchantments, define custom permission nodes to receive the items, as well as the count/amount of each item you get. There is also an option to use data-value of an item, this is useful to get items such as wool.

If you are wanting to include the data-value to the item which is specific to certain items such as coloring wool, you will want to include this in the id of the item. The id and data-value should be included in either quotations or apostrophes because this is a limitation of YAML files. It should look as such '160:15' or "160:15". The id of the item supports numerical as well as a string version along with the data-value so it can also look like this; 'STAINED_GLASS_PANE:15'.

We also have durability, you set this to the amount of durability you want the item to have taken, such as if the item has 32 durability and you set the durability to 5 it will have 27 durability when you receive the item.

If the item is a consumable item or a type of interactable such as an eye of ender, you can put an item use-cooldown on it. In the example, the player has to wait 10 seconds each time they want to use an eye of ender. This prevents any and all special uses of the specified item while the item is on cooldown, this option is not limited to any certain items.

Example;
Lastly, you can also define certain items with a probability to be put into a lottery, then the item that won will be given to the player. Items that do not have probabilities defined will be automatically given to the player and If the item has a probability, only one of those items can be given. Items probability are based on weight rather than a percentage, so you can use any number as long as it is a positive integer. If you define any item(s) without a probability, the item(s) will be given along with the item that wins the probability roll. This also works for adding additional slots, so if the item that was chosen has multiple slots those multiple slots will be given if its a multi-slot item.


Example of random items to be given (as shown in the example image);


As said all options are optional and can be removed if you do not want to use them in your item, you just must have the defining characteristics of an item, ID and Slot.

Here is a list of all available options;

Defining an Items Slot(top)

The slot system consists of 35 Numerical slots and 6 Custom Name slots, and 5 Custom Crafting Name Slots, 0 to 8 are the first 9 slots in your hot bar. Normally when you count you would not start with zero then count up from there, you would start with one. CraftBukkit / Spigot does not do this, they start out with zero first. So the first slot in your hot bar would really be slot zero.

As for the physical inventory, the slot numbers start at the top left and increase to the right, as shown in the image below. Those slots are 9 to 35.

To set an item in your armor slots you would simply type the name of the slot you would want it to be in. Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, or Boots, If you want an item in your offhand you would do the same for this. Just put the slot as Offhand.

To set an item in your crafting slots you would simply have to type CRAFTING then the number of the slot as [#]. See the chart below for the exact slot numbers for crafting. You can define a crafting slot as either CRAFTING[#], C[#], or C(#). The # is the input 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 for the slot number.

Example of crafting slot items;
There is also a slot option called Arbitrary, If an item is set to this, the item will be put in the FIRST available slot in the player's inventory, it will not remove any of the player's items in their inventory to place itself in that spot.

You can also set multiple slots per item, just separate the slots by commas such as 1, 12, 13, Arbitrary, 3.


Here is an example of the slots being used for various items;

Defining an Items Enabled Worlds(top)

This is fairly simple to up set up, just add the enabled-worlds identifier to the item and define the world or world(s) separated by commas that you want to receive the item(s). If you do not want any restrictions between worlds simply do not define any enabled worlds for the item(s).

Here is an example;

If you want to get the item in every world, simply add either All or Global to the enabled-worlds identifier, then the items will be given in every world.

Here is an example of global items;

Code (Text):

items:
  any-text:
    id: 284
    slot: 0
    enabled-worlds: Global
  wheat-item:
    id: WHEAT
    slot: 4
    enabled-worlds: All

Defining an Items ItemFlags(top)

Itemflags allow HUGE modifications to the items. All you have to do to add itemflags to an item is adding the itemflags identifier to the item as shown below.

These are custom itemflags, all itemflags with description are listed below, Itemflags are always being updated and added onto so check back here for updates!

Currently available itemflags:
vanilla - Allows the giving of default unmodified no-name items. Please note if you choose to use commands or itemflags, etc. They will not function since all this does is allow ItemJoin to give a vanilla type item that can have a modified name or lore if defined.
vanilla-status - Applying this itemflag to an item will allow any item with the vanilla itemflag retain its functionality to ItemJoin without applying any NBTTags to the item. This is useful for trying to implement items being used by other plugins so they can retain their functionality while also (not being given on every join).
first-join - This will only give the item when joining the server for the first time, to get the item every time you join just remove this itemflag. If you want to give the item once per-world entrance, use the first-world itemflag.
first-world- This will only give the specified item once per world for each player.
ip-limit - This will only give the item after checking the IP of a player, so if someone has already joined and then joins with an alt the alt will not get the item, preventing players from loading up on free items. This will limit the item to the players IP address.
unbreakable - Set the item as INDESTRUCTIBLE!
hide-attributes - Hides ALL attributes, such as firework color, damage the item does, enchantments. (Hides everything from lore except the custom lore).
hide-durability - Hides the durability bar from the item.
placement - Prevents this item from being placed if it is a BLOCK, or if the item is being placed in an item-frame.
inventory-modify - Prevents this item from being moved, placed in an item frame, or switched to offhand in the player's inventory.
dynamic - This will allow the item to dynamically update every 100 ticks by default, changing any previous placeholder values to the now up-to-date values. See how to set up dynamic items below.
animate - This will allow the item to animate between the different name and lore iterations every 100 ticks by default, you can make the name of the item and/or the lore to anything you could want, between a different name entirely or just changing the color codes to create a cool effect. See how to setup animated items below.
item-store - Prevents the storage of the item in a trapped chest, chest, enderchest, hopper, anvil, crafting table, shulker box, furnace, item frame, minecart with chest, droppers, dispensers, item-stands, llama chests, and donkey chests.
cancel-events - Prevents player from opening a chest while this item is in hand or any open-able items. Useful for canceling the event of opening a book to set custom book items.
count-lock - Prevents the player from using all of the items. If the item is set to count: 32 then each time the player places the block item the stack will be refreshed back to 32.
death-drops - Clears this item if it is dropped on the ground when the player dies.
self-drops - Prevents the player from dropping this item, either clicking it out of inventory or using the drop key, usually (q).
disposable - If a command is run from the item it will remove x1 of the item from the player's inventory.
item-repairable - This will block the usage of the specified ItemJoin item in an anvil repair recipe. If this itemflag is also used on a consumable recipe item such as a diamond the itemflag will still prevent the repair of an item.
item-craftable - This will block the usage of the specified ItemJoin item in a crafting recipe via the crafting table or the players own personal crafting menu. If an item using this itemflag is placed in either of those following locations the item will be automatically moved back to the first available slot of the player's inventory.
always-give - This will always give the specified ItemJoin item when a player acts upon one of the defined triggers such as on join. This itemflag also has a dual functionality, allowing the hasItem restriction bypass on the regular /itemjoin get <item> and /itemjoin get <item> <player> with no amount being specified.
allow-modifications - Allows the item to still function as a normal ItemJoin item if the ENCHANTMENTS, BOOK PAGES, NAME, LORE, and item COUNT are modified by the player or a plugin.
overwrite - This will perform exactly the same as the items-Overwrite boolean in the items.yml except it is item specific. Applying this itemflag to the item will prevent that specific item from overwriting any other items in the player's inventory whether they are ItemJoin related or not. This itemflag will take priority over the items-Overwrite boolean.
AllowOpBypass - This would allow the user IF THEIR OP to bypass most of these itemflags. It will work on ALL non-item modifying flags. This would NOT work on unbreakable, hide-attributes, stuff like that.
CreativeBypass - This would allow the user IF THEY'RE IN CREATIVE MODE to bypass most of these itemflags. It will work on ALL non-item modifying flags. This would NOT work on unbreakable, hide-attributes, stuff like that.

Here is an example of an item with all itemflags;

Defining an Items Triggers(top)

Triggers allow you to receive the items under certain conditions. All you have to do to add a trigger to an item is add the triggers identifier to the item as shown below. If a trigger is not defined, the item will be given upon joining the server by default.

These are custom triggers, all triggers with description are listed below.

Currently available triggers:
join - This will give the item when the player logs into the server.
first-join - This will only give the item when joining the server for the first time, to get the item every time you join just remove this itemflag. If you want to give the item once per-world entrance, use the first-world trigger. Note: This is the exact same as the first-join itemflag, however, this will automatically apply the join trigger. If you want any other triggers you will need to manually add them.
first-world - This will only give the specified item once per world for each player. Note: This is the exact same as the first-world itemflag, however, this will automatically apply the join and world-switch trigger. If you want any other triggers you will need to manually add them.
respawn - This item will be given on respawn if a player dies.
world-change - This item will be given when the player changes worlds. When you enter the world this item is allowed in it will be given.
gamemode-switch - This works well with the limit-modes identifier, however, it will work without it. If the player switches to a gamemode that is not defined in the limit-mode this trigger will remove the item from the player's inventory. If the player is missing an item that is defined by the limit-modes it will be given if they are switching to the correct gamemode.
region-enter - This will give the item upon entering a region and remove it upon exiting, you must have WorldGuard set to true and have enabled-regions listed for the item.
region-remove - This will remove the item upon entering a region and add it back upon exiting, you must have WorldGuard set to true and have enabled-regions listed for the item.
disabled - This will prevent the item from being given on join, respawn, world-change, and region-enter. This is helpful if you only wish to get the item using /itemjoin get <item>.

Here is an example of an item with all triggers;
Gamemode-Switch example;

Defining Gamemode Limitations(top)

Setting up an item to be limited to a specific gamemode is fairly easy, any item that is defined under limit-modes will be allowed to have the specified item. If a limit-mode is set to a specific item, the player will only be given the items if they are in the defined gamemode upon an action defined by the triggers. If you wish to actively give and remove the item based on a player gamemode rather than upon join/world-change/respawn/region you can add the Gamemode-Switch TRIGGER which will active make sure you have the correct items for your defined limit-modes.


Simply ass the limit-modes identifier as shown;
An example item that you can only get in SURVIVAL and ADVENTURE mode;

Establishing ItemPermissions (Required!)(top)

These are the permission(s) required for players who are not a server administrator to receive the item(s).
Please note; permissions are case sensitive, including the world names! Sometimes certain permissions plugins fix this but in reality, it depends on the permissions plugin you use.

Code (Text):

itemjoin.Your_Specified_World_Name_Here.Item_Name:
description: Gives permission to get a specific item in a specific world. Replace Item_Name with the name of the specified item (in the items.yml) and Your_Specified_World_Name_Here with the name of the world to receive that item.
default: false

itemjoin.Your_Specified_World_Name_Here.*:
description: Gives permission to get all items from the specified world. Replace Your_Specified_World_Name_Here with the name of the world to receive that item.
default: false

(I recommend itemjoin.Your_Specified_World_Name_Here.* as it would be easier unless you are trying to create permission group specific items)

Remember to replace Your_Specified_World_Name_Here with your world's name. If you need to see what world you want the items in, simply stand in the world and type /itemjoin world this will tell you the world name you are in that you want to put in the permission node.

The other option is to add a permission node for each specific item you have created. You can use these interchangeably such as adding a custom permission node to one item and using the default permission nodes listed above for items without a dedicated permission node.

Simply add the following to your item and replace specialty with your desired text. You can change the permission node to whatever you want such as 'example.fish'. I simply chose to use ItemJoin as the beginning string of the custom permission node. Make sure add the custom permissions you create to a permissions plugin afterward.

You can use all these item permissions interchangeably such as adding a custom permission node to one item and using the default permission nodes for items without a dedicated permission node.


Add this to your item;

Code (Text):

    permission-node: 'itemjoin.specialty'

Here is an example of an item utilizing the custom permission node utility;

Code (Text):

items:
  example-item:
    id: DIAMOND_SWORD
    slot: 0
    permission-node: 'itemjoin.specialty'

Establishing ItemCommands(top)

First off, we have to start by setting up the command actions. These will be the actions the player has to do to activate the commands.
There are 7 types of executors: multi-click, multi-click-air, right-click, right-click-air, left-click, left-click-air, inventory and physical.
It is not recommended to use physical and it is disabled by default because this executes the command if a player steps on a pressure plate, hits a mob, opens a chest, or any other physical actions with that item in your hand it will run any commands it has.
You can set it up as such to use all of the executors or you can remove the ones you don't want to use. See the example below for how the executors should be set up.

As for the commands cooldowns, it is as simple as it gets! It sets the time in seconds that the items command will be on cooldown for. If the commands are on cooldown then it will send a cooldown message, sends the player the cooldown message when the item is on cooldown.

There are also commands-sequence identifiers, you can specify either RANDOM or ALL to either execute one of the commands RANDOMly given an even percentage between each command or execute ALL commands (normally). There is also the option to execute the commands as SEQUENTIAL, however, this technically doesn't do anything different it just executes the commands in order.
Note; you do not have to add commands-sequence if you just simply want all the commands to execute as normal in a "sequential order".

Example of a item with RANDOM commands (as shown in example image);

Finally, we have command instances. Commands can be executed by 4 instances; console, player, server, serverswitch, and message. If no instance is specified in the commands string, then by default it will be executed by the player.
If you still do not understand what each does;
console, executes the set command by console.
op, executes the command as if the player executed it themselves, but ignoring all the permissions (as if they were Oped.
player, executes the command as if the player executed it as themselves.
server, sends the player to that directed server name. (Intended for use on switching server that is using BungeeCord).
serverswitch, sends the player to that directed server name. (Intended for use on switching server that is using BungeeCord).
delay, executes the commands after this identifier, delayed by the specified amount of ticks.
message, sends the player a custom message of your choosing.

Along with these command instances come a few optional command identifiers that can perform some interesting actions.
Closing a players inventory - You can specify [close] for all player, console, op, and default commands to close the player's inventory once the command is executed. This specifically closes the executing player's inventory, so despite it being executed by the console, it will close the player's inventory since obviously console does not have an inventory. Example; 'player: [close]'

Here is an example of an item with a command;

Custom Placeholders(top)

These placeholders can be used in anything to do with ItemJoin, whether it is an items name/lore/command/etc. These are independent and added by ItemJoin if you wish to have additional placeholders you will need to install and enable PlaceholderAPI in the config.yml.

These placeholders I have added I call internal placeholders as they are only accessible by ItemJoin;
%player% - Displays the player's current display name.
%argsplayer% - Displays the other player's current display name for specific lang.yml messages.
%argsplayer_world% - Displays the other player's current world for specific lang.yml messages.
%player_kills% - Displays the player's current player vs player kill count.
%mob_kills% - Displays the player's current mob kill count.
%player_deaths% - Displays the player's current death count.
%player_location% - Displays the player's current location (x, y, z).
%player_health% - Displays the player's current health.
%player_food% - Displays the player's current food level.

Creating a Custom Book(top)

Custom books can get a bit complicated and tricky so bear with me.
To begin creating your custom book you must set the ID to WRITTEN_BOOK. It must be that and it cannot be anything else. You have the option of adding an author if you would like by adding the author identifier.


The way books are created have been completely rewritten, so now it is a lot easier. It is super simple, just like defining commands, however, you will need to create an identifier for each page, below I used numbers to show that. Then you just have to list the page lines as you want.

Custom books also support JSON events, along with support for all PlaceholderAPI placeholders, as well as default ItemJoin internal placeholders.
NOTE; JSON events such as hover/open_url/run_command/etc will not work on MC 1.7 and below as Minecraft does not support it for books. (Text Components)

Remember for each JSON type "action" the hover type must be set to that action. Such as open_url, run_command, or text.

Simply to create a hover event, take the example event below and fill in the value to be what is shown when the player hovers above the text, then after that replace the text "What is your name?" with the custom text you wish to appear on the page. This line of text will be the one you have to hover on to show the value text.

Example of a hover JSON event;

Creating open_url and run_command events are very similar to the hover event, take the example event below and fill in the value to be executed when the player clicks on the text, then after that replace the text "Click to view ItemJoin." or "Click to run a Command." with the custom text you wish to appear on the page. This line of text will be the one you have to hover on to show the value text.

Example of a open_url JSON event;
Example of a run_command JSON event;

If there is something that is currently not set up for ItemJoin JSON books, you can actually input your own RAW JSON data for each book-line.
If you have raw JSON data you can now put that as a page line to appear, for example, this would be useful for clickable hover text as shown in the example below. Simply add the "raw: " identifier and paste the raw JSON data, this can include the ["" or exclude it. Please note that this only works for each separate line on each book page.



Here is an example of a custom book item;

Creating a Custom Firework(top)

Your custom firework item's ID must be FIREWORK, if you are using Minecraft v1.13 or above it must be set to FIREWORK_ROCKET. If it is not set to either of those it will not work.
Each firework must have the firework identifier as shown below.
You must specify what firework type you would like your firework to be. The available firework types are; BALL, BALL_LARGE, BURST, CREEPER, STAR.

You also have the option of enabling / disabling flicker and trail from your firework. Flicker is if you want the particles after the explosion to sparkle and fade out. The trail is if you want your firework to leave a trail of misty smoke behind the fireworks path of trajectory.

Next, you must specify the power, the power represents the distance the firework will travel before it will explode. For example, 1 is fairly close to the ground, 2 is fairly high in the sky. It is recommended that you keep the power BELOW 2, as it will get really high up into the sky if it is set any higher than 2.

Finally, you must set the color identifier. Within the color identifier, you can add as many colors as you want! These colors must be Dye colors. The available dye colors are; BLACK, BLUE, BROWN, CYAN, GRAY, GREEN, LIGHT_BLUE, LIME, MAGENTA, ORANGE, PINK, PURPLE, RED, SILVER, WHITE, YELLOW.
You can see the list of dye colors here.

Here is an example of a custom firework item;

Creating a Custom Map (Images)(top)

Custom maps are really simple and easy to set up! All you need to do is set the ID to MAP and add the custom-map-image identifier as shown below.

Just put the image you want to be displayed on your map in the local ItemJoin folder, where the config files are located, and replace the default.png with the name of the png file.

You must also set a map-id to the item, this id can only be 1 - 29. If it is above or below it will cause errors! If you have multiple custom maps you must set them to have different map-id's.
Map-ID's are no longer required and are now chosen by ItemJoin and reserved, depending on what Map-ID is the first available and unused. This prevents other plugins from interfering with ItemJoin's custom maps.

NOTE: The map image must be NO LARGER than 128x128 pixels, this is a perfect fit for the map size. The image file you use can be any format such as PNG or JPG. There is also support for animated GIF's as long as the file ends in (.gif).

Here is an example of a custom map item;

Creating a Custom Skull (Player Heads)(top)

Custom Player Heads are super simple to set up. Set the ID to SKULL_ITEM, or PLAYER_HEAD if you are using Minecraft v1.13 or above, and set the data value to 3 at the end of the item's id. The data-value being 3 means it is a player head.

Finally just add the skull-owner identifier as shown below and put the name of the player you want to be displayed on the skull. In the example, a placeholder %player% is shown. This means the player that gets the skull in their inventory will show their own skin! So everyone gets their own skull, with their own skin!

Also, note; Skull Owners are able to be animated (change textures upon a given interval) see the Animation Section at the bottom of this page.

Here is an example of a custom skull item;

Creating a Custom Skull (Skull Textures)(top)

Custom Skull Textures are super simple to set up, they work almost identically to Custom Player Skulls. Set the ID to SKULL_ITEM, or PLAYER_HEAD if you are using Minecraft v1.13 or above, and set the data value to 3 at the end of the item's id. The data-value being 3 means it is a player head.

Finally just add the skull-texture identifier as shown below and put the texture code (encoded in Base64) that you want to be displayed on the skull.

My system mainly works off of http://minecraft-heads.com, however, it will work for any URL as long as its encoded in Base64, as shown in the screenshots minecraft-heads.com already supplies the needed texture for you so not many people will have to worry about it. If you are using a skull-texture do not define a skull-owner, otherwise, the item will not be given.

Also, note; Skull Textures are able to be animated (change textures upon a given interval) see the Animation Section at the bottom of this page.


Here is an example of a custom skull item using skull textures;

Creating a Custom Arrow(top)

Custom Arrows are meant for making Tipped Arrows, these are the new 1.9 arrows with potion effects.
All you have to do is set the id to TIPPED_ARROW, and add the potion-effect identifier, which is the effect given off by the arrow, the power; strength of the arrows potion effect, the default is 1 and there is no limit that I have found, Lastly would be the time; this is the time in seconds that the arrows effect will have on the target it is on in seconds, the default is set to 20 seconds. So formatting would look like this; Effect:LevelOfEffect:DurationInSeconds you can see below I did Wither 1 with 20 seconds of duration.

Here is an example of a custom arrow item;

Creating a Custom Firework Charge(top)

This is a very simple feature but you can easily change the color of a firework charge using ItemJoin!
Simply set the id to FIREWORK_CHARGE, or FIREWORK_STAR if you are using Minecraft v1.13 or above and add charge-color: ColorName and the firework charge will spawn in with that color.

Here is an example of a custom firework charge item;

Creating a Custom Golden Apple (Effects)(top)

Custom golden apples are apples that have custom potion effects. These work with both golden apples and notch apples. Just add the potion-effect identifier like the custom potions. Formatting goes as such Effect:LevelOfEffect:DurationInSeconds as you can see below I did Jump level 2 with 120 seconds of time applied to you upon drinking it.

Here is an example of a custom golden apple item;

Creating a Custom Banner (Patterns)(top)

To create custom banners, all you have to do is set your item's id to BANNER, or WHITE_BANNER if you are using Minecraft v1.13 and above, and add the banner-meta identifier as shown below.

The format for the banner meta works as such, COLOR:PATTERN. You can add multiple Colors and Patterns to create some amazing effects, just separate them by commas. You can create almost anything if you set them in the right order.

Here is an example of a custom banner item;

Creating Custom Dyed Armor(top)

Coloring leather armor is as simple as setting the id to leather helmet/chest/leggings/boots. Then just add the leather-color identifier as shown below.
The format for changing leather color is leather-color: COLOR.
The list of available colors is located here.
You also have the option to use hex color codes for a leather's color.
You can use the hex color tool here.
Example of hexcolor;
Here is an example of a custom dyed leather armor item;

Dynamic Item Explanation(top)

Dynamic items are items that update periodically when there is a change to the item(s) name or lore, that being mostly to do with placeholders, these could also be interpreted as "live" items.

Creating an updating item is a little complex but becomes easier once you learn how to do the proper formatting. First off you will need to add the itemflag dynamic to the item. Once you do this you must specify a delay. If no delay is specified then the default delay will be 100 ticks which is every 5 seconds. If you want the name to update simply add <delay:TimeInTicks> to the beginning of the name you specified for the item. If you want to update the lore as well you will need to place <delay:TimeInTicks> in the first line of lore only, not in the additional lines. The name and lore can update at different ticks being completely independent of each other. Keep in mind that 20 ticks are equal to 1 second(s).

Say I want to update the number of players that are online every 120 ticks which is every 6 seconds. I would add <delay:120> at the beginning of the name shown in the example below. As you can see the <delay:120> does not actually appear in the items name.

Next, I want to update the current server up-time and players online every 20 ticks which is every 1 second(s), I would add <delay:20> to only the first line of the item's lore. As you can see shown in the GIF below it seamlessly updates the item's lore counting the server's update up every second as if it was a clock.

A nice option is for skull-owners as well, these if given the dynamic itemflag can update the player's skin if they happen to change it.

Note: If you have to update the item any faster (less than) 20 ticks and you are running Spigot, you will need to edit your spigot.yml in your server folder and set item-dirty-ticks to 1, this limitation does not exist in CraftBukkit so you will not have to worry about it. Also the lower you set the ticks the harsher it could be on your server performance, this has not been proven but logically it will depend on your server specs, if you have a computer with decent specs then you will be fine. It is not recommended to set your ticks any lower than 3 ticks otherwise there could be a decrease in server performance.

Here is an example of a custom dynamically updated item;

Animated Item Explanation(top)

Animated items are items that update periodically when there is a change to the item(s) name or lore, the name and lore can change to anything you desire after each delay!

Animated items are based off a similar structure as dynamic items, however, these items can switch between the different name and lore iterations. First, you are going to want to add the itemflag animate or animated to your item. Next, you will want to create at least two lines in the name to iterate through, as shown below I had done 12 lines. I used numbers as an example since they are cleaner but you can call the line whatever you want just like the item's identifier structure. In each line specify a delay, if no delay is specified it will default to 100 ticks which is every 5 seconds. Simply add <delay:TimeInTicks> to the beginning of the name you specified for the item. If you want to animate the lore as well you will need to place <delay:TimeInTicks> in the first line of lore only for each iteration, not in the additional lines. The name and lore can animate at different ticks/speeds being completely independent of each other. Keep in mind that 20 ticks are equal to 1 second(s).

Below you can see the new structure for changing the name and lore. Each line has a delay of 3 ticks, this delay takes effect after the first delay/name change. So say you are going from name 1: to name 2:, the delay would be the original delay + the 2nd delay, making it so the 2nd name change will take effect 3 ticks after the first name change is applied.

Skull-Owners, Material-ID's, and Skull-Textures all support animation as shown in the examples below.

Note: If you have to animate the item any faster (less than) 20 ticks and you are running Spigot, you will need to edit your spigot.yml in your server folder and set item-dirty-ticks to 1, this limitation does not exist in CraftBukkit so you will not have to worry about it. Also the lower you set the ticks the harsher it could be on your server performance, this has not been proven but logically it will depend on your server specs, if you have a computer with decent specs then you will be fine. It is not recommended to set your ticks any lower than 3 ticks otherwise there could be a decrease in server performance.

Here is an example of a custom dyed leather armor item;
Example of an item with Animated Skull-Texture;

Example of an item with Animated Skull-Owner;

Example of an item with Animated Material;

Better example item;