← Back to Tutorials

Optimizing Your Minecraft Server: A Key Feature and Here's How To Do It

Optimizing Your Minecraft Server: A Key Feature and Here's How

Running a Minecraft server smoothly requires balancing performance, player experience, and resource management. Whether you're hosting a small private server or a large public one, optimization ensures minimal lag, faster load times, and better gameplay. Here’s how to optimize your Minecraft server effectively:

1. Choose the Right Server Hardware

  • RAM Allocation: Allocate enough RAM based on player count (e.g., 2GB for 5-10 players, 8GB+ for 50+ players).
  • CPU Power: A strong single-core CPU (since Minecraft is single-threaded) is crucial for performance.
  • SSD Storage: Use an SSD instead of an HDD to reduce world loading times.

### 2. Optimize Server Software

  • Use a Performance-Optimized Jar:

- PaperMC or Purpur (fork of Paper) – Improves tick speed, reduces lag, and adds optimizations.

- Fabric + Lithium/Phosphor – Lightweight optimization mods for Fabric servers.

  • Update Regularly: Always run the latest stable version for bug fixes and performance improvements.

3. Adjust Server Settings (server.properties)

  • View Distance: Lower it (e.g., 6-8 chunks) to reduce CPU load.
  • Entity Activation Range: Decrease (entity-activation-range in Paper) to limit mob processing.
  • Mob Spawn Limits: Reduce monster, animal, and water-animal spawn limits if laggy.
  • Disable Unused Features: Turn off generate-structures, allow-nether, or allow-end if not needed.

4. Optimize World & Plugins

  • Pre-Generate Chunks: Use plugins like Chunky to prevent lag spikes during exploration.
  • Clear Lag:

- Install ClearLagg or TPS Monitor to remove excess entities/items.

- Set auto-restart schedules (e.g., every 12 hours) to refresh memory.

  • Limit Redstone & Hoppers: Excessive redstone contraptions cause lag—use AntiRedstoneClock plugins.

5. Network & TPS Improvements

  • Max-Tick-Time: Set max-tick-time in spigot.yml to prevent freeze crashes.
  • Keep TPS at 20: Monitor with /tps – if it drops, reduce entity/redstone load.
  • Use a Proxy (BungeeCord/Waterfall): For multiple servers, a proxy improves network efficiency.

6. Plugin & Mod Management

  • Avoid Bloated Plugins: Remove unused or heavy plugins (e.g., replace EssentialsX with MiniMOTD).
  • Use Lightweight Alternatives: Opt for optimized plugins like Spark for profiling lag sources.

7. Automate Backups & Maintenance

  • Schedule Backups: Use our autobackup system to prevent data loss.
  • Regularly Restart: Automate restarts to clear memory leaks (e.g., via ServerRestart).

Conclusion

By fine-tuning hardware, software, and configurations, your Minecraft server can handle more players with minimal lag. Test changes incrementally and monitor performance with tools like Timings Report (/timings on) to identify bottlenecks.

Need more help? Open a ticket in our discord! 🚀