First, find out which kind of lag it is
"Lag" can mean three different things, and each has a different fix:
| Type | What it feels like | Where the problem is |
|---|---|---|
| Low TPS | Blocks reappear after breaking them, mobs freeze, everyone rubber-bands at the same time | The server. This is what this guide fixes. |
| High ping | Delay between clicking and something happening, but the world keeps moving | The network path between the player and the server |
| Low FPS | Choppy picture for one player only | That player's own computer or settings |
A healthy server runs at 20 TPS (ticks per second). Each tick has 50 ms to finish. If the server cannot keep up, TPS drops below 20 and everything slows down for everyone.
Step 1: Measure before you change anything
On Paper, Spigot and Purpur you can check TPS with this command in the console or in game as an operator:
/tpsTo find out what is slow, install the free spark profiler and record a report while the lag is happening:
/spark profiler start
/spark profiler stopStopping the profiler gives you a link to a web report that shows which plugins, mods or world activity are using the most time. Keep that link, because our team can read it too.
Step 2: Lower view distance and simulation distance
These two settings are the quickest win. A smaller distance means fewer chunks for the server to load and update for every player. In server.properties:
view-distance=8
simulation-distance=6Restart the server after changing them. Players still see far away terrain, but the server only ticks things close to them. Lower the numbers further if TPS is still low.
Step 3: Pre-generate your world
Creating new terrain as players explore is one of the most expensive things a server does. Generating it ahead of time, while nobody is online, removes that cost from normal play. The free Chunky plugin does this:
/worldborder set 10000
/chunky radius 5000
/chunky startThe world border above is 10,000 blocks wide, and Chunky generates the matching 5,000 block radius around the centre. Pick a size that suits your players. Let it finish before you open the server.
Step 4: Tame entities
Large mob farms, huge animal pens and piles of dropped items are a very common cause of low TPS, because every entity is processed every tick.
- Ask players to keep farms small and to avoid leaving huge amounts of items or animals loaded.
- On Paper you can lower mob spawn limits and per-chunk entity limits in the world config (
config/paper-world-defaults.ymlon recent versions). - Use a plugin that clears dropped items on a timer if your server often fills up with them.
Step 5: Audit your plugins and mods
Your spark report shows how much time each plugin or mod takes. Look for:
- Plugins near the top of the report that you do not really need. Remove or replace them.
- Two plugins that do the same job. Keep one.
- Heavy features such as live map renderers. Schedule them for quiet hours, or limit how much they render.
- Out-of-date plugins. Update them to the version made for your Minecraft version.
Step 6: Check memory and CPU
If the server is short on memory, Java spends time cleaning up and players see regular freezes. If the CPU is at its limit, ticks take too long and TPS falls.
- Watch memory use on your panel. If it sits near full all the time, you probably need more RAM. See How much RAM does your Minecraft server need?
- If memory is fine but TPS is low and your spark report shows the server thread is busy, the setup needs more CPU. Our plans scale from 100% CPU on Dirt to 700% on Netherite.
Still lagging? Send us the details
Open a ticket and include your spark report link, your server software and version, the number of players online when it happens, and the plugins or mods you run. That lets us help in one go. Our guide How to order and get help fast shows exactly how.
Ping is different
If only one player has delay and your TPS reads 20, the problem is likely their connection, not the server. Ask them to try a wired connection or a different network.