Understanding TPS
Ticks Per Second (TPS) is the heartbeat of your Minecraft server. A healthy server runs at 20 TPS. When this number drops, players experience 'lag'—blocks reappearing after being broken, delayed chat, and entities stuttering. TPS drops are typically caused by excessive entity counts, unoptimised plugins, or hardware resource exhaustion.
Diagnosing the Cause
Before making changes, identify what is consuming your server's resources:
On AwakeNode
Use the File Manager in your panel to inspect your logs/latest.log file. Alternatively, run the /timings report command (if using Paper) or /spark profiler to get a detailed breakdown of what is slowing down your ticks.
On other hosts
Access your server via SFTP to download your logs or use console commands like /timings or /spark to generate a performance report. These tools provide a link to a web-based analysis of your server's performance.
Common Fixes
Optimising Plugins and Mods
Excessive or poorly coded plugins are a common culprit.
- On AwakeNode: Use the Files tab to remove or update plugins that may be causing overhead.
- On other hosts: Manually remove plugins from your
pluginsfolder, restart the server, and monitor the TPS to isolate the problematic plugin.
Managing Entities
Too many mobs or dropped items will tank your TPS. Use a plugin like ClearLagg to manage entity counts or adjust your spigot.yml and paper-world-defaults.yml files to limit mob spawning and view distances.
Resource Allocation
If your server is consistently hitting 100% CPU usage, it may simply need more power.
- On AwakeNode: If you need more RAM, simply upgrade your plan. The server's Xmx value will update automatically without requiring manual configuration.
- On other hosts: You must manually edit your startup script to increase the
-Xmxflag. Ensure your host provides enough CPU headroom for your player count.
Advanced Performance Tuning
If you have optimised your plugins and entities but still experience drops, you may need to adjust Java Garbage Collection (GC) settings or specific JVM startup flags.
- Note: To add your own JVM flags, set a custom startup command in your server's Startup tab.
Questions
What is a good TPS for a Minecraft server?
A healthy Minecraft server should maintain a constant 20 TPS. Anything below 18 TPS is usually noticeable to players as lag.
Can I change my server's RAM allocation myself?
On AwakeNode, RAM is managed automatically based on your plan. On other hosts, you must manually edit the -Xmx flag in your startup script.
How do I find out what is causing my server lag?
You can use performance profiling tools like Spark or Paper's built-in Timings report to see exactly which plugins or entities are consuming the most resources.
Will adding more RAM always fix TPS drops?
Not necessarily. While more RAM helps with memory-heavy tasks, TPS drops are often caused by CPU-intensive processes like mob AI or unoptimised plugins that cannot be fixed by adding more memory.