Minecraft Server Troubleshooting Guide
Common Minecraft server problems and solutions. Learn to diagnose issues, optimize performance, and fix crashes quickly.
- "Server took too long to respond"
Server is overloaded or offline. Check Pterodactyl console. Allocate more RAM. Disable laggy plugins. Restart server. Monitor with /mspt to identify bottlenecks. - Lag & Low TPS (Ticks Per Second)
Check /mspt (Paper). Ideal: 20 TPS. For diagnosis: Use Spark plugin (/spark) for profiling. Identify chunk loading issues, entity limits, or bad plugins. - Players Disconnecting Randomly
Check logs for "player X lost connection". Causes: timeout (network issue), server crash (check logs), plugin conflict. Try disabling new plugins one by one. - Server Crash on Startup
Read crash log in Pterodactyl console. Common: incompatible plugin, corrupted world, version mismatch. Remove suspicious plugins. Restore backup world if needed. - Out of Memory (OOM) Error
"Could not allocate memory". Allocate more RAM in Pterodactyl. Default 2GB too low for 20+ players. Typical: 4GB (20 players), 8GB (50 players). - World Won't Load / Corrupted World
Try restoring from backup. If no backup: Delete region files and regenerate. Use world editors (WorldEdit) to recover lost data within a region. - Plugin Not Loading
Check console for errors. Verify .jar file isn't corrupted. Check dependencies (e.g., Vault, ProtocolLib needed by many). Restart server after adding plugins. - Connection Refused / Can't Connect
Verify server IP and port correct. Check firewall allows port. Ensure server is running (green "Running" in Pterodactyl). Restart server. - Chunks Not Loading Properly
Use Chunky plugin to pre-generate world. Set simulation-distance to 4-6 (lower = better). Disable cave biome generation if world is huge. - Getting Community Help
Post logs on PasteBin.com. Describe exact steps to reproduce issue. Include server version, plugins, error messages. Check community forums (Spigot, Paper) for similar issues.