How to Identify Performance Issues on Your Minecraft Server Using Spark
Find out exactly what's causing lag with detailed performance profiling
Find out exactly what's causing lag with detailed performance profiling
What is Spark?
Spark is a performance plugin that shows what's using your server's CPU, memory and tick time. It tells you what's actually causing lag instead of guessing.
Getting Started & Installation
- Go to Minecraft, and then go to the "Plugin Installer" or "Mod Installer" depending on your server software.
- Search for "Spark" and install the latest version.
- Restart your server so it loads.
Checking Server Health
Run this to see your server's overall health: /spark health
It shows your TPS (ticks per second, where 20 is perfect), tick time, loaded entities and chunks, and memory usage. If TPS is well below 20, you have a problem.
Profiling Your Server
Start the profiler: /spark profiler start
Play normally for 1-2 minutes so it records your server under normal load.
Stop the profiler: /spark profiler stop
Open the report link it gives you (hosted on spark.lucko.me). It shows which plugin, world, entity or code is using the most CPU.
Essential Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/spark health |
shows server health. |
/spark profiler start |
starts recording. |
/spark profiler stop |
stops and gives you a report link. |
/spark tickmonitor |
tracks what happens during lag spikes over time. |
Important Considerations
- TPS vs RAM: Low TPS is a CPU problem, not a memory one. Adding RAM won't fix it.
- Reading Reports: The biggest entries at the top of the report are your problem.
- Common Causes: Plugins doing heavy work every tick, redstone or hopper farms, mob farms, or chunk generation.
Conclusion
With Spark you can see exactly what's causing your server's lag and fix it properly. Profiling replaces guessing.
Similarly, if you are having any type of issue or problem with your server at MCServerHost you can always get in touch with us by joining our Discord server or writing to us at support@mcserverhost.com.
Related guides
- How much RAM your Server actually needs: A quick reference for sizing your server's RAM based on player count, plugins and mods.
- How to Change the Entity Broadcast Range on Your Minecraft Server: Reduce server lag by limiting how far the server sends updates for entities
- Boosting Your Server Performance with ClearLagg: Boost Minecraft server performance using ClearLagg to automatically manage dropped items and entities.
- How to Migrate your old MCServerHost account.: How to Migrate your old MCServerHost account to the new MCServerHost.