Can't Keep Up! Minecraft Server Message

If you're playing a Minecraft server and see a message within your console saying "Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded? Running ms or ticks behind".

If you do see these messages, it means your server might be experiencing some lag. This can be a few reasons of why this message is being displayed. However, we have a few tricks to help you resolve this message.

What is Server Lag?

Server lag is what affects every player on your Minecraft server, regardless of their internet connection or their PC specifications. Server lag is usually measured within Minecraft Ticks per Second (TPS). You can view your servers TPS by running the command /tps for a Paper / Spigot server. If you are running a Modded server, you can run a Spark Profiler

Here are some examples for TPS rates:

● 20 TPS: the server is running perfectly fine and experiencing no issues.

● 19-20 TPS: Minor lag, although, your server should be fine with no noticeable lag.

● 17-19 TPS: The server will begin to have some performance issues, the lag wont be very noticable and you shouldn't be concerned.

● 17 TPS and under: you will most likely experience some performance issues with your server.

When the servers TPS drops, the lag will be noticeable for all of the players within the server. Simple interactions like breaking blocks, hitting mobs, eating food, will take a bit longer to be completed. The game will be harder to play in this state.

Causes for Server Lag.

There are many factors to keep in mind when you are finding some lag within your server. For an example, your server might not have enough memory. However, this isn't always the case, so keep an eye on your memory usage within the Kinetic Panel.

Not having enough Memory.

Your server could be performing poorly due to not having enough memory. While this may not always be the case, it's always good to take a look at your servers memory usage. You can also optimise your servers memory by enabling the Aikar Flags on the Settings page.

Every mod, plugin and player all need unique data to be loaded into the servers memory. So, when no memory is available to be used, your server will experiencing lag.

In-Game Causes & Solutions.

There are many causes of why your server can be lagging and running into low TPS issues. However, you can minimize the factors.

Too many entities: If you have a large amount of Mob Farms, or even items on the ground, these are labeled as "entities" too many of these in a small confined area can cause lag on your server. You can run the built in Entity killing commands within Minecraft to help with this.

Command	Execution
kill @e[type=minecraft:item]	Running this command will only delete dropped items.
kill @e[type=minecraft:ENTITY_NAME]		Replace ENTITY_NAME with the entity you wish to be deleted on the server.
kill @e[type=!player]	Running this command will kill EVERY ENTITY except for the players.

Fluid Updates: Large amounts of Water or Lava can cause lag on your server if it's being done in a rapid succession.

Hoppers: Hoppers can be a major cause of lag on your Minecraft server. Hoppers without a container above them will instantly draw in Entity items, you can above this by placing a chest or something with an inventory above the Hopper.

Generating new terrain: When you are generating new chunks on your server, it can be a heavy task on Minecraft Servers. This is including heavily modded servers with custom world generation mods. You can pre-generate your servers chunks by following This Guide For Chunky.