criticalServer ErrorsAffects: All versions
How to Fix Max Tick Time Exceeded
Fix Max Tick Time Exceeded by identifying the blocking operation with Spark and optimizing server performance.
Quick Fix
Set max-tick-time=-1 in server.properties temporarily, then diagnose with Spark profiler.
Error Message
The server has stopped responding! / max-tick-time exceededHow to Fix
1
Set max-tick-time=-1 in server.properties (disables the watchdog)
2
Use Spark to profile and find the blocking operation
3
Move the server to an SSD for faster disk I/O
4
Remove or update the blocking plugin
5
Set max-tick-time back to 60000 after fixing the root cause
Common Causes
- A single tick took longer than max-tick-time (default 60 seconds)
- Main thread blocked by a synchronous operation
- Disk I/O bottleneck during world save
- Plugin performing heavy computation on main thread
Diagnostic Steps
- Temporarily disable watchdog: max-tick-time=-1
- Install Spark and profile the server
- Find the long-running tick
- Fix the root cause and re-enable watchdog
FAQ
Is it safe to disable max-tick-time?
Only as a temporary measure for debugging. Leaving it disabled means a frozen server will never auto-stop.