Minecraft Server Log Analyzer

How to Read a Minecraft Server Log

Server logs are the definitive source of truth for diagnosing Minecraft server problems. Every time you start a server, a file named latest.log is generated (or updated) in your /logs/ folder. When a crash happens, you may also find a crash-reports/ directory containing highly detailed Java traces.

What "Can't Keep Up" Means

One of the most common warnings server owners see is "Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?". Minecraft runs its logic loop 20 times per second (known as ticks). If evaluating entities, loading chunks, or processing plugin logic takes longer than 50 milliseconds, the server falls behind. If it falls too far behind, players will experience "rubberbanding" (teleporting backwards) and block lag.

Minecraft OutOfMemoryError

If you encounter a java.lang.OutOfMemoryError, it means the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) has exhausted all the memory allocated to it via the -Xmx startup flag (the startup flags generator sizes it for your plan). While adding more RAM is often the easiest fix, you should also be wary of "memory leaks" caused by badly coded plugins.

Plugin and Mod Loading Errors

A common cause of startup failure is a plugin or mod that cannot initialize. This is usually due to missing dependencies (e.g., trying to run a Forge mod without Architectury, or a Spigot plugin without Vault), or a version mismatch (trying to run a 1.20 plugin on a 1.18 server). Our analyzer specifically extracts these exceptions to save you time.