Reading and Understanding Crash Reports

When your server crashes or misbehaves, it can leave behind hundreds or even thousands of lines of log output. The good news is you do not need to understand all of it - the information you actually need is usually in just a few lines. This guide will help you find the root cause quickly without getting lost in the noise.

Where to Look

If the issue has just happened, the error is usually still visible in the Console page of the Game Panel. Scrolling up through the console output is often the quickest way to spot the error without opening any files.

For anything older, your server stores two types of important files:

• logs/latest.log - A record of everything that has happened since your server last started. Check here if your server is still running but something is not working right (plugins not loading, errors scrolling in the console, lag issues).
• crash-reports/ - A folder containing detailed reports that are only created when the server crashes unexpectedly. Each crash gets its own file, named with the date and time it happened.

Rule of thumb: If the server stopped suddenly, check crash-reports/ first. If the server is still running but behaving oddly, check logs/latest.log.

You can access both folders through the File Manager.

Understanding Log Levels

Every line in a log file has a label showing how serious it is:

Label	What it means
[INFO]	Normal events - players joining, commands running, startup messages. Nothing to worry about.
[WARN]	Something is off but the server is still working. Worth checking if you see the same warning repeatedly.
[ERROR]	Something actually broke. This is usually what you are looking for.
[FATAL]	Something went very wrong and the server is stopping.

When searching through a log, use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) and search for ERROR or WARN to skip past all the normal startup messages and chat.

Reading a Crash Report

A crash report can look intimidating, but you only need to read a few parts of it. Here is what to look for, in order:

1. The Description Line

Near the top of the crash report, there is a line labelled Description: that gives a short summary of what went wrong. This is often all you need to understand the problem.

Common descriptions include:

• Exception ticking world - Something went wrong while the server was updating the world
• Ticking entity - A specific entity caused the crash (the report will tell you which one and where it was)
• Ticking block entity - A specific block (like a chest or hopper) caused the crash
• Watching Server - The server froze and was killed by the watchdog

2. The Error Message

Right after the description, you will see a line starting with something like java.lang. followed by the error type and a message. This is the most useful line in the entire report.

Some common error messages and what they mean:

Error	What it means
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError	Your server ran out of RAM. You may need more memory allocated or to reduce what is running
java.net.BindException: Address already in use	Something else is already using your server's port
java.lang.StackOverflowError	Usually caused by a buggy plugin stuck in a loop
java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError	A plugin or mod requires a newer version of Java than your server is running
java.io.EOFException reading a .mca file	A world chunk is corrupted
ClassNotFoundException or NoClassDefFoundError	A plugin or mod is missing a dependency

3. Finding the Culprit Plugin or Mod

Below the error message you will see a list of lines starting with at - this is called a stack trace. It shows what the server was doing when it crashed.

Most of these lines will mention things like net.minecraft, org.bukkit, or io.papermc - these are Minecraft and the server software itself, and you can usually ignore them. What you want to look for is any line with a different name, such as com.example.pluginname or me.author.modname. That name often matches the plugin or mod that caused the crash.

For example, if you see a line like at com.sk89q.worldedit.WorldEdit.doStuff(...), the WorldEdit plugin is likely the cause.

4. The "Caused by:" Section

Sometimes a crash report has a section that starts with Caused by:. This is the root cause of the crash - the actual thing that went wrong. If you see a Caused by: section, read it carefully. It often has the information you need.

5. Affected Entity or Block

If the crash was caused by a specific entity or block, the report will include a section like -- Entity being ticked -- or -- Block entity being ticked --. This section tells you:

• What type of entity or block caused the crash
• The exact coordinates (X, Y, Z) where it was
• For entities, the UUID and entity type

If you teleport to those coordinates and remove the entity or block, the crash often goes away.

Common Issues and What to Check

Server Won't Start

• Look in latest.log for errors near the top
• Check for BindException - means the port is already in use
• Check for UnsupportedClassVersionError - means you need a newer Java version
• Check for plugin errors saying "Could not load" - a plugin is broken or incompatible

Server Crashes During Gameplay

• Check the crash-reports/ folder for a recent crash file
• Look for OutOfMemoryError - you may need more RAM
• Look for a Ticking entity or Ticking block entity description - a specific entity or block is causing issues

Server is Running but Laggy

• Check latest.log for repeated warnings
• Look for "Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded?" - usually means too much is happening for your server to handle
• Look for plugin errors that keep repeating

Plugin Not Working

• Check latest.log for errors mentioning the plugin name during startup
• Look for ClassNotFoundException - the plugin might be missing a required dependency
• Look for version mismatch errors - the plugin may not support your Minecraft version

Sharing Logs for Help

If you cannot figure out the cause yourself and need help from someone, the best way to share your log or crash report is to upload it to a paste site.

Recommended: mclo.gs - it is built specifically for Minecraft logs, automatically highlights errors, and often detects common issues for you.

To use it:

1. Download your latest.log or crash report file using the File Manager
2. Go to mclo.gs
3. Drag and drop the file (or paste the contents)
4. Click Save
5. Share the link with whoever is helping you

Never paste the entire log directly into Discord or a chat message. Logs can be thousands of lines long, and pasting them floods the channel and makes them impossible to read.

Still Stuck?

If you have tried to read through your crash report or log and cannot figure out the problem, feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to take a look:

• Support Ticket
• Discord Server - use the /support command
• Email: [email protected]