How to Install and Configure Spark on Your Server to Improve Performance

The Spark plugin or mod (available both as a plugin and as a mod) is one of the best tools to analyze your server’s performance in real time. It’s frequently used by developers to pinpoint exactly what is causing lag on a server. In this guide, you’ll learn how to install it and identify what’s slowing down your server.

INSTALLATION

First, we need to install Spark on your server. This tutorial will explain how to install it as a plugin, since many of you are using Magma or Mohist, which support both plugins and mods.

1. Download the Spark JAR file from its official download page.

2. Click on "Files" in the left-hand menu.

3. Select the "plugins" folder.Note: If this folder doesn’t appear, it means your server is not running a version compatible with plugins. In that case, you need to install PaperSpigot from the "Versions" section before adding this plugin.

4. Drag the JAR file you downloaded from Spigot into the "plugins" folder.

5. Once it’s uploaded, restart your Minecraft server so the plugin can activate.

BASIC TUTORIAL

Now that Spark is installed on your server, we’ll show you how to use one of its most powerful tools: the Spark Profiler.

The command below is used specifically to detect lag spikes. When activated, the server will start recording everything happening on it. If it notices that the server took longer than usual to respond at a certain moment, it will generate a log and alert you.

Command:

/spark profiler --only-ticks-over 100

Once you activate this command, you should receive a message like this:

Great! You’ve successfully activated the command. Now, for the next 6 seconds, the server will monitor its overall performance to provide more accurate data.

Once those seconds pass and the server detects lag, you’ll be notified with a message like this:

In short, each message indicates, for example, that tick #184 took 1500% longer than it should have. This means that during that specific tick, the server experienced a lag spike.

Once this happens, you’ll usually want to stop the profiler to see what is causing the lag. To do this, simply run the following command:

/spark profiler stop

After stopping the profiler, you’ll receive a link where you can view what is causing the lag. If your server has a developer, you should send them this link so they can analyze and fix the lag issues. Otherwise, you can interpret the data yourself to identify the source of the lag.

Below is an example of the information provided in a Spark report:

Alright. At first, you might not fully understand what’s happening. But you can clearly see that

“com.sk89q.worldedit.bukkit” is causing the lag, meaning the lag is most likely coming from this plugin. As the server owner, you can try removing this plugin, running another profiler to see the results, updating the plugin, and so on.

On the official Spark page, you can find a detailed guide on how to fully use this plugin. What we’ve explained above is just a brief summary of how to use one command—Spark has many more features. Good luck identifying and fixing performance issues on your server!

Conclusion

We hope this guide has been helpful! 🚀 Remember, don’t hesitate to ask questions on the HolyHosting Discord or contact our support team.

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Stuffy @ HolyHosting