How to Find and Read Minecraft Server Crash Reports
Locate Minecraft Java server crash reports, decode the stack trace, identify the offending plugin or mod, and share the report for help.
When the Minecraft server JVM crashes (not just an error — a full crash), it writes a detailed crash report to the crash-reports/ folder. These reports contain everything you need to identify the root cause: the exception, the stack trace, the affected entity or chunk, and the full list of mods/plugins that were loaded.
Crash report vs log: A log records everything that happened. A crash report only exists when the server died. Some errors don't generate crash reports — for those, check
logs/latest.loginstead.
Where Crash Reports Live
Filenames follow the format crash-YYYY-MM-DD_HH.MM.SS-server.txt.
Find a Crash Report
Open Files
In the XGamingServer Panel, click Files in the sidebar.
Open the crash-reports folder
Open crash-reports/. Reports are sorted by date — the most recent is usually at the top.
Open the latest report
Click the most recent file. The report opens in the panel's text editor.
If
crash-reports/is empty but the server keeps crashing, the JVM was killed externally (usually OOM — exit code 137). See Java Exit Codes and checklogs/latest.loginstead.
Anatomy of a Crash Report
A typical crash report has these sections:
Description
---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
Description: Ticking entityThe description is a one-line summary of where the crash happened. Common descriptions:
| Description | What it usually means |
|---|---|
Ticking entity | An entity (mob, item) errored — see Fix Ticking Entity |
Ticking block entity | A tile entity (chest, furnace, mod block) errored |
Exception in server tick loop | The main game loop crashed — see Fix Tick Loop |
Loading NBT data | Corrupted player or world data |
Watching Server | Server hung past max-tick-time and the watchdog killed it |
Initializing game | Crash during startup |
The exception (Caused by:)
java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "..." because "..." is null
at net.minecraft.world.entity.LivingEntity.tick(...)
at com.example.somemod.entity.WeirdMob.tick(...)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: ...The line that starts with Caused by: is the actual root cause. If there are multiple Caused by: lines, the last one is the deepest root cause.
Stack trace
The lines starting with at show the call stack. Look for:
- Mod or plugin package names (
com.somemod.,me.someplugin.) — that's your culprit - Minecraft class names (
net.minecraft.) without a mod name above them — points to a vanilla bug or chunk corruption - Specific entity types (
EntityZombie,WitherBoss) — narrows down the trigger
Affected entity / block / level
-- Entity being ticked --
Details:
Entity Type: minecraft:zombie (...)
Entity ID: 12345
Entity Name: Zombie
Entity's Block location: World: (123, 65, -456)This tells you exactly which entity crashed and where in the world. Use this to find and remove the entity (with /kill @e[type=zombie,limit=1,sort=nearest]) or to delete the chunk if it's corrupted.
System Details
-- System Details --
Details:
Minecraft Version: 1.20.4
Java Version: 21.0.1
Memory: 1234 MB / 4096 MB
JVM Flags: ...
Loaded Mods: ...This is the full environment. Useful when sharing — supporters need to know the version and mod list.
Diagnostic Workflow
Read the Description first
It tells you the broad category (entity, tick loop, NBT, startup).
Find the last Caused by:
That's the root cause. Read the message and the next 5–10 stack trace lines.
Identify the mod/plugin
Look for non-Minecraft package names (com., org., me., dev.). Match them to the mods in your mods/ or plugins/ folder.
Search the error
Paste the exact Caused by: line into Google or the mod's GitHub issues. Most crashes are known bugs with documented fixes.
Try the fix
Common fixes: update the mod, downgrade the mod, remove a conflicting mod, restore from backup, delete the affected entity/chunk.
Share a Crash Report
Use mclo.gs — the same paste service used for logs:
mclo.gs auto-detects crash report format and highlights the root cause in its Analysis tab.
Common Issues
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
crash-reports/ folder doesn't exist | Server hasn't crashed yet, OR the JVM was killed externally (OOM) — check exit codes |
| Multiple crash reports in the same minute | Server crash-looped on restart. Read the first one |
| Crash report blames vanilla code | Could be world corruption — restore backup or delete the affected chunk with MCA Selector |
Crash mentions Watchdog | Server hung — usually a mod stuck in an infinite loop. Check the thread dump in the report |
| Same crash on restart | The state that caused it is persisted (a corrupted entity or chunk). You must delete or repair it |
Related Guides
How is this guide?
How to Find and Fix YAML Errors in Minecraft Plugin Configs
Diagnose and fix YAML syntax errors in Minecraft Java plugin config files — indentation, tabs, colons, quotes, and validation tools.
How to Find and Share Your Minecraft Server Logs
Locate, read, and share Minecraft Java server logs via the panel Console, the logs folder, and mclo.gs for support tickets.