Ticking Entity Crash on a Minecraft Server: How to Fix It

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A ticking entity crash names the entity and where it stands. Read those lines, back up the world, remove only that entity, then update the mod behind it.

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Your server stopped, the newest file in crash-reports says Description: Ticking entity, and every restart ends the same way. The report names the entity and where it stands, so you can remove that one entity instead of deleting chunks or rolling the world back. Here is how to read it and fix it on Forge, NeoForge, Paper and Fabric.

Quick answer: A ticking entity crash means one entity threw an error during its update. Note Entity Type and Entity's Exact location under -- Entity being ticked -- in the crash report, stop the server and back up the world. Then remove only that entity: on Forge or NeoForge set removeErroringEntities = true for one start; Paper removes it by itself; on Fabric use the Neruina mod or MCA Selector's chunk editor. If the entity is an ordinary mob, or each crash names a different one, update or remove the mod in the stack trace instead.

What a ticking entity crash is

The server updates the world 20 times a second, and each update is a tick. Every mob, dropped item, arrow and minecart gets its own tick. Vanilla Minecraft wraps each entity's tick in a check: when it throws an error, the game builds a crash report with the description "Ticking entity" and a section "Entity being ticked", and the server stops. On NeoForge, logs/latest.log shows:

[Server thread/ERROR] [minecraft/MinecraftServer]: Encountered an unexpected exception
net.minecraft.ReportedException: Ticking entity

The full report is saved as crash-reports/crash-<date>_<time>-server.txt.

The crash comes back after a restart because the entity is saved with its chunk and ticks again when that chunk loads. When that happens depends on where it stands:

  • Near world spawn on 1.21.8 or older: spawn chunks stay loaded with nobody online, so the server crashes at startup. 1.21.9 removed spawn chunks.
  • In a force-loaded chunk (/forceload or a chunk loader mod): those chunks process entities with nobody online, so it also crashes at startup.
  • Anywhere else: when a player comes close, often the one who logged out there.

Read the crash report: the lines that matter

A shortened report from a NeoForge 1.21.1 server (examplemobs stands in for a real mod):

Description: Ticking entity

java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "net.minecraft.world.entity.LivingEntity.position()" because "this.target" is null
	at TRANSFORMER/examplemobs@2.4.1/com.example.examplemobs.entity.CrabEntity.tick(CrabEntity.java:88)
	at TRANSFORMER/minecraft@1.21.1/net.minecraft.server.level.ServerLevel.tickNonPassenger(ServerLevel.java:774)
	at TRANSFORMER/minecraft@1.21.1/net.minecraft.world.level.Level.guardEntityTick(Level.java:576)

-- Head --
Thread: Server thread

-- Entity being ticked --
Details:
	Entity Type: examplemobs:crab (com.example.examplemobs.entity.CrabEntity)
	Entity ID: 898
	Entity's Exact location: 113.39, -60.00, 171.70
	Entity's Block location: World: (113,-60,171), Section: (at 1,4,11 in 7,-4,10; chunk contains blocks 112,-64,160 to 127,319,175), Region: (0,0; contains chunks 0,0 to 31,31, blocks 0,-64,0 to 511,319,511)

-- Affected level --
Details:
	Level dimension: minecraft:overworld

What each part tells you:

LineWhat it tells you
DescriptionTicking entity is a mob, item or projectile. Ticking block entity is a chest, furnace or machine (see below).
ThreadServer thread means the server crashed. Render thread means a player's game crashed.
First line under the descriptionThe error type and message.
First at line from a modThe code that failed. NeoForge prints mod id and version: examplemobs@2.4.1.
Entity TypeThe entity's id. The part before the colon is the mod that adds it.
Entity IDA number for this session only. Target selectors cannot use it.
Entity's Exact locationX, Y, Z of the entity.
Region: (0,0; ...)The region file that holds it: r.0.0.mca.
Level dimensionOverworld, the_nether, the_end or a mod dimension.

On Fabric the at lines start with knot// and show no mod ids, so read the package name: com.github.alexthe666.alexsmobs is Alex's Mobs. Our crash log guide explains stack traces in more depth.

One bad entity, or a broken mod?

Removing the entity only helps in the first of two cases.

One entity with bad data. Every report names the same entity at the same coordinates. Something left it in a state its code cannot handle, such as a projectile whose target vanished. Remove it and the server is fine.

A mod bug that hits many entities. The Entity Type is a vanilla mob such as minecraft:slime, each crash names a different entity, or the error is a NoSuchMethodError or AbstractMethodError. In a real NeoForge 1.21.1 report from 2 November 2026, a vanilla slime crashed because a mob mod's event handler called a NeoForge method that the installed NeoForge version did not have. Deleting that slime only lasts until the next mob picks a target. The fix is the mod, covered in the last section.

The mod in the stack trace and the mod in Entity Type can differ, because mods change each other's code with mixins: a crash in a Create contraption entity can come from an add-on. Go by the first mod line in the stack trace.

Step 1: Stop the server and back up the world

Stop the server, so the world is saved and nothing writes to the files while you work. Copy the world folder (level-name in server.properties, world by default) somewhere safe, or for a very large world at least the region file from the report in both entities and region. Entities have had their own folder since 1.17; block entities such as chests stay in the chunk data in region. The paths depend on the version:

Dimension1.17 to 1.21.x26.1 and newer
Overworldworld/entities/world/dimensions/minecraft/overworld/entities/
Netherworld/DIM-1/entities/world/dimensions/minecraft/the_nether/entities/
Endworld/DIM1/entities/world/dimensions/minecraft/the_end/entities/
Mod dimensionworld/dimensions/<mod id>/<name>/entities/the same

On Space-Node's modpack hosting you stop the server in the panel, download the world over SFTP and edit config files in the web file manager.

Step 2: Remove the entity

Forge and NeoForge: removeErroringEntities

Forge and NeoForge both have a setting, off by default, that deletes an entity whose tick throws an error instead of crashing:

LoaderFileWhere the key sits
Forge 1.20.1 and current Forgeworld/serverconfig/forge-server.tomlunder [server]
NeoForge 1.21.1config/neoforge-server.tomltop level
NeoForge 26.3, current buildsconfig/neoforge-synced.tomltop level

On NeoForge, a file with the same name in the world's serverconfig folder (1.21.1) or syncedconfig folder (26.3) overrides the one in config, so edit that copy if it exists. NeoForge renamed the file's config type to "synced" on 29 September 2026; the keys stayed the same. With the server stopped, set:

removeErroringEntities = true

Start the server once. Instead of crashing, it writes the crash report into logs/latest.log and deletes the entity. Check that report to see what was removed, then stop the server, set the value back to false and start again. The setting's own description says "BE WARNED THIS COULD SCREW UP EVERYTHING USE SPARINGLY": while it is on, a mod bug that should show up as a crash deletes entities quietly instead.

Paper: already handled

Paper does not stop for a ticking entity. Its source replaces the vanilla crash with a log line, Entity threw exception at <world>:<x>,<y>,<z>, plus the stack trace, and removes the entity. Search latest.log for that line. If it repeats for different entities, find a plugin's package name in the stack trace and update or remove that plugin.

Fabric and vanilla: Neruina or MCA Selector

Fabric and vanilla have no such setting.

Neruina ("Ticking Entity Fixer") is a mod for Fabric, NeoForge and Forge, with builds for 1.20.1, 1.21.1 and 26.3 among others (3.3.5, 17 October 2026). When an entity's tick throws an error, Neruina suspends the entity instead of crashing: it stays in the world but stops ticking. Operators (permission level 2 by default) get a chat message with actions to teleport to it, try to resume it or kill it, and /neruina show_suspended lists them again. After 10 errors within 5 minutes it crashes on purpose with a full report, so a constantly broken mod still shows up. Modrinth lists it as optional on the client, so the server alone can run it. On Forge and NeoForge it is the gentler choice, because nothing is deleted until you decide.

MCA Selector edits the world files offline on your own PC; version 2.9 (15 September 2026) supports Minecraft 26.3. With the server stopped and a copy of the world downloaded:

  1. Choose File, Open World, select the world folder and pick the dimension from the report.
  2. Use View, Goto to jump to the coordinates, and zoom in until the chunk grid shows.
  3. Select only the chunk that holds them. The report gives its block range after chunk contains blocks.
  4. Open Edit chunk and switch to the entities tab. Find the entry whose Pos list matches the exact location, delete it with the trashcan icon and press Apply.
  5. Upload the changed file from the entities folder and start the server.

The NBT Changer's DeleteEntities field deletes every entity in the selected chunks, pets, villagers, item frames and armor stands included. Deleting the chunk itself (Selection, Delete selected chunks) also works, but the game then generates it from scratch and everything built in it is gone.

When the server stays up: /kill

Some ticking crashes only happen when an entity does something specific, such as a projectile reaching its target, and some only crash a player's game (Render thread). While the server runs, remove the entity from the console by type and position:

execute in minecraft:overworld run kill @e[type=examplemobs:crab,x=113,y=-60,z=171,distance=..3]

@e only finds entities in loaded chunks, so a player needs to be near the spot. More selectors are in our kill command guide.

Ticking block entity: the same crash for chests and machines

A block entity is a block that stores extra data: a chest's items, a furnace's progress, a machine's energy. When its tick throws an error, the description reads Ticking block entity. From a Forge 1.20.1 report:

-- Block entity being ticked --
Details:
	Name: bfr:fusion_reactor_controller // igentuman.bfr.common.tile.fusion.TileEntityFusionReactorController
	Block: Block{bfr:fusion_reactor_controller}[active=false]
	Block location: World: (-8,123,18), Section: (at 8,11,2 in -1,7,1; chunk contains blocks -16,-64,16 to -1,319,31), Region: (-1,0; contains chunks -32,0 to -1,31, blocks -512,-64,0 to -1,319,511)

Name is the block entity type, Block the block with its state, and Block location the coordinates and region file, here r.-1.0.mca in the region folder. The fixes match the entity ones:

  • Forge and NeoForge: removeErroringBlockEntities = true in the same file, for one start. The block stays, but its block entity goes, with everything it stored: items, fluids, energy, settings.
  • Paper: removes the block entity by itself and logs BlockEntity threw exception at.
  • Neruina: stops only the ticking part. Block and inventory stay, so you can empty it and break it.
  • MCA Selector: in Edit chunk, delete the entry in the block_entities list whose x, y and z match.

If the same machine type crashes at different places, the problem is the mod, not the block.

When the real fix is updating or removing a mod

Removing an entity does nothing against a bug in a mod. You have a mod problem when:

  • The crash returns with a new entity or block at new coordinates.
  • Entity Type is a vanilla mob and the stack trace runs through a mod.
  • The error is NoSuchMethodError or AbstractMethodError: a mod built against a different version of the loader or of a mod it depends on.
  • It started right after you added or updated a mod.

Then:

  1. Note the mod id and version from the first mod line in the stack trace.
  2. Search that mod's issue tracker and changelog for the exception message.
  3. Update the mod. On a modpack server, move the whole pack to a new release instead of single mods, or you trade one mismatch for another. Our guide to updating a modpack without losing the world covers the order.
  4. With no fixed version, go back to the version that worked or remove the mod. Back up first: blocks, items and mobs the mod added cannot load without it.
  5. If nobody has reported it yet, post the full crash report on the mod's issue tracker.

FAQ

What does "ticking entity" mean in Minecraft? An entity, such as a mob, item, projectile or minecart, threw an error while the game updated it, and the game stopped. The crash report names it under -- Entity being ticked --.

How do I fix a ticking entity crash without deleting my world? Back up, then remove only the entity named in the report: removeErroringEntities on Forge or NeoForge for one start, Neruina on Fabric, or MCA Selector's chunk editor.

Where is removeErroringEntities? Forge: world/serverconfig/forge-server.toml under [server]. NeoForge 1.21.1: config/neoforge-server.toml. Current NeoForge 26.3 builds: config/neoforge-synced.toml. A copy in the world's serverconfig or syncedconfig folder takes priority.

Does Paper fix ticking entity crashes on its own? It keeps the server running by removing the entity and logging Entity threw exception at. The cause stays, so read the stack trace if the line keeps coming back.

What is the difference between a ticking entity and a ticking block entity crash? An entity moves or can be killed and is stored in the entities folder. A block entity is a block with stored data, such as a chest or machine, stored in the region folder. Forge and NeoForge have a setting for each.

Sources

All opened on 3 November 2026: