The entity spike alert

The entity spike alert detects when your server's total entity count rises sharply above its normal level. Because it compares against your own recent history rather than a fixed number, it adapts to servers that naturally run high entity counts.

What triggers it

The alert fires when your total entity count reaches three times the average for that same hour of day over the previous 7 days. Comparing against the same hour matters because many servers have a natural daily rhythm, busy evenings and quiet mornings, so this avoids false alarms when counts rise predictably at peak time. A gradual long-term increase moves the baseline with it, while a sudden spike still stands out clearly.

A 2-hour cooldown keeps a sustained spike from sending repeat alerts.

What the alert contains

The alert email includes:

• Your total entity count and how many times above the baseline it is
• A breakdown of the worlds with the highest entity counts, so you can see which one is responsible
• Current TPS at the time of the alert
• A link to your analytics dashboard's entity breakdown panel

Common causes

Most entity spikes have an identifiable cause, in rough order of frequency:

• Mob farm overflow: the kill mechanism stopped working while the spawning continued. Mobs and items accumulate rapidly
• Storage full on automated farms: when hoppers and chests fill up, items start dropping onto the ground as entities
• Players clearing inventory: a player dropping a full inventory in a busy area leaves a pile of item entities
• Large explosions: creeper chains or TNT create many falling block entities simultaneously
• Experience orb accumulation: XP orbs from mob farms or large battles pile up before merging or despawning