How session tracking works
How clan.me defines a player session, how the plugin records exact join and quit events, and what session data appears in the dashboard.
Updated 7 June 2026
A session is the window of time between a player joining your server and leaving it. Session data is the foundation of the analytics that matter most: how long players stay, when they leave, and whether they come back.
What a session is
clan.me defines a session as a continuous period of activity, with a start time and an end time. Session length is the difference between them. A player who joins, plays for 45 minutes, disconnects, and returns two hours later has two sessions, not one.
Multiple sessions per player per day are normal. The session data in your dashboard shows total sessions, average session length, and the distribution of lengths across your player base.
How sessions are recorded
With the plugin installed, sessions are recorded from actual join and quit events. When a player connects, the plugin immediately records a session start. When they disconnect, the session closes with an exact end timestamp. This is always accurate, even for very short sessions under a minute, and even during the gaps between heartbeats.
Why the plugin is required
Join and quit events only exist inside your server process, so only a plugin running on the server can capture them. Nothing outside the server, including clan.me itself, can observe when an individual player arrives or leaves with any precision. That is why the Sessions panel, session length distribution, and new vs returning analytics all require the plugin to be installed and sending heartbeats.