Choose a main-thread or all-thread spark recording

Applies to: spark; match the linked maintainer documentation to your installed platform and release.
Documentation checked 9 November 2026.

Minecraft tick performance and total process activity are related but different measurements. A main-thread profile can explain expensive tick work, while an all-thread capture can expose activity elsewhere. Selecting the wrong view can make a busy background worker look like the direct cause of low TPS.

Record the starting point

Record whether the symptom is slow ticks, high process CPU, delayed background work or a server that appears to wait. Keep the timestamp and a health snapshot. Use a bounded recording window so an exploratory profile does not run indefinitely.

Work through the change

Start with the normal server-thread profiler for a tick-performance complaint. Repeat the relevant action and note the player count and workload during the capture.
If background activity is the question, check command help and use the documented all-thread option, such as /spark profiler start --timeout 120 --thread *.
In the viewer, inspect the selected thread and its call branches. Compare runnable work with waiting or sleeping states instead of counting every visible thread as active CPU consumption.
Keep main-thread and all-thread reports labelled separately. Use the same workload for a follow-up capture after a candidate change.

Check the result

The selected report should answer the original question: what consumed tick time, or which background worker was active. Record the thread and time window alongside any screenshot. A high percentage within one selected thread does not automatically equal that percentage of total machine CPU.

If the result differs

If the server is waiting on storage or another service, a CPU-heavy branch may not explain the delay. Compare the observed symptom with spark's metrics and relevant logs. Avoid blaming whichever plugin name is easiest to recognise in a large thread list.

Stop or cancel a recording through spark's controls when enough evidence exists. Restore any trial configuration that does not improve the same workload. Keep performance investigation separate from data cleanup; profiling itself does not justify deleting plugin files.

Give a LuckPerms permission an expiry without leaving permanent access

Make a LuckPerms event rank expire while preserving other ranks

Limit a LuckPerms command permission to one Minecraft world

Keep a LuckPerms permission local to one network backend

Move a player along a LuckPerms track without replacing unrelated groups

Fix a LuckPerms prefix priority without changing chat formatting

Remove a direct LuckPerms exception without weakening its parent rank

Apply a small LuckPerms web-editor session to the correct server

Export LuckPerms data before changing its storage configuration

Find an inheritance cycle before it complicates a rank change

Keep default-player permissions separate from staff inheritance

Diagnose LuckPerms edits that reach one backend but not another

Check a player UUID before changing LuckPerms account data

Remove a staff member from one LuckPerms track without clearing their account

Give an EssentialsX rank a fixed home limit

Restrict one EssentialsX warp to an approved player group

Test EssentialsX teleport delay and movement cancellation

Add an EssentialsX cooldown to one utility command

Resolve an EssentialsX command alias conflict without removing either plugin

Check EssentialsX AFK kick exemptions for a staff role

Limit EssentialsX nickname changes without granting formatting control

Give staff a read-only EssentialsX player-information role

Recover from an accidental EssentialsX ignore setting

Restrict EssentialsX repair commands to the intended tool policy

Review EssentialsX command-disabled entries after a plugin change

Test an EssentialsX jail location without trapping a real player

Change the EssentialsX starting balance for new players only

Set EssentialsX maximum and minimum money limits with a boundary test

Change the EssentialsX currency symbol without changing stored money

Test an EssentialsX pay dispute using two controlled accounts

Review EssentialsX worth prices before enabling item selling

Explain an EssentialsX balance leaderboard that looks out of date

Trace an unexpected EssentialsX command charge

Back up EssentialsX money before a player-data migration

Verify a LiteBans temporary ban expires at the intended time

Test whether a LiteBans mute covers a private-message command

Build a LiteBans appeal-review role without punishment access

Check a LiteBans moderator’s maximum punishment duration

Find which plugin handled a ban command on a mixed-plugin server

Verify the server scope of a LiteBans network punishment

Investigate a LiteBans database connection failure without losing history

Reverse one appealed LiteBans punishment while preserving the audit trail

Test an AdvancedBan time layout before staff use it

Check AdvancedBan warnings without accidentally escalating a real player

Give an AdvancedBan helper access to history without ban powers

Check AdvancedBan storage before changing from local files to MySQL

Lift one AdvancedBan restriction after an approved appeal

Locate AdvancedBan correctly on a proxy network

Test SuperVanish visibility with separate staff and player accounts

Check whether a vanished SuperVanish moderator can pick up items

Verify flight is safe when a SuperVanish moderator reappears

Check silent chest inspection without changing container contents

Find a SuperVanish join or player-list information leak

Remove vanish access from a staff role without leaving a hidden account

Check PremiumVanish layered visibility after changing staff ranks

Verify PremiumVanish network vanish across Velocity backends

Check vanished staff interactions before a live investigation

Recognize the PremiumVanish API jar before installing an integration

Give GrimAC alerts to one observer without granting exemptions

Remove a GrimAC exemption and verify when checks resume

Collect a GrimAC prediction log for a false-positive report