Always-Loaded Chunks on a Minecraft Server: /forceload and Farms That Work with Nobody Around

Why a farm stops when nobody is around

The world is split into chunks of 16 × 16 blocks. The server only runs the ones it has loaded: those around each player (up to the “Simulation distance”, simulation-distance in server.properties) and those something forces to stay loaded. The rest of the world sits on disk, frozen.

Up to 1.21.8 there were also spawn chunks, the ones around the spawn point, always loaded. Lots of farms were built there for that reason. 1.21.9 removed them (we cover it in the 1.21.9 guide): since then, anything that has to work with nobody nearby has to be forced.

How to use /forceload, step by step

/forceload is a vanilla command, no plugins, and works the same on Paper, Fabric, Forge and NeoForge. An operator types it in chat (with the slash) or anyone with access to the server console (without the slash).

1. Note two corners

   Stand on one corner of the farm, press F3 and write down X and Z (Y isn't needed). Do the same on the opposite corner. They're block coordinates: the game works out which chunk each one falls in.

2. Force the area

   In the console, forceload add X1 Z1 X2 Z2 with your numbers, for example forceload add 100 -40 140 10. If the farm fits in one chunk, one corner is enough: forceload add 120 -20.

3. Check it worked

   forceload query lists every forced chunk in that dimension; forceload query X Z tells you whether the chunk at that position is forced.

4. Remove it when you don't need it

   forceload remove X1 Z1 X2 Z2 frees that area and forceload remove all, every one in the dimension. Forced chunks are saved with the world: they stay forced after a restart until you remove them.

In the Nether and the End

Each dimension has its own list. From the console, the command goes to the overworld; for another dimension, put execute in in front: execute in minecraft:the_nether run forceload add X1 Z1 X2 Z2 (or minecraft:the_end). The coordinates are that dimension's, the ones F3 shows while you're there.

If you type it in chat while you're in the Nether, it already goes to that dimension without execute in.

The limit: 256 chunks per command

One forceload add won't take more than 256 chunks at once (a square of 16 × 16 chunks, 256 × 256 blocks). Go over and the game refuses and tells you how many you asked for. You can repeat the command for other areas, but think twice.

Every forced chunk is always running, whether anyone is there or not: its hoppers, its redstone and its entities use CPU and memory the whole time. A normal farm takes one or a few chunks; forcing a whole city shows up as lag for everyone. If the server feels heavy, spark tells you which chunk costs the most.

What works in a forced chunk and what doesn't

It works: redstone, clocks, hoppers and furnaces, and machines that push or break blocks. Animals and villagers already inside stay there.

It doesn't work without a player nearby (within about 128 blocks): anything that depends on random ticks, like crops, sugar cane, bamboo or trees growing on their own, and natural spawning of monsters and animals. Mob spawners also need someone within 16 blocks. That's why a mob farm or a sugar cane farm won't produce even if you force it: it needs someone close.

On Paper there's one more catch: to save CPU, entities far from every player only update now and then (entity-activation-range in spigot.yml). A forced farm that depends on villagers or animals works, but slower than with someone next to it.

Other ways to keep chunks loaded you'll see in videos: thrown ender pearls load them while their owner is online, and Nether portal chunk loaders load for a while each time something goes through. Both depend on mechanics that change between versions; /forceload is the one that doesn't fail.

An empty server pauses: pause-when-empty-seconds

This is what confuses people most: since 1.21.2, a server with nobody online pauses entirely after 60 seconds, forced chunks or not. The console shows “Server empty for 60 seconds, pausing”. World time, farms and redstone stop until someone joins. Paper respects it too.

If you want forced farms to keep working with the server empty as well, set pause-when-empty-seconds=0 in server.properties. In exchange, the server uses CPU all the time even with nobody on, so force only what you need.

1. Open “Settings”

   In the NapNodes panel, inside your Minecraft server, the “Performance” section.

2. Change “Pause the empty world (seconds)”

   Set it to 0 so it never pauses. It saves by itself.

3. Restart

   server.properties changes apply on startup: press “Restart”. If you do it by hand, the line is in the server.properties guide.

Farms with nobody on: the server has to be running

All of the above only helps if the server is running. On your PC, the moment you shut it down, the world stops. Most free servers are the same: they shut down when they're empty, as the guide to a server online 24 hours a day explains.

At NapNodes, the free server shuts down by itself after 20 minutes with nobody connected, so a forced farm works while you play and not much longer. With a paid plan the server is always on: with /forceload and the pause at 0, the farm keeps producing overnight and when nobody joins. If you already have the free one, moving it to a plan keeps the same server with its world.

Frequently asked questions