The /debug command lets you profile your Minecraft world and see how the server is performing. You can start or stop profiling sessions and export detailed performance reports.
What You Need
You need to enable cheats in your world before you can run commands. Create a new world or open an existing one and turn on “Allow Cheats” in the world settings.
The /debug Command
Basic Syntax
The command has two options:
/debug start– Begin a profiling session/debug stop– End the session and save the report
How to Run the Command
Step 1: Open Chat
Press T on your keyboard to open the chat window in Java Edition.
Step 2: Type and Run
Type the command and press Enter. To start profiling:
/debug start
You’ll see a message in the bottom left corner saying “Started debug profiling”. Now your game is recording performance data.
Step 3: Stop Profiling
When you’re done, type this command:
/debug stop
The game will show you how long the session ran. You might see something like “Stopped debug profiling after 18.40 seconds (368 ticks)”. The file gets saved automatically.
Finding Your Debug Files
The debug report saves to a hidden folder on your computer. The exact path depends on your operating system:
Windows
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\debug\
Mac
/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/minecraft/debug/
File Name Format
The files are named with the date and time they were created:
profile-results-yyyy-mm-dd_hh.mi.ss.txt
For example: profile-results-2017-07-29_10.12.41.txt
Reading the Results
Open the text file in any text editor. You’ll see performance data that looks like this:
---- Minecraft Profiler Results ---- Time span: 18401 ms Tick span: 368 ticks --- BEGIN PROFILE DUMP --- [00] levels - 98.64%/98.64% [01] | World - 99.86%/98.51% [02] | | tick - 98.88%/97.40% [03] | | | entities - 57.11%/55.63% [04] | | | | regular - 98.83%/54.98% --- END PROFILE DUMP ---
The percentages show which parts of the game are using CPU time. Entities using high percentages means you have lag from mobs or items. The tick span tells you how many game ticks the profiling covered.
Why Use /debug?
Use this command when your world is running slow. The report shows you exactly what’s causing the lag so you can fix it. Too many mobs? Too many redstone contraptions? The debug file will show you.
You need cheats enabled to use this command, so it only works in Creative mode or worlds where you’ve turned cheats on.