⚠️ This page covers the unified 12.x release. If you are following a guide or wiki revision from 2025 or earlier, double-check it against Versions because older instructions may still assume separate modules.

This page is the practical starting point for most people. If you only want to install APTweaks cleanly and tune it without getting too technical, start here. APTweaks works on dedicated servers, single-player worlds, and LAN-open worlds because all of those run the same server-side game systems that the mod tunes.

For a new 12.x setup:

1. Install APTweaks through the CurseForge or Modrinth launcher (recommended, keeps the mod up to date automatically). Manual install: download the 12.x jar for your loader from one of those pages and place it in mods/.
2. Start the game or server once.
3. Let APTweaks generate its config files automatically.

For an upgrade from 11.x:

1. Remove all old APTweaks module jars from mods/.
2. Update APTweaks 12.x via your launcher. Manual install: download the 12.x jar for your loader and place it in mods/.
3. Start once so the new config folder is created.
4. Re-check your settings instead of assuming old values still map cleanly.

APTweaks 12.x mainly uses:

• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/core.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/spawn.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/gamerules.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/items.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/experience_orbs.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/arrows.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/player_login_protection.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/player_starter_protection.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/player_easy_child_mode.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/sim_distance.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/view_distance.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/ai_throttle.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/chunk_gen_throttle.cfg
• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/monitoring.cfg

Spawn presets are loaded from two places:

• config/adaptive_performance_tweaks/spawn_presets/ for server-local presets
• data/<namespace>/aptweaks/spawn_presets/ for datapack-driven presets

If you want the full JSON field guide, examples, and precedence rules, use Spawn Presets.

The best first step is usually not to enable everything manually.

Recommended order:

1. Run APTweaks with defaults first.
2. Watch your server under normal play for a while.
3. Use /aptweaks status, /aptweaks load, and /aptweaks stats to see what is happening.
4. Tune the spawn system first if mobs are the main source of pressure.
5. Tune item, XP, or arrow cleanup if entity clutter is the bigger problem.
6. Only enable advanced throttles if you still need stronger protection.

Spawn sizing note: The fallback spawn defaults are tuned for about 4 players. If your server is larger than that, expect to raise per-player and per-world limits.

Usually safe for most servers:

• Spawn
• Game Rules
• Items
• Experience Orbs
• Arrows
• Player Login Protection
• Starter Protection
• Easy Child Mode if you actually use it
• Adaptive Simulation Distance

Usually more advanced or more situational:

• Adaptive View Distance
• AI Throttling
• Chunk Generation Throttle
• Monitoring

Those advanced features are useful, but they are better treated as opt-in safety valves when you have a specific reason to enable them.

Spawn control is the most important and most flexible part of APTweaks 12.x.

In plain language, it does four big things:

1. It limits how much mob pressure is allowed overall.
2. It reacts to server load, so stricter limits can apply when the server is stressed.
3. It prefers spawns that matter more to nearby players.
4. It lets modpacks or servers define custom spawn presets in JSON.

The main knobs live in spawn.cfg. Per-entity and per-mod behavior is usually handled through spawn preset JSON files.

• spawnLimitationMaxMobsPerPlayer: rough fallback cap per active player
• spawnLimitationMaxMobsPerWorld: fallback cap for one dimension or world
• spawnLimitationMaxMobsPerServer: fallback cap across the whole server
• spawnLimitationMaxMobsPerChunk: optional extra cap for one chunk
• viewAreaEnabled: favors spawns that matter inside the player-relevant area
• friendlyChunkSpawnRate: allows regular "friendly" passes so chunks do not feel permanently starved
• specialSpawnTypeBonusEnabled: allows extra room for specific spawn types such as structure or chunk-generation spawns

Natural spawns use pass rates that get stricter as load rises. That means the server can allow most attempts when things are healthy and deny more attempts when lag starts building.

Some spawns are more gameplay-important than others. APTweaks can give controlled bonus room to types such as:

• chunk_generation
• event
• patrol
• reinforcement
• structure

This helps keep the world feeling alive without letting everything scale equally.

Spawn presets let you describe behavior for whole mods, entity groups, or specific entities. They can:

• allow or deny entity lists
• set per-player, per-world, per-server, and per-chunk limits
• adjust limits by load level
• restrict rules by dimension
• add compatibility-oriented tracking or exclusion hints

You do not need to understand every field on day one. For most servers, the important part is knowing that presets are where the detailed mob behavior lives. If you want to edit them safely, use Spawn Presets.

The main command root is /aptweaks.

Good day-to-day commands:

• /aptweaks status
• /aptweaks load
• /aptweaks stats
• /aptweaks stats items
• /aptweaks stats xp_orbs
• /aptweaks stats arrows
• /aptweaks stats reset
• /aptweaks entities overview
• /aptweaks playerPositions
• /aptweaks kill all_dropped_items
• /aptweaks reload
• /aptweaks feature <id> <true|false>
• /aptweaks debug
• /aptweaks benchmark
• /aptweaks benchmark start scenario <general|exploration|items|xp|entities|recovery>

If something feels wrong, do these 4 commands first:

• /aptweaks status
• /aptweaks load
• /aptweaks stats
• /aptweaks debug <module> true

Reload note:

• /aptweaks reload reloads the .cfg files
• spawn preset JSON changes are safer with vanilla /reload or a restart
• feature enable/disable changes still need a restart to take full effect

APTweaks includes a built-in benchmark suite so you can compare a clean baseline block against an active block on your own setup, either across all scenarios or one targeted scenario. Use Benchmark if you want to measure results instead of guessing.